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Chapter 7 — Artane

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Sexual abuse

350

In conclusion: The School was driven to take action only when there was a threat to expose the behaviour of Br Herve. The Provincial expressed sympathy for, rather than criticism of, the Superior. The offending Brother was considered to be an unfortunate man who was ‘more to be pitied than censured’. There was relief that worse did not happen, having regard to the known habits of Br Herve. The Congregation was aware of the harm Br Herve was inflicting on children in his care, but did nothing to alleviate it or to ascertain the full extent of the damage. Sending a Brother with this history to a residential school for boys was reckless and dangerous, and showed a disregard for the safety of children in care.

351

Br Gustav began teaching in the O’Brien Institute in the 1920s. Three boys made written statements in which they alleged that ‘they had been immodestly handled’ by him on a number of occasions. These written statements no longer exist. The matter was considered so serious that it was referred to the General Council for consideration. At his trial before the General Council, the Brother ‘admitted immodesty in each case stated but not as gross as specified’.

352

The General Council issued a Canonical Warning to Br Gustav and imposed as a penance the daily recital of the Miserere for six months. A further condition was his transfer out of Dublin, with the injunction that he was not to return without the leave of the General Council. It was conceded in the minutes of the General Council meeting that this Brother had been dealt with very leniently: This lenient treatment of [Br Gustav] is largely due to the man’s age and, although it was not told him, to his very low condition of health.

353

After these events, the Brother was transferred frequently from school to school in the north of Ireland, spending on average two years in each, before being assigned to Artane for a short period prior to his retirement to Baldoyle. No allegations were made against him in Artane.

354

No dispensation or expulsion was sought in respect of Br Gustav. Although ill-health was suggested as the reason for leniency, he remained a Christian Brother until his death some 19 years after the charges were brought.

355

Br Leroi60 was accused of sexually abusing boys in Artane in 1944. His personal card retained by the Congregation stated, ‘Evidence of immoral relations with boys in Artane came to light’. This Brother sought a dispensation from his vows and left the Congregation in 1944, and the Department of Education service history records Artane as his last teaching post.

356

Br Laurent, who gave evidence to the Investigation Committee, said: ... he came to Artane the same year as I was there. We arrived at the same time. The outgoing [Superior] said to Br Leroi ‘you are not welcome here’. Probably some accusation had been made about Br Leroi and because of that then he was sent to Artane.

357

The second case involved Br Tristan61 who worked in the kitchen. He was found to have sexually abused a number of boys following complaints made by the boys themselves. He was tried by the General Council in 1944 and was unanimously adjudged guilty. When the charges were laid against him, he: denied “some” of the matter of each charge, admitted “jostling” or “wrestling”, said he had “no bad intention” and “never lay on any boy” in the back-store so often referred to by boys. He admitted “tricking” with several boys, denied “touching” a boy’s face or body.

358

The minutes recorded that the abuse had occurred frequently over a long period of time. The boys had given detailed written statements, which indicated long, continuous and frequent wrong-doing on the part of this Brother.

359

These statements were not discovered to the Committee and would appear not to have survived in the records of the Congregation. The General Council voted unanimously to expel him. He appealed the decision to the Apostolic Visitor, who advised him to seek a dispensation from his vows, which he duly did. The dispensation was granted and he left the Congregation in 1944.

360

Br Tristan had arrived in Artane in the early 1940s under a cloud of suspicion from Carriglea Park Industrial School, where he had served on the staff for a year. From the records, it appears that he had been given a Canonical Warning because of ‘an incident’ that arose during his time in Carriglea before he was sent to Artane. No details are provided as to the exact nature of this incident. It also appears that he was transferred to Carriglea from a training college under suspicious circumstances. Again, no details are given of his time in this college, where he was stationed during the 1930s, or what warranted his removal. The minutes of the meeting of the General Council, where the details of this Brother’s trial in the Artane case are recorded, stated that he: ... was also reminded of the causes of his removal from [the training college] and Carriglea – a Canonical Warning had been given him re Carriglea incident.

361

Br Julien,62 the third Brother who was found guilty of sexually abusing boys, was a non-teaching Brother who had served two terms in Artane and had spent seven years in Salthill in the 1930s. His personal card stated: ‘Clear evidence came to light of serious, long-continued misconduct with boys in Artane’.

362

Br Julien applied for dispensation from his vows, which was granted and he left the Congregation. The documents did not give any details of the nature of the abuse that this Brother had engaged in with the boys, and there were no documents concerning how the allegations came to light or what investigation was carried out.

