Another memoir, another series of allegations that the book's a fraud. But in some ways, if Kathy O'Beirne's memoir of her time in the Magdalene laundries - which has sold more than 350,000 copies in Ireland and Britain to date - turns out to be fabricated, it'll leave a much more sour taste in people's mouths.

Here's why: the book (published in Britain as DON'T EVER TELL) claims, the Times reports, that she was beaten by her father and sexually abused by two boys from the age of 5 before being sent away to an institution. She claims that at the age of 10 she was repeatedly raped by a priest and whipped by nuns. Later she was forced to take drugs in a mental institution. But so far, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, one of four religious orders which ran the Magdalene laundries have found no record of her attendance, and O'Beirne's five brothers and sisters are holding a press conference in Dublin to dispute the book. O'Beirne's older brother, Oliver, 52, has told an Irish newspaper: "I read the book and I can't figure out where she is coming from. My father was a good man. There are nine kids in the family and she is the only one who has any stories of abuse." Adding that she did not have a good relationship with her family, he said: "I think she needs help."

So far, O'Beirne sticks by her story, as does her publisher, Mainstream Publishing: "We have used every possible effort to establish the truth of Kathy's memoir. We invited comments and corrections from the Church and we received no substantive response." Which, er, doesn't really sound like a lot when you think about it. The allegations have been ongoing for more than a year, when The Sisters threatened to sue the Vincent Browne Show for airing a segment about the book in August 2005.