Chapter 10 — Carriglea

Physical abuse

He was fully aware of the hardship he would face on leaving the Congregation, having spent most of his life there, but had no doubt whatsoever that it was the lesser of two evils. He literally begged the Superior General to accede to his request. His plea fell on deaf ears and, once more, his request was refused.

Br Rene accepted the decision of the General Council but his personal torment and anguish did not subside. He made a further plea five years later, at the age of 55. He referred to a previous letter from the Vicar General of the General Council and wrote: My devotion to duty to which you so kindly refer actually did much harm. Lacking every qualification for the work in Carriglea I had recourse to harshness and severity. As a result many of the past pupils have lost the faith and some are active, capable and influential communists. When these become sufficiently vocal it may be some help to the Brothers if they can say concerning me and in defence of the Congregation he is not in the Order now. I recall the relief it was to the Brothers to be able to say this about another ... years ago when a Dáil deputy spoke bitterly of the punishment he received in school from the man concerned. My utter failure in Carriglea caused me great remorse. Having no fitness for the work it was only to be expected that my efforts would result in failure and harm.

He received a reply from the Vicar General, a copy of which is not available, but it is clear from the subsequent letter of Br Rene that he was advised to discuss the matter with a priest. In Br Rene’s final appeal, dated 12th June 1952, he stated that he had first sought the advice of a priest on the matter some 30 years previously, even before he had taken his final vows, and had frequently sought the counsel of priests since. He stated: I have been told I am not normal and the attitude of others convinces me that there is considerable support for this opinion. It may account to some extent for my perplexity and unhappiness as it may be the consequence of years of effort to deal with work for which I was not fitted.

The Vicar General responded on 24th June 1952, informing Br Rene that his application had been submitted to the Sacred Congregation of Religious in Rome and that they had decided that he should remain in the Congregation. He commended Br Rene on his splendid work within the Congregation. The Vicar General conceded that ‘the nervous tension from which you have been suffering is admittedly a sore trial’, but assured him that such anguish was not confined to those within the religious community. He concluded that Br Rene should accept with resignation the decision made by his representatives. In doing so you will find your peace of mind restored and your happiness here as well as hereafter assured. Do not attempt becoming a judge of your own case. That would be the height of folly.

At this stage, Br Rene seems to have accepted his fate, and there is no record of any further applications seeking a dispensation. He remained with the Congregation until his death in the 1970s.

The stress and anxiety Br Rene endured whilst managing Carriglea were described in a letter he wrote to the Department of Education, responding to criticisms made by Dr Anna McCabe9 following her inspection of the School in 1939.

Br Rene confirmed that he was severe on the boys in Carriglea. He was one of the few Brothers in the Community who could exercise control over the boys and he shouldered a large amount of responsibility in the day-to-day running of the School. In an environment where he had little or no support, it is not surprising that a heavy-handed approach to discipline was adopted at times. This case revealed the misery of a member of the Community who sought release by way of dispensation. However, the Councils both in Ireland and Rome decided that they knew his interests better than he did. The case also revealed how this Brother perceived himself and his colleagues in industrial schools. Br Rene was regarded by the authorities as badly educated, and by his own estimation he was hopelessly unqualified for his work. This deficiency in training and qualification caused him great personal anguish. Despite this fact, he held a senior position in Carriglea for 12 years.

By 1945, there was ‘a notable lack of union and harmony in the Community’. The new Superior did not fit in. He was aloof and odd in his behaviour. He had ‘little or no contact with Brothers or boys and ... generally disregards any representations made for the better working of the institution’. In an already troubled environment this was a recipe for disaster. Matters were not helped by the transfer of Br Rene, who had exerted a positive influence and exercised firm discipline over the boys. In his absence the burden of supervision fell to a disproportionately small number of Brothers, with the result that they were involved from dawn to dusk with the boys, with little or no respite. This strain left them ‘discouraged and dissatisfied’. To add to their stress, there was a particularly quarrelsome and disruptive Brother who exerted undue influence over others.

The result of this poisoned atmosphere between the Brothers was borderline anarchy among the boys. The Visitation Report for 1945 described the situation: The boys were very much out of hand during the past year and showed a very rebellious spirit. Boohing the Brothers was not uncommon and they refused, more than once, to submit to control. They made a determined attempt on one occasion to burn down the place and had actually got a fire going in one of the dormitories before they were discovered.

Furthermore, the Visitation Report noted that not only were the boys rebellious, but there was widescale sexual activity amongst them. It was recorded that ‘immoral practices were rife’ to such an extent that even ‘boys of eleven years of age have been discovered practising immorality with one another’.

The Visitor was in no doubt as to the root of this insubordination: This unfortunate state of affairs has been brought about by weak discipline, lack of suitable occupation and an insufficiency of games and other amusements.

Less than 50 boys were involved in trades training, and more than half of these were engaged on a part-time basis. Over 200 boys were left to spend their time outside school hours ‘lolling about the yard where they pick up most of their vicious habits’. The Visitor concluded that: the morals of the boys cannot be expected to improve until they are provided with more games and amusements and a much bigger number kept occupied at trades.

In his 1945 Report, the Visitor alluded to an even more sinister development. He noted that four workmen employed in the School received bed and board as part of their remuneration. Their sleeping cubicles were in or near the boys’ dormitories. The Visitor was informed by one of the Brothers that boys had been observed going into one of the workmen’s rooms several times. The Visitor was as much concerned by the fact that these workmen caused trouble in the kitchen, partaking in gossip and criticising their meals, as he was about the danger this man posed to the boys. A member of the General Council wrote to the Brother Provincial on 22nd October 1945, following receipt of the Visitation Report on Carriglea. He noted the ‘low standards in every department’ and blamed the elderly age profile of the staff. In his view, the staff required a complete overhaul. He surmised, ‘sin prevails in the school’.

The proposed staff overhaul took place and, by November 1946, only two of the 11 members of the previous year’s Community remained: the much criticised Superior, and another Brother, Br Durrant,10 whose only duty was to take care of the sacristy. Seven Brothers were transferred into Carriglea, and nine Brothers were transferred out of the Institution.11

Amongst the Brothers transferred to Carriglea was Br Maslin12, who had spent the previous five years in Letterfrack. He had also spent over a year in Tralee prior to that. He had a ferocious reputation as Disciplinarian in Letterfrack, to the extent that a Brother felt compelled to complain to a Visitor from the Provincial Council during an annual Visitation. In a letter outlining his concerns, he wrote that the Disciplinarian ‘can inflict terrible punishment on children and the boys have a awful dread of his anger’. The nub of the Brother’s concern, which he shared with other members of the Letterfrack Community, was that the Disciplinarian was happy to mete out severe punishment on the flimsiest of evidence, particularly if the alleged crime was sexual activity amongst boys.