Chapter 10 — Carriglea

Emotional abuse and neglect

In the 1953 Visitation Report, the views of the Brothers were recorded and noted that none of them spoke highly of the boys. The boys were recorded as being ‘tough’ and ‘secretive and to require a firm hand’. However, discipline was generally perceived as good. The Visitor found all departments of the School clean and well maintained.

The final inspection of the School by Dr McCabe took place in January 1954, as the school closed in June of that year. On her last visit to the School, Dr McCabe spoke highly of the new Resident Manager and, in particular, of the improvements he had made. She commented that he had spent £2,000 on these. She noted that additional indoor games had been introduced, electric lights were added to the dormitories, and all mattresses and beds were restored and re-sprung. Food, diet and sanitation were found to be very good. Again, whilst noting that the clothing had improved, Dr McCabe was of the opinion that more needed to be done in that area.

For much of the review period, Carriglea was a dilapidated and run-down institution, with poor sanitary conditions and a lack of hygiene and cleanliness, both of the boys themselves and the premises. The boys were not properly clothed and went barefoot during the summer, despite the availability of adequate funds. The improvements noted by Dr McCabe took place within months of the Institution closing as an industrial school and reopening as a juniorate. The boys in care did not enjoy the benefit of these improvements.

The Christian Brothers in their Submission asserted that the standard of primary education in Carriglea was ‘very good considering the standard of the pupils at intake which was very weak’.

The primary school was located in the grounds of Carriglea. Even after the Cussen Report, the boys did not attend the local national school, as recommended. All boys under 14 years of age attended the internal primary school for five hours each day. There were six classes taught by three Brothers and three lay teachers. The primary classes ranged from infants to 7th class. The classes ranged in size from 38 to 61 pupils, with an average of 52. The school followed the national syllabus and curriculum that pertained nationwide in all primary schools. From the documents furnished, the school was rated very highly in terms of its primary education.

One witness said he had received a good primary education in Carriglea. Another said he could not read when he left but he conceded that he had been academically backward when he went to the School.

Br Rene, who held the positions of Superior and Sub-Superior during the 1930s until the mid-1940s, laid great emphasis on literary education, and this was reflected in the standard of education in Carriglea.

In 1938 the Visitor stated that the boys ‘... give evidence of good teaching and would I believe compare favourably with corresponding classes in our day schools’. However, he pointed out that the training of the boys on the cultural side was weak, particularly as no music was taught, or dancing or drama.

There was a report from a three-day general Inspection of the school by Mr Teegan, the Inspector of Schools of the Department of Education dated March 1941: This is a pleasing school to inspect. The behaviour of the boys leaves nothing to be desired and they have been trained to use their intelligence and to be self-reliant.

He added: The satisfactory standard of proficiency noted previously is more than maintained and there is every indication that a still higher level will be soon attained.

In 1944, the Visitor commented that the education was: ... too academic for boys that will at least in most cases have to depend on manual capability for their livelihood. There is no physical drill, no manual instruction, no band, no dancing and only an indifferent interest in singing. One would look for most, if not all, these activities in a school such as this. The alleged reason for dropping the manual instruction is based on the difficulty of getting timber.

In 1948 and 1949, 29 boys sat the Primary Certificate examination and all passed. Likewise in 1950, 28 boys sat the examination and all passed.

During the 1930s, manual instruction and drawing classes were taught by one Brother. These were taught to the senior boys, and the classes were marked as excellent in the 1936 Visitation Report. In 1941, drawing and manual instruction were removed as subjects for the senior boys, as they were eating into the literary subjects curriculum, as laid down by the Department.

These subjects were not taught from 1942 to 1947 in the School, much to the dismay of the Congregation Visitors. The Visitor in 1942 was critical that woodwork was not taught in the School, as he considered it to be of ‘great educational value’. He highlighted the fact that one of the Brothers in the Community was qualified to teach woodwork, and recommended its immediate re-introduction. He was also of the view that such work ‘offered most valuable training to boys who have to take up manual work as a means of livelihood’. Again, in 1943, the Visitor criticised the fact that manual instruction was not taught: The Manual Instruction Room is still locked up and there is no Manual Instruction given these boys to whom it would be so helpful later on. The excuse offered was that Br Durrant could not get wood in Dublin.

However, these subjects were re-introduced into the School in 1948 and continued until its closure in 1954.