Chapter 8 — Cappoquin

Neglect

In 1970, the Department certified St Michael’s for the reception of girls and retention of boys until 17 years, with special permission.

In 1972, two years after the publication of the Kennedy Report, a decision was made by the Department of Education, the Sisters of Mercy and Waterford County Council to erect a model group home in the grounds of St Michael’s Cappoquin for 15 children of mixed sexes, on a site offered to them by the School Manager. This plan was the implementation of one of the major recommendations of the Kennedy Report.

Later that year, a Department Inspector carried out a general inspection. It is worth noting that the previous inspection by Dr Lysaght was in 1966 – a period of six years had elapsed since the Department had carried out an inspection.

The Inspector found 67 children in care. He noted that, of all the schools he had visited so far, Cappoquin was most in need of an upgrade. He was encouraged by the fact that one of the Sisters had just completed the Kilkenny childcare course and was in England on a placement. He was informed that the plans for a group home were being drawn up, and the Resident Manager was most anxious to get this underway, as one of her main problems was overcrowding.

The Inspector noted that, although the plan was to move in the direction of group homes, no extra effort was being made to introduce any form of grouping. The Resident Manager, although active and devoted, was too old and worn out, and the authorities were further handicapped by recurring staffing problems. The staff numbers at the time were two full-time Sisters, one temporary full-time Sister, one Sister in charge of the kitchen with a lay assistant, two part-time Sisters and four lay staff. A nurse called every few weeks.

A group of Departmental officials visited St Michael’s Cappoquin in 1972 to further the group home scheme and select a suitable site. They agreed with the proposal from the Superior that they should buy a site from Mount Melleray Abbey, as it had the advantage of proximity to the convent.

The report, drawn up by one of the Department officials following this visit, made a number of observations regarding the difficulties facing St Michael’s: A factor in the unsatisfactory condition and management of the residential home in St. Michaels has been that it is looked upon as the poor relation by the Convent and has not been properly supported by it. Discreet hints were given to [Sr Clarice]4 that the residential home demands attention as good as can be given to any sector of the Convent’s education Commitment ... ... At present there are 65 children in the residential home which is too many for the kind of set-up there. Apart from this, a small town like Cappoquin would not find it easy to absorb and integrate a community of children as large as the present. Add to that the difficulty in getting the Convent to allocate suitable staff to St. Michaels in adequate numbers and the future might seem most appropriately to lie with two modern, well-staffed group homes accommodating a total of about 30 children between them.

A general inspection carried out in the mid-1970s recorded that 65 children were in care. It noted that only 12 of these were formally grouped (the 12 youngest), with a full-time lay worker and a Sister on a part-time basis as their staff. The two group homes were well under construction.

In 1976, the Department of Education appointed Graham Granville as a childcare advisor to the Department of Education and Inspector of Residential Children’s Homes and Special Schools. This position was one of the recommendations made by the Kennedy Report in 1970.

The first general inspection report from Mr Granville is dated 2nd April 1976 and, by then, two group homes had been opened in the grounds of Cappoquin, with a number of children still accommodated in the old Industrial School.

He was disappointed with his visit and found an air of complacency in the old Institution and the new group homes. The Resident Manager and her assistant were very elderly and had only two very young staff to assist. The children in the old premises were divided into three ill-defined groups and: I can only express my very grave concern at the extremely low standard of care that is available for the children. I believe that the present environment is damaging by the very nature of its institutional primitive appearance, it is lacking in warmth and consequently, I would question the quality of care being applied for the children.

The report continued in a critical vein: he noted that there were serious staffing problems for some time and, in fact, in the previous 12 months they had to dismiss a staff member following complaints from a parent to the medical officer in the area.

The two new group homes had a young nun in charge of each, who were trained social workers, and a very limited young, inexperienced staff: The Sisters in charge at the New Group Homes have transferred some of ineffective child care practises into their Homes. I am most concerned about their attitudes and approach to the work, they are lacking any impetus and they are negative in a number of ways.

He decided to return to Cappoquin within a week and speak to the Reverend Mother in private about the situation. She agreed with his suggestion that the way forward was to phase out St Michael’s over a five-year period and move towards group homes.

Later that month, in an internal memorandum, a senior Department official, having read Mr Granville’s report, suggested that the root cause of the problems in Cappoquin was the lack of male staff in a school that had, until recently, been a home for boys. Mr Granville confirmed that, even with normal discharge, it would take several years to reduce the numbers in Cappoquin to the ideal of about 30, with 15 in each group home. There was general agreement with Mr Granville that the old building needed to be phased out as soon as possible.