Chapter 15 — Daingean

Introduction

At this time the thinking within the Department of Education was for drastic change, with the need for such measures an urgent priority. The Minister for Education, Mr Derrig, had paid a visit to Glencree and had ‘formed the opinion that it would be difficult to make the buildings suitable for their purpose’. Moreover, the memorandum added, ‘The management did not impress the Minister as being efficient or satisfactory’.

The Department had gone so far as to consult the Presentation Brothers about the matter, but the urgent need for economy forced the Department to ‘defer consideration of the proposal to change the Reformatory to new accommodation and management, and to try to get the premises at Glencree improved as much as possible’.

The outbreak of war in 1939 meant all plans had to be suspended. The Resident Manager of Glencree wrote to the Department, acknowledging the appalling conditions there and the debts owed by the School to the parishes and to the Oblate Congregation totalling over £3,200.

These appalling conditions were confirmed by an inspection carried out for the Department, which made it quite clear that remaining at Glencree was not an option, and that it would be more economical in the long run to provide suitable accommodation elsewhere: roofs, staircases and floors required replacing; the roofs of the workshops leaked and one section of the first floor was too dangerous to be in use; walls were falling outwards and would have to be rebuilt; the bake house was ‘dark, dirty, and thoroughly unhygienic’; washbasins had only cold water supplied ‘from a small hole in the water pipe placed above the basins’; the only plunge bath was an old iron one in the corner of the building; the whole ‘ablution system’ was obsolete, unhygienic and a danger to health; and the lavatory accommodation was described as ‘appalling’.

With the necessity of finding a replacement for Glencree, various options were investigated and, finally, a meeting was held on 17th November 1939, attended by the Taoiseach, Eamon De Valera (who was also the Minister for Education), the Provincial of the Oblates, the Manager of Glencree and the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Education. Fr Giancarlo,2 the Resident Manager of Glencree, put a temporary solution forward that was to become a permanent one, which was that accommodation might be found at Daingean, if other provision could be made for the students there at present. Daingean was held by the Oblates on a 99-year lease from the Government. The surrounding farm was owned outright by the Congregation. Fr Giancarlo explained that the buildings at Daingean had been considerably improved and the former dormitory accommodation remained. Since the premises at present housed about 170 students and staff, he thought that should be sufficient for the Reformatory for a time.

The question of accommodating the Reformatory permanently at Daingean was considered and a number of difficulties were discussed, such as the distance from Dublin and the complications that arose because additional buildings would need to be erected by the Government on land that it did not own.

As regards the objection of the distance from Dublin and the difficulty for parents visiting the boys, Fr Giancarlo contended that this would have the advantage of preventing undesirable visits (from boys’ former companions) which took place at present at Glencree. He also asserted that parents would not mind travelling by bus to Daingean occasionally, and suggested that a system of permits might be arranged which would possibly entitle them to reduced bus fares. There is no evidence that such a system was ever established.

Additional buildings were necessary for the permanent accommodation of the Reformatory at Daingean. There was a problem for the Government in erecting these, because they did not own the farm, and the Provincial suggested that his Congregation might dispose of the farm to the Government in order to overcome this. The other difficulty mentioned involved the provision of alternative accommodation for the Oblate students at present at Daingean, and the Provincial undertook to make enquiries and consult his Council to see what could be done.

Mr Eamon de Valera, who was both An Taoiseach and Minister for Education from September 1939 to June 1940, visited the buildings in November 1939, and the decision to move from Glencree to Daingean was made.

On Tuesday 6th August 1940, Garda Transport Authorities transported 205 boys from Glencree to Daingean. The Garda escort was in civilian clothes. The mattresses and bedclothes were transported in a large open truck on the same day. Fr Giancarlo had sought tarpaulin covers from the Gardaí to cover the trucks but this could not be provided. We are not told if the sun shone down on this unusual convoy.

Far from being what the Department of Education wanted, ‘a new institution, properly equipped’, offering ‘... better accommodation and under different management’, the Reformatory moved from one old barracks that was always in need of extensive repairs to another old barracks in need of extensive building and upkeep, and under the same management.

Daingean had a different financial arrangement from other residential institutions. The summary of this arrangement was as follows: 1. The Government was to purchase from the Oblate Fathers the farm and its buildings for £4,500. 2. The Government would pay the Oblate Fathers for the additions and improvements they had made while Daingean was in use as a college. The sum agreed was £6,000. 3. The managers of the Reformatory would pay an annual rent for the farm and premises of £350. 4. The Government would make a special grant of £2,500 towards the debts incurred by the Reformatory at Glencree.

