Chapter 7 — Artane

Introduction

The Congregation was worried that the Cussen Commission would call for changes in Artane, and there was relief when that body’s visit to the School went off successfully and the Brothers were reassured by their belief that the Commissioners seemed pleased by what they saw. The Brothers knew that talk of change was in the air and they were hoping to persuade the Commissioners to approve the existing state of affairs. Br Strahan, who wrote the submission for the Congregation, concluded it with the request that Artane should remain as it was: Whether judged by the greatness of its successes, or by the small proportion of its failures, or by the world-wide fame it has attained, we submit, Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, that not only should Artane be allowed to stand untouched, but that it should be cordially and generously supported.

The submission responded to the suggestion that the School was too big, by arguing that it had succeeded beyond all expectations and that: in its largeness lies its chief merit and advantage; for it is its size and its multiplicity of activities that afford exercise to those following the various trades, etc., within its own precincts. It is only in a large school that such a variety of trades could be established to meet the immediate demands of the Institution.

Acknowledging that ‘the air has become charged with reports of even drastic changes’ because of recent legislation in England, Br Strahan emphasised the differences between the countries and the fact that the new ideas were as yet unproven. He wrote that the legislation dealt ‘with a different people, a people of different temperament, of different religious opinions’.

The submission painted an idyllic picture of life in Artane, describing in detail the facilities for education, training, recreation, aftercare and the living conditions of the boys as being in all respects of the highest quality. No significant faults were admitted. However, in spite of the writer’s zeal in defending every feature of the Institution, something of the impersonal nature of the School crept into the submission. The mealtime routine was described as follows: After mid-day we hear a bugle-call and see the assembling of the clans from farm and shops and band room and knitting room, as they form in companies before dinner hour. We see them walk in perfect order, but with free step, and await in silence till the presiding Brother pronounces Grace. We see them sit down in perfect silence until given leave to chat ...

Some issues that were of real concern to the Commissioners in the Cussen Inquiry were discussed very favourably in the Christian Brothers’ submission, but it transpired when the Report was published that they were anything but convinced. The recommendations made by the Cussen Commission rejected some important parts of the submissions that the Congregation had put forward. The proposal to split up Artane into four units, the criticism of education, and the dissatisfaction with supervision and aftercare of children leaving Christian Brothers’ industrial schools went directly against the arguments in support of the Institution. Some other recommendations were not specific to Artane but were no less applicable and were also implicitly adverse findings.

The Commission concluded that the School was too big by a factor of about four, and recommended that it should be divided. Paragraph 72 of the Report stated: In our opinion the best results can be obtained only where the number under any one Manager does not exceed 200 pupils. We think that in no case should the number exceed 250. It is necessary in this connection to refer specifically to the case of Artane Industrial School, which is certified for 800 boys and where there are on an average about 700 boys. It is in our view impossible for the Manager in an Institution of this size to bring to bear that personal touch essential to give each child the impression that he is an individual in whose troubles, ambitions, and welfare a lively interest is being taken. We strongly recommend, therefore, that Artane should be divided into separate Schools, the pupils being segregated according to age and attainments. Each school should contain not more than 250 pupils under the control of a sub-manger, whose appointment and removal should be subject to the approval of the Minister ...

Artane was also singled out for criticism of the education provided. The Commission noted with regret at paragraph 92 of the Report: ... that in Artane Industrial School, with over 700 pupils, only the minimum standard of literary education required by the regulations is provided, and pupils, however promising, cannot, as a rule, proceed beyond sixth standard.

The Commission commented on supervision and aftercare of children discharged from industrial schools, and was critical of this aspect of care in schools run by the Christian Brothers. Paragraph 120 said: We are not satisfied as to the adequacy of the methods of supervision and after-care of children discharged from these schools, particularly in the case of boys leaving the Industrial Schools which are under the management of the Christian Brothers.

On this subject, the Brothers’ submission had described a very satisfactory situation, which was obviously not accepted by the Commissioners: The school keeps in touch with the ex-pupils by letters, enquiries, meetings, when on holiday, reports from employers, etc., for at least two years, and generally for three years after they leave school, and taking into account how greatly they were handicapped in earlier life, it is most gratifying to find the small percentage of those who have failed to make good.

The Cussen Report made other observations and criticisms that were not specific to Artane or to Christian Brothers’ institutions, and they are discussed as they arise in considering the evidence.

The concerns expressed by Cussen were well founded. In particular, the excessive numbers of boys in the School continued to have a detrimental effect on the capacity of the Institution to provide a caring environment and on the lives of those who lived and worked in it, and contributed greatly to the problems that emerged over the years. The Congregation has conceded that, because of the numbers and because of the need for constant vigilance, Artane was run on a highly organised basis, even to the point of regimentation.

The recommendation to divide the Industrial School was not implemented, although, in the last years of Artane’s existence when the numbers had dropped to a fraction of previous decades, the boys were segregated into two groups according to their ages. The documentary records of the Christian Brothers and the Department of Education did not disclose the reason for rejecting the proposal to divide the School. There was no record of discussion or debate or of any explicit decision in that regard. Although the Congregation in its submissions has blamed the Department of Education for failure to implement this recommendation, it must also bear responsibility. If the Brothers had proposed such a change, it is difficult to see how the Department could have reasonably opposed it. When the division was made in 1967, admittedly a much smaller alteration in view of the reduced population, it was an internal decision of the Congregation.

The hierarchical nature of the religious leadership in Artane had consequences for the management of the School. Evidence before the Committee pointed to a rigid and simplistic management structure, whereby all the power and all the decision-making function lay with the Resident Manager. Individual Brothers spoke to the Committee about their own feelings of helplessness and frustration at their inability to effect change. Older Brothers had authority over younger colleagues, and this allowed a system to develop whereby all the heavy workload of the Institution fell on a small number of young, inexperienced Brothers who were obliged by their vows of obedience to carry out instructions without question.

The Institution was not adequately staffed. The day-to-day operation was left to a small number of largely inexperienced and untrained Brothers who were required to work for up to 14 hours a day, seven days a week. Other Brothers lived in the Community and participated to varying degrees in the Institution, for example in administrative work, while some Brothers did not participate at all in the running of the School due to age, ill-health or even, according to one Brother, because of disinclination. These Brothers were supported by the School, but did not participate in its work.

The Brothers working in the Institution were not instructed in childcare. Their tuition was the teacher training for national schools which was provided by the Congregation at its own Marino training college. Brothers attended teacher training in Marino for one year and were then sent out to a Christian Brothers’ school for experience for a number of years, before returning to complete their second and final years. Many young Brothers were sent to Artane as their first posting in this interim period, when they were wholly unqualified to care for children and had completed only half of their course as teachers. The Investigation Committee heard evidence from former members of staff of Artane that they were shocked by their first experience and overwhelmed by the scale of the task imposed on them.