- Volume 1
- Volume 2
-
Volume 3
- Introduction
- Methodology
- Social and demographic profile of witnesses
- Circumstances of admission
- Family contact
- Everyday life experiences (male witnesses)
- Record of abuse (male witnesses)
- Everyday life experiences (female witnesses)
- Record of abuse (female witnesses)
- Positive memories and experiences
- Current circumstances
- Introduction to Part 2
- Special needs schools and residential services
- Children’s Homes
- Foster care
- Hospitals
- Primary and second-level schools
- Residential Laundries, Novitiates, Hostels and other settings
- Concluding comments
- Volume 4
Chapter 11 — Glin
BackReligious Congregations’ evidence
In 1894, Bishop Dwyer of Limerick proposed to the Local Government Board that children currently residing in workhouses of Counties Limerick and north Kerry should be gathered into a District School under the management of the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy. This District School was housed in the old workhouse buildings at Glin. In 1920, workhouses throughout Ireland closed and, in 1924, the Board of Health decided to close Glin District School. By 1926, the School ceased to exist.
The move to Glin
In 1894, Bishop Dwyer of Limerick proposed to the Local Government Board that children currently residing in workhouses of Counties Limerick and north Kerry should be gathered into a District School under the management of the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy. This District School was housed in the old workhouse buildings at Glin. In 1920, workhouses throughout Ireland closed and, in 1924, the Board of Health decided to close Glin District School. By 1926, the School ceased to exist.
The Christian Brothers petitioned the Department of Education that St Joseph’s Industrial School be transferred to this site from the now-overcrowded building in Sexton Street. The Minister for Education recommended the transfer to Glin, subject to a satisfactory report by the Inspector of Schools on the suitability of the buildings, and provided certain alterations and improvements were made to the existing buildings. Renovation and improvement works costing £15,000 were carried out. It involved the installation of a new hot water heating system, dining hall, infirmary, chapel, new floors in the dormitories, new windows and doors, new steam presses and new cookers.
The Christian Brothers petitioned the Department of Education that St Joseph’s Industrial School be transferred to this site from the now-overcrowded building in Sexton Street. The Minister for Education recommended the transfer to Glin, subject to a satisfactory report by the Inspector of Schools on the suitability of the buildings, and provided certain alterations and improvements were made to the existing buildings. Renovation and improvement works costing £15,000 were carried out. It involved the installation of a new hot water heating system, dining hall, infirmary, chapel, new floors in the dormitories, new windows and doors, new steam presses and new cookers.
In June 1928, the staff and boys of St Joseph’s Industrial School moved to their new premises at Glin, some 50 kilometres from Limerick City. Despite the alterations, it was never a suitable building for a boys’ residential school. A letter from the Brother Provincial on 14th November 1961 suggested it did not become the property of the Christian Brothers. He wrote, ‘Glin was the only workhouse that was handed over to us and hence the only Industrial School for which we are paying rent to the Department of Health’. Correspondence with the Christian Brothers confirmed that Glin never became the property of the Christian Brothers, but was leased at a yearly rent of £40 from Limerick Health Authority. In 1970, the premises were returned to the Authority.
In June 1928, the staff and boys of St Joseph’s Industrial School moved to their new premises at Glin, some 50 kilometres from Limerick City. Despite the alterations, it was never a suitable building for a boys’ residential school. A letter from the Brother Provincial on 14th November 1961 suggested it did not become the property of the Christian Brothers. He wrote, ‘Glin was the only workhouse that was handed over to us and hence the only Industrial School for which we are paying rent to the Department of Health’. Correspondence with the Christian Brothers confirmed that Glin never became the property of the Christian Brothers, but was leased at a yearly rent of £40 from Limerick Health Authority. In 1970, the premises were returned to the Authority.
The majority of boys who were committed to Glin through the courts came from impoverished and dysfunctional backgrounds. Some were committed for criminal offences. Court orders and School registers retained by the Christian Brothers show that, during the period 1940 to 1966, a total of 759 boys, of whom 131 were illegitimate, were committed to the School.
The majority of boys who were committed to Glin through the courts came from impoverished and dysfunctional backgrounds. Some were committed for criminal offences. Court orders and School registers retained by the Christian Brothers show that, during the period 1940 to 1966, a total of 759 boys, of whom 131 were illegitimate, were committed to the School.
