Chapter 14 — St. Joseph’s Kilkenny

Allegations of sexual abuse in the 1970s

Notwithstanding her decision to remove Thomas Pleece immediately, Sr Astrid was adamant that she had not been told of sexual abuse.

In 1979, less than three years after Mr Pleece had been dispatched from St Joseph’s, a letter was sent to Sr Astrid by the Department of Education looking for a reference. It said: I wish to refer to Mr. Thomas Pleece, who has been offered a post as Housemaster in Scoil Ard Mhuire, Lusk, Co Dublin. Mr. Pleece has claimed service in your residential home from 1972 to 1976. Perhaps you would be good enough to state; 1. the nature of the post occupied by Mr. Pleece; 2. whether service was full-time and satisfactory; 3. the first and last date of service.

Sr Astrid replied by stating that Thomas Pleece had worked in St Joseph’s as a House Parent from 1972 until 1976. Nothing in her reply indicated any difficulty with Mr Pleece, in spite of the clear invitation at 2 above to express any reservations she might have. She said: I suppose one thing I wasn’t good at writing letters myself, but I don’t know why I wrote such a short note; that I didn’t say he wasn’t satisfactory.

She said that she would have said on the telephone that she would not have had Thomas Pleece back in St Joseph’s: I did. I had told him on the phone you see, that was the trouble. They rang me up, you know, for a reference ... Well the information I gave on the telephone, that I wouldn’t employ, re-admit Thomas Pleece or that I wouldn’t have him.

She went on to say: I remember getting phone calls from different places where Thomas Pleece applied when he left St Joseph’s. I know the only answer I ever gave was "I wouldn’t have Thomas Pleece back in St [Joseph’s]” – or I wouldn’t reply.

Sr Astrid confirmed that she did not think Thomas Pleece was suitable to work with children because she believed that he was severe with them.

Mr Evans’ account of his meeting with Sr Astrid and Mr Pleece’s account of his departure are consistent with an allegation of sexual abuse. Had Mr Pleece’s behaviour been identified and acknowledged, other children would have been spared abuse and suffering. Having dismissed Thomas Pleece, Sr Astrid should not have given him a reference for another job that would bring him into contact with children.

Peter Tade was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison at Kilkenny Circuit Criminal Court on 9th June 1998. He died in prison in 1999 before the hearings into St Joseph’s took place.

Sr Astrid recalled that, after Mr Pleece’s removal, there was a staff shortage in St Joseph’s.

Sr Astrid said: When Thomas Pleece was gone I immediately rang the Department. I told Mr. Granville that I had dismissed Thomas Pleece and would he kindly come down to help me to put an ad in the paper and have the right salary. He came down, we wrote the ad, I posted it to the paper. Then when the people applied, came in, I told him that we had so many, but there was only one qualified person. I said "would you come down to interview if he [is] a state qualified person?" And he did. He came down to the parlour and the two of us interviewed Peter Tade.

According to Sr Astrid, Peter Tade was an elderly man and had great references. He was a very religious and serious man. Both she and Mr Granville agreed that he should be offered the job.

A trainee care worker, Donal Kavanagh,27 who was in Summerhill at the time of Thomas Pleece’s removal, gave evidence about the events which led to his resignation from St Joseph’s in 1977.

He had returned to Ireland in 1976 having spent some time abroad and began to assist in St Joseph’s teaching sports to the boys on three evening a week. This was done on a voluntary basis, as he was acquainted with a female volunteer who worked with the children in St Joseph’s. He was asked to work in the Summerhill unit following the sudden departure of Thomas Pleece. He did not have a formal interview for the job. He did not know Thomas Pleece but was simply asked to step into his unit until they found a replacement for him. Initially, he worked alone, with the assistance of a Sister who did the cooking.

After some months, around August 1976, Peter Tade arrived and was appointed as a House Parent, and Mr Kavanagh became his assistant. Five months later, Donal Kavanagh resigned and wrote a letter of resignation which stated: Dear Rev Mother, Please accept this as my letter of resignation. I leave for the following reasons: Having two house fathers in Summerhill might work under different circumstances; but in the case of Mr Tade and I it is not working. I feel and fear that at the present time Mr Tade is neither mentally nor emotionally stable enough to give the boys the security and example they need. Furthermore I feel the situation in Summerhill at the moment is highly undesirable and unsafe. This is not a hasty or reckless judgment, but an opinion formed after working in close proximity with Mr Tade for four months, and it is not without great thought and extreme reluctance that I now bring these matters to your attention; but as my first responsibility is to the boys in all conscience I must. Having been assured that there is no chance of transferring to another group, I must therefore with even greater reluctance submit this, my resignation. Yours sincerely,

A copy of this letter was sent to the Bishop, Dr Birch.