The most novel aspect of these proposals was the fact that the Department was now responsible for new buildings and for repairs, with day-to-day maintenance the responsibility of the Congregation. Because they no longer owned the premises the Oblates did not have to find the money themselves for capital expenses but could submit estimates for the work needed, and the State would pay provided it was done within budget. The rent agreed, at point three above, took this fact into account, ‘since the present grants to Reformatories are intended to defray the full cost of maintenance,’ this rent was to return to Government coffers some of the additional maintenance costs agreed. It also had ‘regard to the fact that it [the farm] will represent a substantial contribution towards the maintenance of the inmates and staff of the institution’.

When the terms of this agreement were put to the Department of Finance, strong objections were raised. The letter sent by Mr J. E. Hanna, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Finance, is worth quoting in full: Dear O’Dubhthaigh, I have read your letter of the 25th ultimo regarding the question of new accommodation for the Boys’ Reformatory School. The information contained therein raises a number of points which, I think, it would be well to have clarified before even tentative approval is given to the proposals outlined in your letter. 1.As you are aware, the Daingean premises are State property but the Oblate Order were given a 99-year lease of them, with the option to determine the lease at 7-year intervals. If the Daingean premises are to be used for the purposes of a reformatory, will it be necessary to determine the existing lease? That lease provides that any improvements effected during the term of the lease will enure to the State on the surrender of the lease. In the circumstances, there would seem to be a case for not making any grant to the Order in respect of improvements effected since 1932. Apart from this question, the responsibility of the Order in regard to maintenance, improvement, etc., of the premises in the future would have to be clearly defined. When the Reformatory was situated previously at Daingean the Oblate Order were responsible for repairs, maintenance, etc. I assume that a similar responsibility will devolve upon them in the future, if Daingean is again used as a boys’ reformatory. If not, it may be necessary to consider a reduction of the State grants. 2.I cannot say that I can see any convincing reason for the proposal that the State should purchase the Oblates’ farm. It may be that you contemplate that, in the event of the lease of the buildings being surrendered so as to allow their reversion to the State, the State should assume ownership of the farm as well, the Oblate Order standing in the position of agents of the Minister for Education in regard to the conduct of the Reformatory. If that should be the position and the State should purchase the farm, it would seem reasonable that any profit arising on the farm should accrue to the State. In this connection I note that, in 1927, £567 was realised from the sale of farm produce, after the needs of the Institution had been met. Unless the annual surplus on the farm were to accrue to the State it would seem that the State would be paying twice over for the farm. As the grants should enable the Reformatory to be conducted in a satisfactory manner, the profits on the farm should not be diverted to the Order. 3.As regards the debts on Glencree, it is possibly the case that they have mainly arisen in consequence of the inadequacy of the State and local grants in the past. To the extent, however, that they may be due to improvements at Glencree, the benefit of which will accrue to the Order, I think it only fair that the State should be relieved of that portion of the debt. 4.Have you considered what the position of the State in relation to the Reformatory premises, etc., will be in the event of the Order deciding at any time in the future to discontinue the work? I assume that, if such a contingency should arise, the buildings, with the furniture, equipment, etc., which have been bought from State Funds would revert to the State, free of all claim by the Order. 5.It seems to me that the Oblate Order see considerable advantage to themselves in the transfer of their Novitiate to Kilkenny. I assume that the proposal that Daingean should be used as a reformatory in the future came from the Order. 6.In furnishing these observations, I am at the disadvantage that I do not know what you intend should be the position of the State vis a vis the Order in regard to the Reformatory premises, and the farm. The position does not seem to be quite clear, and my observations are directed mainly with the object of anticipating difficulties in the matter, which may arise at a later stage. I shall be glad to hear further from you at your convenience. Yours sincerely, J.E. Hanna

In fact, many of Mr Hanna’s assumptions had been negotiated away. The Oblates were no longer to be responsible for anything other than day-to-day upkeep and maintenance, as they had been when the Reformatory was situated previously at Daingean, and the State was going to buy the farm but was going to get an annual rent in return, which at £350 was considerably less than the profit made from the sale of farm produce in 1927. He was accurate in his conclusion that ‘the Oblate Order see considerable advantage to themselves in the transfer of their Novitiate to Kilkenny’, and was also correct in his assumption ‘... that the proposal that Daingean should be used as a reformatory in the future came from the Order’. By the time this letter was written, however, matters had progressed too far. The need to get the new Daingean up and running as soon as possible meant that many of his concerns had to be shelved.