Chapter 10 — Carriglea

Emotional abuse and neglect

The Visitation Reports made it clear that trades were offered for the benefit of the Institution and not the boys. Apart from farming, only two trades were on offer in Carriglea and a handful of boys were engaged in them. The boys in Carriglea were not equipped with suitable skills for working after they left the School.

The Visitation Reports noted that there was no dancing, no manual instruction, no physical drill and no organised games for the boys. There was no band, as it had ceased to operate at the end of the 1930s. The Congregation were unable to give any explanation as to the reason for its cessation. There was a gymnasium in the School but, in or about 1938, the Superior decided to use the hall as a lumber-room, and it was used to stockpile fuel and timber which was particularly useful during the war years.

The Superior General wrote to the Resident Manager on 3rd April 1938, expressing his concern at this initiative in the following terms: The Gymnasium is a lumber-room. This is strange in an age that is endeavouring to improve the physique of the rising generation.

The Visitation Reports for the first 10 years of the period under review catalogue a serious failure on the part of the School to provide occupation and recreation for the boys. Visitors noted that large numbers of boys had nothing to occupy them for long periods during the day, and went on to say that no organised games or activities were provided, which led ultimately to the complete degeneration of the behaviour of the boys who, out of boredom, resorted to immoral practices.

After the new regime was introduced in 1945, an attempt was made to remedy this problem. Although a number of bands were established, which did occupy up to half of the boys in the Institution, organised games do not appear to have ever been a feature. It is clear from successive Visitation Reports that there was a lack of willingness on the part of many of the Brothers living in Carriglea to take on any supervisory duties. In such circumstances, recreation could only operate at the level of ‘crowd control’.

Recreational facilities were almost non-existent. The indoor gym was out of commission for long periods of the Institution’s existence.

The Christian Brothers said in their Opening Statement that the Superior of Carriglea was the main person responsible for aftercare in the School. Very little documentary information was available concerning the provision of aftercare of boys in Carriglea. There were, however, some references to this in the Visitation Reports.

Visitation Reports indicated that past pupils returned to Carriglea for a visit or if their employment placement was unsatisfactory. The 1937 Visitation Report noted that: There is a tendency for boys to return to the Institution as they are undoubtedly well treated and perhaps too softly brought up with the result that when they leave and have to face the realities of life they are unable to stand up to them.

The Visitation Report of 1938 referred to this issue: ‘Recently, aftercare has begun to receive more attention’. This was due to the fact that a lay teacher was appointed to provide an aftercare service for boys upon their discharge. The 1938 Visitation Report noted that this lay teacher had visited 80 past pupils and had written a report on the condition of each of them. No reference was made to this practice of visiting ex-pupils in the Visitation Reports after 1938. It is, therefore, unclear whether this practice was continued.

In 1939, the Visitor commented on the financial expenses involved in the provision of aftercare: ‘Aftercare has become a problem and cost the Institution last year £112’. This Visitor also noted that a large number of past pupils had been involved in crime: ‘In recent times the number of the ex-pupils who are being arraigned before the courts is disturbing’.

The types of employment secured by the boys upon leaving Carriglea ranged from farm boys to factory boys, messengers, tailoring, waiters etc. Between the years 1940 and 1954, there were 181 boys placed directly into employment, which was approximately 12 boys per year.

Serious efforts were made after the Cussen Report to improve aftercare, but there is no evidence that this continued into the 1940s.

An issue that arose during the course of the oral hearings into Carriglea was how the boys were dealt with when the School closed down in June 1954. As stated above, the boys were transferred to a number of other industrial schools on 21st June 1954. However, evidence from a number of witnesses referred to the fact that they were given no prior notice of their transfer. Instead, they were informed of the decision to transfer them on the morning that they were due to leave, and no explanation was provided.

One witness recalled that none of the boys received prior warning about the transfer to Artane. On the day that he was transferred, he, along with the other boys, was told to get his belongings and go down to the schoolyard and then he was put on a bus. He eloquently summed up the effect of this lack of preparation and forewarning on him: It was just total bewilderment. It was totally distressing. I was already distressed being sent away from home at a young age. I was just starting to settle in there when I was uprooted and sent to Artane.

Another witness who was also transferred to Artane recounted a similar experience. He also said in evidence that the boys were not informed about the move prior to the transfer and, further, were not even told which school they were being sent to. He recalled that there was no discussion or talk whatsoever about the closure of Carriglea; it was kept very quiet. He described the events of the morning of the transfer: Buses came in, we were bussed off ... Some went all over different parts of Ireland. They were friends I had for five years and I never seen them again.