Chapter 8 — Cappoquin

Neglect

The following year, a report was prepared for the Department containing the background as to how the Sisters came about erecting the new School. It contained debate as to whether the children could have been sent to the convent school in Cappoquin instead. However, the author submitted that this would have caused accommodation and integration problems in the local school, and he recommended that the Sisters should be given the grant.

This was followed up by a further report that same year, in which the case was considered and a recommendation was made to pay the grant.

Despite the recommendation to pay the grant, the Department was reluctant to apply to the Department of Finance for the funds, and had another inspection carried out by the Schools Inspector one year later. He also recommended that the grant be paid. He recognised that the parents in the local schools would not accept the industrial school children, and that there was no alternative but to educate them within the Industrial School. However, it was deemed inappropriate to remove the boys under six years of age from the external National School, because of the financial consequences for that school, and therefore, the Industrial School was only given two-thirds of the cost of the building, as that represented the actual needs of the School.

The Sisters had built a school large enough to accommodate 64 children, but the Department suggested that, as the proper size of the School would have been one to accommodate 48, the Department of Finance could base the grant on a pro-rata basis. In the early 1950s, the Department of Finance finally sanctioned a grant, which was two-thirds of the estimated cost of building the School for 48 pupils.

Although the Sisters had erected a school big enough to accommodate 64 pupils, a report by an Organising Inspector to the Department of Education 10 years later found, that despite there being just 37 children and well equipped classrooms, the School was not sufficiently used.

In the late 1960s, the Industrial Schools Branch of the Department of Education informed the Primary Branch that, in furtherance of the policy pursued for some years back of sending industrial school children to schools which cater for the local children, they proposed to amalgamate Cappoquin Industrial National School with the convent national school, and sought the views of the Primary Branch on the matter, asking them to state whether there would be any loss of income to the Industrial School as a result.

Old unsuitable classrooms, poor sanitation and inadequate fire escapes were problems not addressed until the early 1950s. The children were all under 10 years of age and needed facilities for play.

Cappoquin, with an accommodation limit of 75, had never been a big industrial school and, because of the ages of the children, few of them were available to work on the farm or in trades that would have served the needs of the School. The School could not have been financially viable when numbers began to fall in the mid-1960s.

In the mid-1960s, the Resident Manager wrote to the Chief Inspector of Industrial Schools advising him that numbers were declining in the School and expressing her disappointment that he had not managed to visit the School despite his recent journeys south. She advised him that the Congregation did not feel inclined to expend money on the premises of the School if it was doomed to closure. She requested that the Department should allow Cappoquin to keep boys up to the age of 16 years, as had recently been agreed for Mount St Joseph’s Industrial School, Passage West.

Three months later, the Department received a further letter from the Resident Manager in which she advised the Chief Inspector that the numbers had fallen to 46 boys, and that the declining numbers were a source of anxiety to the Congregation who had put a lot of money into improvements over the years. She repeated her request to retain boys until they were 16, and emphasised the suitability of the local secondary school in the area where the boys could get a secondary education.

Clearly frustrated by the lack of a visit from the Department, the Superior of the convent wrote to him again two weeks later, and impressed on him the urgency of the situation. She suggested that, if he could not come to them, they would come and meet him. Two months had passed since their request to hold on to boys until 16, and he had promised to visit within the week.

There is no record of whether this meeting took place but, two years later, no progress had been made, as evidenced by the letter written by the Superior to the Chief Inspector which pleaded with the Department to help keep the School open: You must be aware that our numbers are exceedingly low now – before 1st July, they will be reduced to nineteen – a big drop from our original certified number which was seventy five! I heard that the Boys’ Jr. School Kilkenny will soon be converted to one for the handicapped Children. [I wonder if you heard that we made a big effort to get this place recognised for the Retarded – but, failed, alas!] Now, you will appreciate the fact that it is a big disappointment to us, that this Institute here, will of necessity, come to an end, within twelve months from now. We spent thousands of pounds on renovations and improvements on it, in 1954–1955 – of which [an Inspector] & Dr McCabe can assure you. In the light of all this, it would be a considerable help to us, and a favour we would deeply appreciate it, if you would be so kind as to send us the boys under 10 years from Kilkenny, when the time comes for their departure from there. We know that some of those children are from Co’s Waterford and Wexford – is it too much to say that we would have a little claim on these? I leave this matter to your kind consideration you have no idea of what it would mean to us to be able to keep this School opened for a few more years. Unfortunately, we are situated too close to three Boarding Schools, to be able to use this building for the same purpose.

In a handwritten note, the Chief Inspector wrote: spoke to Sr. (Superior) and indicated that she was pushing an open door – that as many as possible consistent with the determining factors would be transferred to Cappoquin.

A month later, Dr Lysaght made a surprise inspection of the premises on behalf of the Department of Education. There were 32 boys there, all aged 10 or under. He recorded eight staff members, including the Resident Manager. He found the condition of the premises in good repair, and was informed that the Congregation had spent a lot of money on improvements and was most anxious about falling numbers. The Resident Manager feared they might have to close down. Dr Lysaght toured the building and was generally pleased with what he saw. He remarked on the good table manners displayed by the boys, and felt this was down to the efforts made by the Sisters with them. He thought the boys had a well-balanced and varied diet. He carried out a medical inspection, and raised a number of concerns about the arrangements in existence for dental treatment, which were not very satisfactory. The School in general had a happy and homely atmosphere.

In the late 1960s, the Superior again wrote to the Chief Inspector, and requested that they be allowed to take girls as well as boys, due to a decrease in numbers. She also requested that boys be allowed to stay until 12 years of age, in order that they could go to the local national and technical school for further studies.