Chapter 8 — Cappoquin

Neglect

The early contemporaneous documents reveal a story of serious neglect of the children in Cappoquin. The Institution was overcrowded, and accommodated children in excess of its permitted certification number. The children were seriously undernourished and underfed.

The Institution was managed by the same Resident Manager from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.

The first surviving record of a General Inspection of St Michael’s is dated 1939. The School received a clean bill of health from Dr Anna McCabe, who described the children as well kept and well fed.

The next report was almost four and a half years later and dated 1943. Although this report refers to a previous inspection carried out the year before, there is no record of this inspection.

Dr McCabe found on this occasion the following: The School was overcrowded (91 children); The infirmary had been taken over as a dormitory; The food and diet was unsatisfactory, with a lack of butter, meat, bread and sugar. She carefully examined the amounts given to the children and considered they were all underfed and she gave the example of 7lbs of mince per day and 7lbs of butter per week being divided amongst 91 children.

Dr McCabe stated in her Inspection Report of 1943 that she had drawn the Resident Manager’s attention to the size of the children on several occasions, and the response she received was that the children were very active. She was sceptical about this explanation, and she reported the situation to her superiors in the Department and advised them to write to the Resident Manager.

In December 1943, the Chief Inspector of Industrial and Reformatory Schools Branch wrote, on behalf of the Minister for Education, to the Superior of the convent to express serious concern about the under-nourishment and weight loss of the children, the overcrowding, and the lack of fire escapes.

In a written response dated January 1944, the Superior said that the diet that had been approved by the School Medical Officer (a former Medical Inspector), and the advice of the present Medical Inspector had been adhered to. The lack of milk was explained by the difficulty in procuring milk and the proximity of two military stations. She robustly defended the Resident Manager, and described her as doing all in her power to keep the supply going, and expressed her satisfaction that there had been no neglect where the children were concerned. She acknowledged the overcrowding, and went on to say that steps would be taken to reduce the numbers to the accommodation limit. Notwithstanding the criticisms that had been made against her, however, she took the opportunity to request an increase of the limit to 80.

She agreed that the fire precautions were inadequate and intended to consult a qualified authority on the matter. She stated that financial constraints did not allow for the building of a recreation hall, and she requested the Department to give them a grant for a new classroom and dormitory, thereby releasing the old classroom for a recreation hall.

Dr McCabe did not accept the response of the Superior, and advised her Department that she could only go by her own observations – the children had not gained weight over a period, and the only conclusion that could be drawn was that they were not getting sufficient food.

The Department wrote to the Superior on 3rd February 1944 and requested her to get a report from her School Medical Officer as to why the children had not gained weight. This report was furnished to the Department by the Superior on 22nd February 1944. The School Medical Officer who wrote the report stated that he had agreed the children’s diet in conjunction with Dr McCabe’s predecessor, but had recommended that the diet be supplemented by cod liver oil. This was done for a short period, but discontinued during the ‘emergency’, and he suggested that the Department should now supply cod liver oil to the School. He also stated that all but one child in the School were ‘abnormal’, and this was why the children were small in stature. In her covering letter, the Superior stated that the Resident Manager found it impossible to supply the whole School with cod liver oil.

Dr McCabe disagreed with the opinion of the School Medical Officer, and suggested that properly fed children did not need to supplement their diet with cod liver oil. The Minister for Education was informed of the response of the Superior, and a decision was taken on 14th March 1944 to send a strong letter to the School. The terms of the letter sent two weeks later were that the Department did not accept any of the reasons given by the Superior or the Medical Officer, and directed the Superior to inform the Department of what action she intended to take as soon as possible.

The Superior responded that she had consulted with the Resident Manager and staff, and there had been no falling off in the diet of the children. She suggested that one explanation for the weight loss may be that there was too long a fast from the evening meal at 5pm to breakfast the next day. She proposed to introduce a ‘slight collation’ before bedtime. She wrote that she found: ... it was almost impossible to secure sufficient milk, to allow a pint per day to each child ... I may add that as far as our judgement goes – not to mention our good will – every precaution is taken to secure the health of the children – one of the few advantages that will probably fall to their future lot ... Should it not be too great an intrusion the Resident Manager would feel grateful for the address of the firm which supplies Cod Liver Oil in bulk.

Clearly frustrated, Dr McCabe informed the Department that she felt the children needed to be properly fed, and wondered what the ‘collation’ would contain. On 13th April 1944, the Department once again, wrote formally to the Superior, telling her the children were simply not getting enough food: ... The position is, however, that the dietary seems, in any case, to have been inadequate all along as evidenced by the failure of the children to put on weight in the normal way. What is required is an all-round increase in the amount of food given to the children and the Minister will be glad to learn that you have made arrangements to have this done ... It is noted that you have arranged for the issue of a collation before bed-time and I am to enquire of what it consists.

By letter dated 20th April 1944, the Superior acknowledged the Department’s letter and said: ... With regard to the dietary, which had been approved of, no change has been made, with the exception of butter being served to all the children, since Margarine has been unprocurable. Each child receives one pint of milk per day – more during the summer months – The Collation consists of bread and butter, which makes a fifth meal each day ... If dietary counts in the matter of health, the immunity of the children of this school from sickness, should be some proof, at least, of the suitability of the food supplied.