The number of children in Glin grew during the 1930s and 1940s, reaching a peak of 212 in 1949 and 1950. There was a steady decline in numbers during the 1950s and 1960s, and the School was closed in 1966, at which stage there were 48 boys in residence. The following table sets out the numbers of boys in the School:
| Year | Number under detention |
|---|---|
| 1937 | 172 |
| 1938 | 154 |
| 1939 | 158 |
| 1940 | 158 |
| 1941 | 187 |
| 1942 | 200 |
| 1943 | 208 |
| 1944 | 200 |
| 1945 | 206 |
| 1946 | 208 |
| 1947 | 211 |
| 1948 | 211 |
| 1949 | 212 |
| 1950 | 212 |
| 1951 | 203 |
| 1952 | 187 |
| 1953 | 182 |
| 1954 | 190 |
| 1955 | 160 |
| 1956 | 142 |
| 1957 | 133 |
| 1958 | 123 |
| 1959 | 120 |
| 1960 | 103 |
| 1961 | 91 |
| 1962 | 90 |
| 1963 | 82 |
| 1964 | 80 |
| 1965 | 68 |
| 1966 |
48 |
The number of children in Glin grew during the 1930s and 1940s, reaching a peak of 212 in 1949 and 1950. There was a steady decline in numbers during the 1950s and 1960s, and the School was closed in 1966, at which stage there were 48 boys in residence. The following table sets out the numbers of boys in the School:
| Year | Number under detention |
|---|---|
| 1937 | 172 |
| 1938 | 154 |
| 1939 | 158 |
| 1940 | 158 |
| 1941 | 187 |
| 1942 | 200 |
| 1943 | 208 |
| 1944 | 200 |
| 1945 | 206 |
| 1946 | 208 |
| 1947 | 211 |
| 1948 | 211 |
| 1949 | 212 |
| 1950 | 212 |
| 1951 | 203 |
| 1952 | 187 |
| 1953 | 182 |
| 1954 | 190 |
| 1955 | 160 |
| 1956 | 142 |
| 1957 | 133 |
| 1958 | 123 |
| 1959 | 120 |
| 1960 | 103 |
| 1961 | 91 |
| 1962 | 90 |
| 1963 | 82 |
| 1964 | 80 |
| 1965 | 68 |
| 1966 |
48 |
The average age of boys committed to Glin was nine years and 10 months, and the average stay of these boys was five years and eight months.
The average age of boys committed to Glin was nine years and 10 months, and the average stay of these boys was five years and eight months.
Mr Dunleavy BL, in his report on Glin Industrial School, examined the reasons for boys being admitted. During the period 1940 to 1947, he tabulated his findings as follows:
| Reason for admission | Number |
|---|---|
| Destitution | 111 |
| Larceny | 62 |
| Not attending school | 61 |
| Wandering | 49 |
| Having a parent not a proper guardian | 38 |
| Parents unable to control child | 12 |
| Receiving alms | 10 |
| Being under the care of a parent with criminal habits | 6 |
| Homelessness | 5 |
| Fraudulent conversion | 2 |
| Housebreaking | 2 |
| Assault | 2 |
| Malicious damage | 2 |
| Total |
362 |
Mr Dunleavy BL, in his report on Glin Industrial School, examined the reasons for boys being admitted. During the period 1940 to 1947, he tabulated his findings as follows:
| Reason for admission | Number |
|---|---|
| Destitution | 111 |
| Larceny | 62 |
| Not attending school | 61 |
| Wandering | 49 |
| Having a parent not a proper guardian | 38 |
| Parents unable to control child | 12 |
| Receiving alms | 10 |
| Being under the care of a parent with criminal habits | 6 |
| Homelessness | 5 |
| Fraudulent conversion | 2 |
| Housebreaking | 2 |
| Assault | 2 |
| Malicious damage | 2 |
| Total |
362 |
His examination of the data revealed that, apart from one 12-year-old boy who was sentenced for a period of one and a half years, ‘not one of the boys above was committed for less than the maximum period allowed by law’. In short, no boy was to leave the School before the age of 16.
Footnotes
- This is a pseudonym.
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- Fr Flanagan was an Irish priest who lived and worked in the United States. He opened his first boys’ home in 1917, which later moved to another location and became known as ‘Boys Town’. He became an acknowledged expert in the field of childcare. He visited Ireland in 1946.
- This is a pseudonym.
- For a full discussion of Father Flanagan’s visit to Ireland see Dáire Keogh ‘There’s no such thing as a bad boy’: Fr Flanagan’s visit to Ireland, 1946, History IRELAND, 12, 1 (Spring 2004) 29-32 and the discussion of his article by Eoin O’Sullivan and Mary Raftery in the letters section of History IRELAND 12,4 (Winter 2004)
- Fr Flanagan was influenced by Walter Mahon-Smith’s book, I did penal servitude, published anonymously.
- This is a pseudonym.
- Dr Anna McCabe was the Department of Education Inspector for most of the relevant period. See Department of Education chapter for a discussion of her role and performance.
- This is a pseudonym.
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- This is a pseudonym.
- This is a pseudonym.
- This is the English version of Mr O Siochfhradha
- This is a pseudonym.
- This is the Irish version of Mr Sugrue
- This is a pseudonym.
- Note there is no indication from the correspondence dealing with the matter that anyone was sent down to investigate the matter. The discovery indicates that the matter was dealt with entirely by correspondence.
- ‘Strong hand’ in Irish.
- This is a pseudonym.
- This is a pseudonym.
- Provided in the research paper produced by John McCormack cfc.