Chapter 12 — Salthill

Neglect and emotional abuse

The payment of salaries to the internal national school teachers saw the number of Brothers assigned to the School increase by two, and a marked improvement in the standard of education was noted in 1941.

However, the 1943 Visitation Report was critical of the standard of education in the higher classes. The Visitor found that the boys in 3rd, 4th and 5th standards were ‘quite unable to read the lessons in our Readers which are in use’ and he cautioned that ‘if proper steps are not taken some of these boys may leave the school in a semi-illiterate condition’.

The 1958 Report offered what was probably the explanation for the poor standard in the senior classes. It observed that the teacher in charge of infants and first standard was not efficient. The Visitor noted: He is partially paralysed and his writing on Blackboard is nearly illegible for an adult to read and hence it must make no impression on the boys of the age group he has. I examined these boys in Christian Doctrine, English Reading, and tables. It could not be said that the boys were hopeless but they were certainly retarded for boys 7 years of age. It would also seem that the poor teaching they get in this class tells on the whole Primary School. According to age groups they would all be retarded by one year.

He recommended that the teacher be asked to retire, even if this meant that the Brothers had to supplement the difference in his pension due to his early retirement.

In March 1959, the Visitor noted that the teacher mentioned in the 1958 Report was still in the School: ‘The poor man is physically unfit to take charge and teach boys’. As he was a registered teacher, the Brothers had difficulty removing him. The Visitor believed that the boys’ schooling got off to a bad start under this man’s tutelage.

During the Visitation of March 1961, the Principal pointed out that on average, one-third of boys in each class were below the normal standard and said that the majority of boys who fell into this category came from County Homes. The Visitor noted that the Brothers had still not succeeded in getting rid of the teacher in charge of the younger boys..

In 1973, due to dwindling numbers, the boys were transferred to the local primary school.

It is difficult to see how a teacher with the disabilities as outlined above could have given the boys in Salthill any kind of basic education. He was listed as a teacher in the School for 25 years.

In their 1972 report to the Department of Education, the Irish Countrywomen’s Association were critical of the education offered in Salthill: 2.6 We recognise that education is one of the most important formative influences on the children with whome we are concerned, whether they are deprived or delinquent. All children in Residential Care or otherwise in care, should be educated to the ultimate of their capacities ... In the past five years no boy in St Joseph’s, Salthill ... has got either Intermediate or Leaving Certificate. As far as we know, no child ever got this far ...

Although contact with families was recognised as essential as far back as 1936 when the Cussen Report was published, Salthill, like many other industrial schools, was reluctant to allow children home for the full period recommended by the Department, which had been extended to 31 days in 1943.

In 1944, the Resident Manager was asked to explain why 126 children out of the School population of 207 had not been allowed home during the Summer. The Resident Manager expressed his view that: I believe the homes were unsuitable but one does not like saying so to a boy. Even though parental unsuitability is cited in only 17% of committals, in my opinion a much higher percentage could be got under this heading but guards33 and NSPCC inspectors often, or sometimes, when they are sure of a committal, take proceedings under a less obnoxious heading such as School attendance.

There was no evidence that the Resident Manager made any enquiries about the home situation of the boys, but the letter quoted above indicated a reluctance to encourage parental contact.

It was not until 1959 that efforts were made to ensure that all boys spent time in an ordinary home environment. An appeal for holiday homes was made in the local Catholic newspapers, and families came forward and took the boys for five weeks during the summer. From then onwards, all of the boys were sent on holidays either to their own family or to a host family.

The Brothers relied on Dr McCabe’s reports in defending the School from criticism. While they acknowledged her adverse comments on such matters as clothing and dental care, they contended that the ‘individual reports from Dr McCabe are uniformly good stating that the school is well managed, that the Resident Manager is kind and has the interests of the boys at heart’. They concluded that the ’standard of care provided in St Joseph’s Salthill from the documentations furnished shows that it was continually high. Faults and deficiencies were pointed out where they arose and were quickly rectified’.

The Submissions did not comment on the very different assessments in their own Visitation Reports. It is to the credit of the Congregation that their inspection system gave rise to such candid appraisals. These reports by senior members of the Congregation, which were compiled for internal use, cannot be ignored. Where they conflict with more neutral Department observations, they are to be preferred in point of accuracy and specificity.