Chapter 7 — Artane

Neglect

For most of the period under consideration, funding in Artane was adequate to provide for the children in its care. The Visitation Reports and the evidence of complainants and respondents indicated, however, that the physical care provided was poor, even by the standards of the time.

Mazars have looked at the accounts for Artane and have identified, as far as possible, how the money was spent. On the expenditure side, the biggest item was salaries and wages of lay staff. In addition, the Institution provided a stipend for almost every Brother in the Community. The level of stipend was decided by the Managers of Christian Brothers’ residential schools and, in Artane, it varied from £120 per Brother per annum in 1940 to £300 per Brother per annum in the 1960s. The amount was uniform, and no account was taken of the extent to which any particular Brother was engaged in the care of the children or the work of the Institution.

The accounts show that the stipends constituted the principal source of income for the Community. They were paid into the ‘House’ account every year for almost every Brother. The account built up a substantial surplus of income over expenditure, and showed a cumulative surplus (excluding land sales) from 1940 to 1969 of approximately £56,000.

In addition to providing the Community with an income, the Industrial School also provided for the day-to-day expenses of the Brothers. In 1966, the Visitor recorded that: ... In addition to supporting the boys the School supports the Brothers to the extent of food, maintenance but not clothing or medical or any luxury items. In addition there is transferred from the School Account to the House Account each year £300 per Brother for extra services, etc ...

The Community was also able to invest substantial sums in its Building Fund.

In conclusion: Artane was an important source of support and income to the Congregation. Lack of funds was not a reason for failure to provide for the children in Artane. Artane was a major contributor to the Building Fund and to the support of the Provincial Organisation. The Artane Community charged a full stipend for Brothers who had little or no involvement in the care of the boys and funded the Community’s day-to-day expenses out of the maintenance grant for the children, which enabled the House to run at a profit.

The Christian Brothers maintained in its Opening Statement to the Artane module that the documentary evidence: clearly demonstrates that the boys were well fed and clothed and that their welfare needs were catered for ... Where criticisms were made or shortcomings were pointed out, remedial action was taken.

The sources of evidence relied on were the Department of Education Inspection Reports and the Visitation Reports from the Congregation.

While Artane was directly responsible for the physical care provided, the Department of Education had supervisory responsibility.

The Department of Education Inspector, who inspected Artane regularly from 1944 until 1962, reported under the headings of: Food, Clothing, Accommodation, Recreational Facilities, and Health and Education. Her General Inspection reports are a source of contemporaneous comment. The reliability and consistency of Dr McCabe’s reports were questionable, and this is discussed in the chapter dealing with the Department of Education.

By and large, Dr McCabe was impressed with the way Artane was run and was not overly critical of the care provided. However, when each individual element of care is analysed, she was often quite critical of the standard provided and, taken as a whole, her reports point to serious deficiencies in the School.

It is useful to look at Dr McCabe’s reports in conjunction with the Visitation Reports compiled by the Congregation’s own Visitor who inspected annually. The Visitor’s prime function was to report on the Brothers in the Community, but they also made observations on the care of the boys and the general standard of the Institution. These reports were more critical of the Institution than those of the Department Inspector, and often highlighted issues that should have come to the attention of the Department Inspector but were not mentioned by her.

Dr McCabe was generally satisfied with the standard of food provided in Artane. In her first report of April 1939, she stated, ‘the quantity, quality and variety of their diet is satisfactory’. Likewise, in 1944 she expressed herself as satisfied that the food was ample and varied.

In 1953, she identified the kitchen and refectory as being in need of modernisation and she continued to be critical of the kitchen and refectory facilities throughout the 1950s. Her categorisation of the food as ‘good’ or ‘v.good’ has to be qualified by the absence of adequate facilities for its preparation.

Visitation Reports from the 1950s did not identify any particular problems with the food or the kitchen facilities until November 1957, when the Visitor wrote: Everything in connection with the kitchen and the preparation and serving of food calls for complete re-organisation and re-conditioning ... Too many boys are at each table though half of the room is vacant almost. All the food for the meal is piled on the table before the meal begins. The boys proceed to make a most awful mess when the meal begins. There is not the slightest attempt to eat in a civilised fashion. The Brother and teacher in charge can do nothing with over 500 to look after. A great deal of the food is wasted and the waste is the main support of nearly forty pigs. I shall comment later on the condition in which many of the boys come to meals. To me the sight was just revolting. One can just imagine the comments of visitors but every care is taken on the conducted tours to prevent visitors from seeing the spectacle.