363

Br Edgard,63 the fourth Brother who was dismissed from Artane in 1944, was a teaching Brother who was not yet a fully professed member of the Congregation. In this case, the statements of six boys who complained of sexual abuse by the Brother were furnished in discovery. The boys ranged in age from 11 to 14 years. The case of this Brother was the only one that provided any information as to the nature of the sexual abuse that was alleged. The allegations were of fondling of their private parts, tickling their bodies, and embracing them. The incidents occurred in the classroom, in the Brother’s own room and in the boys’ dormitory. Br Edgard was transferred to a Dublin day school and was shortly thereafter refused permission to take final vows and left the Congregation. The Department of Education service history recorded the Dublin day school as his last teaching post.

364

The Visitation Report dated 30th October 1944 referred to the dismissal of these Brothers who were ‘accused of irregularities’. No direct reference was made to the fact that they had sexually abused boys in the School, it merely referred to ‘irregularities’ being ‘discovered some weeks ago in the Institution’. The Visitor who wrote this report took the view that ‘there was nothing to be alarmed at’ and went on to state that: In our Institutions it should be considered a very grave offence for a Br. to take a boy to his room on any pretext, or to be seen alone with a boy on any occasion.


Footnotes
  1. Report on Artane Industrial School for the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse by Ciaran Fahy, Consulting Engineer (see Appendix 1).
  2. Rules and Regulations of Industrial Schools 1885.
  3. Commission of Inquiry into the Reformatory and Industrial School System 1934-1936 chaired by Justice Cussen.
  4. Dr McQuaid and Fr Henry Moore.
  5. This is a pseudonym.
  6. This is a pseudonym. See also the Tralee chapter.
  7. This is a pseudonym.
  8. This is a pseudonym.
  9. Br Beaufort had previously also worked in Carriglea in the early 1930s.
  10. This is a pseudonym.
  11. This is a pseudonym.
  12. This is a pseudonym.
  13. This is a pseudonym.
  14. This is a pseudonym.
  15. This is a pseudonym. See also the Carriglea chapter.
  16. This is a pseudonym.
  17. This is a pseudonym.
  18. This is a pseudonym.
  19. This is a pseudonym.
  20. This is a pseudonym.
  21. This is a pseudonym.
  22. This is a pseudonym.
  23. From the infirmary register it appears that while the boy was not confined in hospital he was due for a check up the day his mother called to see the superior so he may well not have been in the Institution when his mother called.
  24. Dr Anna McCabe was the Department of Education Inspector for most of the relevant period.
  25. It was in fact the Minister for Education who used those words. See paragraph 7.117 .
  26. This is a pseudonym.
  27. This is a pseudonym.
  28. This is a pseudonym.
  29. This is a pseudonym.
  30. This is a pseudonym.
  31. This is a pseudonym.
  32. This is a pseudonym.
  33. This is a pseudonym.
  34. This is a pseudonym.
  35. This is a pseudonym.
  36. The same incident is referred to in the Department’s inspection into the matter as ‘a shaking’.
  37. This is a pseudonym.
  38. This is a pseudonym.
  39. This is a pseudonym.
  40. This is a pseudonym.
  41. This is a pseudonym.
  42. This is a pseudonym.
  43. This is a pseudonym.
  44. This is a pseudonym.
  45. This is a pseudonym.
  46. This is a pseudonym.
  47. This is a pseudonym.
  48. This is a pseudonym.
  49. Dr Anna McCabe (Medical Inspector), Mr Seamus Mac Uaid (Higher Executive Officer) and Mr MacDáibhid (Assistant Principal Officer and Inspector in Charge of Industrial Schools).
  50. This is a pseudonym.
  51. This is a pseudonym.
  52. This is a pseudonym.
  53. This is a pseudonym.
  54. This is a pseudonym.
  55. This is a pseudonym.
  56. This is a pseudonym.
  57. This is a pseudonym.
  58. This is a pseudonym.
  59. This is a pseudonym.
  60. This is a pseudonym.
  61. This is a pseudonym.
  62. This is a pseudonym.
  63. This is a pseudonym.
  64. This is a pseudonym.
  65. This is a pseudonym.
  66. This is a pseudonym.
  67. This is a pseudonym.
  68. This is a pseudonym.
  69. This is a pseudonym.
  70. This is a pseudonym.
  71. This is a pseudonym.
  72. This is a pseudonym.
  73. This is a pseudonym.
  74. This is a pseudonym.
  75. This is a pseudonym.
  76. This is a pseudonym.
  77. This is a pseudonym.
  78. This is a pseudonym.
  79. See General Chapter on the Christian Brothers at para ???.
  80. He went there after many years in Artane.
  81. Dr Charles Lysaght was commissioned by the Department of Education to conduct general and medical inspections of the industrial and reformatory schools in 1966 in the absence of a replacement for Dr McCabe since her retirement the previous year. He inspected Artane on 8th September 1966.
  82. See Department of Education and Science Chapter, One-off Inspections.
  83. The fact that they were tired is noted in many Visitation Reports.
  84. Council for Education, Recruitment and Training.
  85. This is a pseudonym.
  86. This is a pseudonym.
  87. This is a pseudonym.