Chapter 7 — Artane

Fr Henry Moore

Fr Moore criticised the rigid and severe discipline in Artane, where every activity was marshalled and which he thought often approached pure regimentation: Constant recourse to physical punishment breeds undue fear and anxiety. The personality of the boy is inevitably repressed, maladjusted, and in some cases, abnormal. Their liberty is so restricted that all initiative and self esteem suffers.

In addition to its general condemnation of the regime, the report made detailed criticisms of the care provided in Artane under the headings of diet, apparel, medical attention, religious observance, education, technical instruction, and aftercare.

In comments on the boys’ clothes, for example, Fr Moore thought that this aspect of care was ‘grossly neglected’ and had adverse consequences: A boy’s personal clothing is as much the property of his neighbour. Shirts, underwear (vests are not worn), stockings, footwear, nightshirts (no pyjamas) are all common property and are handed down from generations. When these articles are duly laundered they are distributed at random, sometimes without regard to size.

Stockings and shirts were replaced once a week, underwear once a fortnight. There was no change of clothing in summer, and the boys wore hob-nailed boots and heavy clothes all year round. In contrast, he was impressed when he visited the Industrial School in Salthill, also run by the Christian Brothers, and saw that the boys there ‘were attired appropriately and inexpensively for the summer season.’

Overall, Fr Moore suggested ‘a reappraisal of the system at governmental level ... and a major reform in the management of Artane’. He strongly recommended the introduction of female staff to the School and the renaming of the School to that of a patron saint, in order to remove the public misconception that Artane was in some way associated with the prison system.

In summary, the report concluded that Artane required drastic revision as ‘the methods employed are obsolete, proper training is neglected and there is no attempt at adequate rehabilitation’.

Fr Moore learned about an Inter-Departmental Committee that was considering submissions in relation to Industrial and Reformatory Schools and he contacted the Chairman, Mr Peter Berry, who was the Secretary of the Department of Justice. A meeting took place on 26th November 1962 attended by Fr Moore, Mr Berry and the Secretary to the Committee, Mr Toal. Fr Moore’s criticisms, as summarised in the minutes, included the following: the absence of aftercare; a big percentage of boys needed psychiatric treatment which was not available; a psychologist was also required; many of the boys were institutionalised from babyhood until 16 years; the educational standard was very low; trade training was poor and did not lead to jobs in those callings and boys ended up in dead end jobs; neglect in regard to clothing, bed clothes, food and medical care; the Manager was unsuitable and ‘an unwilling captain’; and the Institution was short of money. At Mr Berry’s request, Fr Moore agreed to attend a meeting with Dr Ó Raifeartaigh, Secretary of the Department of Education.

This meeting took place on 13th December 1962. Dr Ó Raifeartaigh gave Fr Moore a very different reception to the one he received from Mr Berry and vigorously cross-examined him on the minutes of the November meeting. He accused Fr Moore of being inaccurate as regards certain salient facts and effectively suggested that he had a vendetta against the Christian Brothers. Fr Moore was shaken after the encounter, and wrote to the Archbishop the following day, informing him that the meeting had been ‘a most humiliating and embarrassing experience’. Mr Berry was quick to distance himself from the stance adopted by the Secretary of the Department of Education and wrote to the latter reproving him on his hostile interrogation of Fr Moore.

The upshot of the December meeting was that the Secretary of the Department of Education ordered an unannounced inspection of Artane by three senior Department personnel. They were requested to focus on food, clothing and management in general: ‘they should state the facts reasonably and with discretion – good and bad to be included’. The inspection took place over two days on 20th and 21st December and each inspector furnished a report.

Mr Seamus Mac Uaid, Higher Executive Officer, wrote the principal report, which was described by the Chairman, Mr Berry, as ‘a model of its kind’. The general conclusion of the report was reassuring to the Department, but many of the detailed observations did not differ significantly from Fr Moore’s. The writer began with a summary of his findings: it is my opinion that the boys in Artane Industrial School are well fed, warmly clothed, comfortably bedded and treated with kindness by the Christian Brothers in an atmosphere conducive to their spiritual and physical development. I believe, however, that boys should not be reared away from the refining influence of women and am convinced that the introduction of female assistance at key points in the management would render more effective the work of the institution.

He described Artane as: a massive pile standing on rising ground ... erected in the 1870’s with all the solidity of the period and an extravagance of space that makes a nightmare of maintenance in modern times.

A feature of this report is the frequent reference to the desirability of involving women in the work of the Institution, and how male standards compared unfavourably with female ones in respect of care of children. Mr Mac Uaid cited the example of the kitchen, which was staffed by one Brother and five older boys and which had recently been modernised, at a cost of £25,000: The standards of cleanliness, cooking and presentation of the food were high but they were male standards and lacked the finishing touches which woman alone can provide in this particular domain.

The aprons worn by kitchen staff were dirty, the plates were slightly greasy and not dried properly, and it would be preferable if dessert were served on a delph plate rather than the enamel plates used. However: from observation and the questions asked of the boys, I am satisfied that the children are well fed and empty plates bore testimony to the quality of the food.

Whilst he was satisfied with the menu for the two days of the inspection, he did note the absence of butter from all meals.

The report described in turn: the food given to the boys and the cooking and dining facilities; the dormitories; the boys’ clothing; the laundry; the washing facilities; games and recreation; education and training; aftercare; the farm; holidays; and the general atmosphere. The overall conclusion was that: Artane emerged from the inspection with credit. Within the limitations of an inherited system which favoured big schools, all male management and a public purse that had to be prised open at times, the Superior, Br Ourson, is doing a good job in providing for the spiritual, educational and physical needs of the boys entrusted to his care.