Chapter 7 — Artane

Neglect

The band performed regularly in Croke Park at major GAA fixtures. They also toured the length and breadth of the country and broadcast shows on radio. The high point of their fame saw them perform at venues in New York and Boston, in May 1962, and included a television performance.

According to the Congregation, by the 1960s, approximately 80 boys were involved in the band at some level. This was a much higher number than in previous decades, when the participation was as low as 40 boys.

According to Fr Moore: The time used, the money spent, the number of engagements annually met are, I fear, out of all proportion to the results obtained. The maintenance of the band, although approximating £2,000 annually, is a continual strain on financial resources.

A Visitation Report in 1957 painted a different picture and stated that the band was on a ‘sure financial footing and more than paying its way’. Visitation Reports also reveal that, in 1938, the School received £215 in payments for band performances. It was operating at a loss in the early 1940s. By 1957, the band was earning the School just under £900 per annum.

Fr Moore also expressed concern at the effect that participation in the band had on the boys’ education. In 1946, the Resident Manager had obtained sanction from the Department of Education to credit the time the boys spent attending broadcasts and performances as part of their school attendance. Fr Moore believed that the boys’ education suffered as a result of prolonged hours of band practice and days missed from school attending performances. He found little evidence to suggest that even a small number of boys continued their musical career upon leaving school.

Br Vailant told the Investigation Committee that life in Artane tended to revolve around the band and that the needs of the band took priority.

The boys who toured with the band stayed with families in the locality. They were taught table etiquette and instructed on ‘how to behave themselves in a decent home’. Their behaviour on tour did a ‘tremendous amount to win admirers for Artane and to counteract the smear campaign that would appear to be the settled policy of certain sections of the public Press,’ according to the Visitor in 1957.

Some of the boys who formed part of the band went on to make a career in the Army band. Almost all of the complainants who were in it and gave evidence to the Investigation Committee gave positive feedback regarding their experience with the band. One complainant stated that he was treated very well in the band, and that the majority of boys in the band had been transferred to Artane from convent industrial schools.

Participation in the band could be a positive experience for the boys involved, and it was an extraordinary achievement and an illustration of what could be achieved with proper direction and training. Boys who were part of the band fared better in Artane and afterwards. Boys who were not in the band missed an important part of the life of the Institution. The band absorbed a huge amount of time and energy, and similar efforts should have been directed at improving conditions for all the boys. The band was the public face of Artane, and members of the public would have been reassured when seeing the boys performing that they were receiving good care and education, but in fact the band did not represent the reality for most boys in Artane.

One of the more disturbing images of Artane that was presented to the Committee was the plight of the boys during recreation periods. Weather in Dublin is often cold, wet and windy and, until 1965, there was no proper indoor recreation facility where they could play. A barn-like structure had been erected in the mid-1940s, that had no walls and a tin roof, and which barely fitted the hundreds of boys. Dr McCabe formed part of a tripartite inspection team that carried out a two-day inspection of Artane in December 1962. On the issue of recreation, the inspection team stated: He [the Resident Manager] deplored the money spent by a predecessor on the erection of a huge play-shelter of hay-shed design which gave cover overhead but absolutely no protection from wind or cold. This indeed was a hopeless attempt at planning and a waste of money ... The recreation hall is a long cement-floored room, uncared for, dismal, depressing and dirty and with no redeeming feature whatsoever. The school classrooms are of the same ramshackle type ... demolition is probably the only solution.

Visitation Reports had identified the lack of proper recreational facilities from the early 1940s, but no improvements were effected until the mid-1960s. This directly impacted on the daily lives of the boys in Artane and should not have taken over 20 years to address.

Games and sports were part of the day in Artane. Teams were fielded in GAA events throughout Leinster. These teams reached a high standard of proficiency, and boys with a talent for sport had a more positive experience in Artane than boys who had not. In general, the Committee did not hear much evidence from these boys, although some did attend hearings and were able to distinguish the experiences with teams from other experiences in Artane.

The Brothers put a considerable effort into training teams for matches with other schools and playing outdoor games. However, the lack of indoor recreational facilities represented a severe deprivation.

In 1947, the Department of Education wrote to the Resident Manager seeking information on the aftercare provided, following a query by the Joint Committee of Women’s Societies and Social Workers. The Resident Manager responded, confirming that a Brother was assigned on a full-time basis to deal with aftercare. Another Brother helped out in cases where boys had ‘slipped and fallen’. The Resident Manager stated that he himself settled difficult cases, which had meant ‘travelling as far as Leitrim, Westmeath, Wicklow etc’.

Contact was maintained with the boys by way of letters and visits. When boys were sent to the country, the Parish Priest of the town was informed and asked to ‘take a paternal interest in the boys ... Kind and encouraging replies to these requests are invariably received’. He also confirmed that the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Dublin were being encouraged to include past pupils as beneficiaries of their work. It was hoped that eventually this would become a nationwide initiative: Boys who have lost employment are helped to find new employment when practicable. On a number of occasions when it was considered necessary and advisable boys have been recalled and retained for a further period in the School.