Chapter 11 — Dundalk

Background

However, the following year, the inspection yielded poor results again. On 28th June 1946, having visited the School, Dr McCabe remarked scathingly in her report on the deterioration in standards from the previous year. She was highly critical of the running of the School: The school on the whole is very carelessly run and slip-shod - the children are anything but clean – the supervision is hopeless. Practically every single child in the school had a verminous and nitty head which proves the total lack of supervision in the Dressing Room.

She found that children ‘under 6 were very badly supervised – their ears and heads were in a dirty state and they had a neglected appearance’. In her report she stated that she had addressed her concerns to the Resident Manager, who had informed her that the conditions were due to the fact that her assistant was out sick and had not been replaced. Dr McCabe clearly found the state of affairs to be completely inadequate and unsatisfactory, stating ‘this is neglect, this just cannot be excused’.

The report made clear her low opinion of the management of the School. She wrote: This school is peculiar in that there never seems to be any lively interest taken in the children, there is always an apathetic air about the place. The Rev Mother is never very interested in the Industrial School and when I have asked for extra help she always has an excuse that she would willingly give it had she sufficient staff to call upon.

She summed up her frustration with the regime as follows: if these people are going to run a school they must look after these children – otherwise I will have to recommend that they are not fit to look after children and have them transferred elsewhere.

She did not accept the lack of staff as a valid excuse, and she issued a warning: Now, if Dundalk wish to keep their school they will have to make changes and employ people who are interested in this work and who will supervise the children.

Dr McCabe commented, ‘I have nothing to say about the food as all the children are adequately fed and look well, if dirty’. Indeed, she commented that this aspect was the only redeeming feature of the running of the School. She ended her report by writing: I had really hoped for more changes when the new Sister started but instead of any improvements the reverse has taken place.

The Department again followed up the report by writing to the Resident Manager, reiterating the matters raised by Dr McCabe in her report, namely the poor hygiene of the children, the lack of supervision in the dormitories, “the verminous and nitty heads”, the poorly kept premises, and the fact that the assistant nun was absent for long periods of time and had not been replaced.

The Resident Manager replied that they were in the process of carrying out the recommendations. She informed the Department that the assistant nun had returned and that extra help had been engaged for helping with the small children. She also informed him that the staircase and corridors were in the process of being painted. However, there was no mention of any steps being taken to improve the hygiene of the children or carry out the other recommendations in the Medical Inspector’s report.

Two inspections were carried out in 1947. After the first, on 9th May 1947, Dr McCabe noted that ‘the school has certainly improved’ and that the children were well cared for. The second inspection was on 13th November 1947, when she reported the School as having ‘definitely improved’. From that time on, her reports repeatedly noted that the School was improving.

Whilst noting routinely that the School had improved and that the children were better cared for, in her report of 21st June 1948, Dr McCabe continued to make suggestions for bettering the lives of the children in the School, particularly in regard to recreational facilities such as a play hall. This was still a matter of concern to the Department in 1958, when Mr Sugrue, the Inspector of Industrial Schools, visited.

Throughout the 1950s, Dr McCabe reported improvements in the School and specifically referred to the painting of the dormitories, classrooms and corridors in 1951 and the installation of central heating in October of that year. In 1952, she noted the acquisition of a field from the primary school for recreational use by the industrial school children. In March 1953, Dr McCabe commented that ‘lots remain to be done yet’. She noted in that year that there was still no recreation hall. She also remarked that the Resident Manager was very kind, but tired and in need of a change, however she noted that the assistant nun was very good to the children. She reported that the nuns were concerned about the falling numbers in the School.

In April 1955, Dr McCabe recorded in her Report that the School had improved and that the Resident Manager was anxious to further improve conditions. She also noted that the children looked well cared for.

On 19th January, on her first of three visits in 1956, she noted that the School continued to improve and that the children were much improved since attending the national school in Dundalk. They were well fed and clothed. Again, she commented on the fact that the children had no indoor play hall and could only play in the field attached to the primary school. On her second visit, on 14th May 1956, she remarked that the School was well run and that the Resident Manager and Sister in charge were kind and good to the children. She pointed out ‘whilst the school is good and there is little fault to find, there is a little lack of initiative in running it’. She noted that the children now had a play hall but she added that more could be done with this space to make it attractive and bright. In August 1956, she again noted that the School was well run and the children well cared for, and she further noted that the Resident Manager was to make improvements in the play hall.

In 1957, the School received two visits from Dr McCabe. The first, in February, noted that the School was well run and that the nuns in charge were very kind and good. Again, she wrote of her aspirations for improvements in the recreation hall, saying ‘it just requires a little initiative to get things going’. The following June, which Dr McCabe referred to as an ‘incidental visit’, she noted that the School was well run and that improvements were certainly taking place but that a lot remained to be done.

In her report of March 1958, however, a more critical tone emerged. She remarked that the School was well run but not as efficient as it could be. Again, she made reference to the lack of initiative on the part of management in making changes in the School. She referred to the children using the field from the national school for play and not having facilities on their own premises. The Department Inspector, Mr Sugrue, visited the School in September 1958, and wrote a report. The main purpose of his visit appeared to have been the lack of recreational facilities in the School. He stated that he was ‘quite satisfied with the general catering for the children’s welfare apart from recreational facilities’, adding that, ‘There is a great need for a Recreational Hall and for better facilities for outdoor games and pastimes’. He went on to say that he had discussed this need with the Reverend Mother and the other nuns in charge of running the Industrial School, including the Resident Manager and the Sister in charge, pointing out to her that such improvements in recreational facilities had not been pressed upon the School greatly, due to the low level of the grant, but now that the grants had been increased substantially, he was insisting on efforts being made to remedy these defects. He suggested converting part of the old vacant national school buildings into a recreational hall, and the playground attached to the national school could be made available as a playground. He also pointed out that the children could use two tennis courts adjacent to the School. Having discussed these ideas with the nuns in question, he found them to be enthusiastic about carrying out his suggested improvements.