Chapter 9 — Tralee

Neglect

In January 1950, the Resident Manager notified the Department of Education of his intention to set up a class in Manual Instruction – Woodwork. Correspondence ensued regarding the syllabus, qualification of the teachers, etc. Approval was granted and the class started in September 1950. The Inspector’s reports on Manual Instruction in primary schools for 1951, 1952 and 1953 reported the instruction to be excellent.

In 1954, the Resident Manager sought recognition for the course from the Department for the purposes of a grant.

An internal Departmental memorandum dated 1st November 1954 set out the reasons why the Resident Manager sought recognition from the Department for the course. One of these reasons was that, as a result of following a two-year course, the students were in a position to qualify for the Group Certificate, a qualification that the trade unions accepted. The Department employee noted that the Resident Manager was a Manager ‘who has the best interests of his special students at heart and who strives to accomplish for them whatever is to their benefit’. The author recommended that the Department recognise the course.

Another internal Departmental memorandum noted that the Manager put great confidence in the boys under his care, and the Inspector said that it would be worthwhile recognising the course. A decision was made that the Inspector’s recommendation be accepted.

The enthusiasm of the Resident Manager for this project is striking. It is an example of an individual Christian Brother looking to the best interests of the boys and offering innovative ideas. It is further evidence that a good and committed Resident Manager could make changes that benefited both the school and the boys.

As in all of the industrial schools examined by the Committee, the trades offered to the boys in Tralee were largely dictated by the needs of the Institution. They never varied throughout the period of the investigation and consisted of shoemaking, tailoring, carpentry, baking and kitchen work, laundry and farm work. In the 1960s, the demands being put on the one or two boys who ran the laundry for the School was commented on by Visitors, one of whom recommended that a woman should be employed to assist with this work.

Up to a half of the total of boys in trade were engaged in farm work. In 1960, a two-hour per week agricultural training course was established. Boys were readily employable as farm workers after they left, although at very low wages. The Christian Brothers admitted that many farmers were only prepared to take the boys until they became entitled to an adult wage, at which time they let them go. Whilst working as juveniles, they had their board and keep deducted, which left them with a bare pittance. Although there was undoubtedly an element of exploitation, there was, according to Br Nolan, at least the prospect of a job that was hard to come by in rural Ireland at that time.

Trades such as farming, carpentry, tailoring, boot-making and baking all directly contributed to the Institution. Clothing was made and repaired on the premises, and boots were repaired. In addition, in the 1947 Visitation Report it was stated that the tailors and shoemakers had a steadily growing clientele. There were about four older boys permanently in each shop. After school hours the number was raised to 16. The Committee does not have complete records, but the 1953 Visitation Report stated that income exceeded expenditure for the carpenters, tailors and boot-makers. The figures do not include the value of what was supplied to the Brothers or boys.

The carpenter’s shop was the most popular trade for the boys. According to the Christian Brothers’ Opening Statement, there were two excellent carpenters in Tralee. They carried out most of the renovations and innovations that were completed between 1940 and 1970 with the assistance of the boys. The men who taught the carpentry made the new chapel.32 They helped to build the handball alley and did a lot of renovation work. The furniture they made was sold in the nearby towns and was valued for the quality of the workmanship. It was recorded in 1937, 1951 and 1953 as having an income exceeding expenditure.33

Of the 431 boys who were discharged into trades between 1940 and 1969, 151 went into farming, and 112 went into service as a ‘houseboy’. Only 23 went into carpentry, and 20 into tailoring, 51 worked in hotels, and 24 worked as boot-makers.

Only trades of direct benefit to the school were offered and those that were provided, with the exception of farming, offered very limited employment opportunities. As the years went by, the trades became more and more irrelevant and outdated, but no changes were made to reflect this fact. Boys were prepared for a lifetime of labouring and menial tasks.

The Christian Brothers argued that the Resident Managers were left to deal with the matter of aftercare on a zero budget, with no resources, no transport and no relief from the existing burden of the work to be done in the school. It acknowledged that the result was that the ‘Aftercare Programme was unsatisfactory, and very much a hit and miss affair’.

In Tralee, contact with former residents and their employers was mainly by post. A letter was written to the employers, who effectively evaluated themselves. It was obviously ineffective as an assessment of the progress of the boy. This also meant that the boy was not in a position to communicate his situation to the Resident Manager. The Opening Statement explained that, in the early 1960s, a printed form was sent to employers once a year. No equivalent contact was made with the boys, however. In the Committee’s view, this was a substantial failing in the system.

According to the Christian Brothers, many of the boys emigrated soon after leaving Tralee, which impeded the implementation of a satisfactory aftercare programme for them.

In 1965, the Visitor said: The after care of the boys cannot be termed satisfactory. A number of boys go out to farmers but after a few years make their way to England. Some farmers keep them till they are 19 years of age and then let them off as they would be obliged to pay them a man’s wage.