Chapter 7 — Goldenbridge

Neglect

Evidence was also heard, at the suggestion of the Sisters of Mercy, from a number of witnesses who had positive memories of their time in Goldenbridge. One of these witnesses was committed to Goldenbridge in 1947 and remained there for 10 years. She recalled that the standard and quantity of food improved when Sr Alida took over as Sister in Charge. She stated: The food changed. We got extra food. We used to get afters, started giving us bread puddings and jelly and ice-cream and stuff. A little bit more food.

Another was asked whether she recalled being hungry, and she responded: Not really, not starving anyway. When I heard somebody said they were starved, if you are starved it means that you don’t get any food; if you are starving it just means that you are possibly hungry. But there were three meals, there was porridge in the morning time, there was your dinner with sweet, it could have been Carragheen moss. Maybe the day that somebody put the currants in the rice or put the cocoa in the rice and rice came out brown but if you were bloody well hungry you would eat it. Some of them stuck their nose up at it and said they couldn’t eat it but if you were hungry you would eat it.

Another positive witness, who spent eight years in Goldenbridge from 1948, stated that the food was very basic. She recalled receiving half a slice of bread for breakfast along with a cup of cocoa. Dinner consisted of stew, casserole or shepherd’s pie, and there was bread and cocoa again for tea. She accepted that she often felt hungry: I suppose I felt I was hungry. We didn’t do anything about it. I would have liked to have been able to have some more.

Another positive witness remained for three years as a carer after her discharge date and, although she had more positive memories of the food, she did not distinguish between the food she received as a pupil and the food she received as a carer.

Sr Alida stated that bread was delivered every day except Sunday, and they had brack at the weekend. She recalled that the children got porridge, bread and butter for breakfast; dinner consisted of sausages, black and white pudding, or rabbit or mincemeat with vegetables. They had dessert every day, which usually consisted of a milk pudding. Vegetables were grown in the garden but, as it did not produce enough quantities, they were also purchased from the market every week. She accepted that, because the food was cooked for such large numbers, the quality of the food was affected.

Sr Alida stated that the children had snacks between meals. Crates of fruit such as apples and oranges were purchased from the market on a weekly basis. She bought boiled sweets in bulk from a wholesale shop on Capel Street and broken Club Milk chocolate bars from Jacobs factory.

None of the witnesses, even the positive witnesses, could recall anything like this type of food in Goldenbridge.

Sr Bianca and later Sr Alida, when she took over as Sister in Charge, had their meals in the convent. The only meal they supervised in the Industrial School was dinner. Towards the latter stages of her management, Sr Alida recalled buying delph and cutlery in bulk and, by the time she left Goldenbridge, there was no broken tableware in use. She also recalled the kitchen facilities being up-graded with the addition of a gas cooker, toaster and deep fat fryer. She confirmed that there were no set menus during her time in Goldenbridge.

Sr Alida said she never received complaints from the Inspector about the children’s food and diet.

Sr Alida denied that scraps were thrown to the children in the yard, as alleged by some complainants. She added that, while she was in charge, no child would have been so hungry that she would have had to pick scraps of food from the ground.

Sr Alida asserted that: one thing I cannot be challenged with is neglecting the food of the children or their clothes. Most certainly I never neglected – I would have said that from ’54 onwards the quality of food, cooking equipment, clothing etc., that I did my utmost to give them the best and they got it.

In a statement made to the Investigation Committee Sr Alida stated: I believe the children could have eaten more but they certainly did not go hungry.

Sr Gianna recalled accompanying Sr Alida to the market to buy trays of apples and oranges. Sr Alida recalled that there was dessert every day after dinner, which consisted of tapioca, corn flour, rice or jelly.

The Sisters of Mercy denied that children were starving or malnourished in Goldenbridge. They conceded as a matter of probability that the quality of the food in the School during the 1940s was relatively poor, due to the war years and rationing in society generally. However, they asserted that the food and diet improved considerably during the period under review.

The children were served with four meals a day, which were simple and adequate. They submitted that approximately 30 percent of the capitation grant was spent on food.