Chapter 2 — Methodology

Compilation of evidence

Witness evidence in relation to Industrial and Reformatory Schools and ‘Other’ Institutions covered an 86 year period, from the earliest admission date of 1914 to the latest discharge date of 2000. Thirteen (13) witness reports referred to admissions between 1914 and 1930, and 10 of the witness reports related to discharges after 1990. It was decided to arrange the evidence in four time periods to facilitate sorting. The chosen time periods were: pre-1960s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and later. Occasionally throughout the report references are made to specific decades within these time periods to reflect witness evidence. The year of final discharge was designated as the determining factor for allocation to a time period. Therefore, where reference is made to evidence pertaining to one time period the segment of evidence will include some matters that relate to a previous decade or time period.23

Each witness provided evidence in their own way and each witness’s experience was unique, therefore, it is not possible to present complete and comparable data for all witnesses. For instance many witnesses reported that they had no memory of their own treatment as very young children in institutions. Reports of abuse to babies and younger children are almost exclusively confined to what witnesses reported they observed. The Report is largely silent on the abuse perpetrated on children who were too young to accurately recall their own experiences. Some witnesses also acknowledged gaps in both their specific and general recall of events, with many clearly stating that they wished to report what they actually remembered, even if it was incomplete.

The Report is a summarised compilation of the evidence provided. In this context, the Report provides no further analysis beyond what was necessary to report as required by the legislation. The evidence was recorded within a fixed database and, as a result, some elements of the data presented are necessarily incomplete. In some instances aspects of the same information are presented under different headings due to unavoidable overlap between categories of abuse.

It is anticipated that this Report may be read by people from a wide range of backgrounds in terms of age, belief and ethnicity and for that reason there are footnotes throughout the text clarifying the meaning of certain terms used.

Readers will note that some coincidences of numbers occur throughout the Report. Where the same number appears in different contexts it should be noted that they have been checked by the Committee and are correct.

In the interest of clarity, Industrial and Reformatory Schools, religious Brothers and Sisters and Children’s Homes are referred to by upper case designations to distinguish them from primary and second-level schools, children’s family homes and sibling brothers and sisters.

For the purpose of compiling this volume of the Report persons referred to by the witnesses as being in charge in management positions are described as authority figures and may include Resident Managers, Reverend Mothers, Brother Superiors and school Principals.

Use of quotations

Most chapters in this Report quote extensively from witnesses’ direct evidence to the Committee. The purpose of the use of quotations is to provide a representative account of the witnesses’ experiences in their own words, including colloquialisms and informal terminology, for example, many witnesses referred to Industrial Schools as orphanages.

The italicised words used in the quotations are the actual words used by the witnesses at their hearing. All names and identifying details are deleted to preserve anonymity and are substituted by ellipses, a set of three dots, and anonymous references, for example X or Y. Further, for the purposes of clarification explanatory comments are included in brackets in some quotations. The choice of quotations intends to represent the range of experiences described, including those concerning family circumstances and subsequent effects on adult life.

In order to preserve confidentiality, no person or place can be identified in this Report or elsewhere. 24 The source of each quotation used is anonymised and, where necessary and appropriate, the Committee has made use of neutral characters and words, for example: X, Y and Z or ‘named city’.

Documentation

Witnesses were invited to bring supporting documentation to their hearing, if they wished, and a number brought copies of documents relating to their admission that they had acquired under the Freedom of Information Acts, 1997 and 2003, and other searches. Included among the documents provided by witnesses to the Commissioners were: Admission records Documents from institutional centres Medical records Birth certificates Letters from the Department of Education and Science25 Court orders Correspondence between their families, the institutions and relevant authorities Letters from the gardaí and others seeking payments from parents General correspondence Newspaper cuttings relating to their admission Personal photographs from their time in the institution.

Emergency counselling and medical services

Some witnesses reported that they found attending their hearing with the Committee a daunting prospect. The National Counselling Service (NCS) in Ireland provided for a counsellor to be available on call during the time all hearings were scheduled. The Witness Support Officers liaised with the NCS and the health service at a local medical clinic in anticipation of the possible need for emergency assistance arising from the hearing. Counselling services were available through the Immigrant Counselling and Psychotherapy (ICAP) service in the UK to facilitate witnesses resident in the UK. Witnesses who had not previously availed of a counselling service were provided with the necessary information regarding either their local NCS office or ICAP, if they so requested.

Returning to hear evidence

For a period of three months after the Committee concluded its hearings, witnesses were able, if they so wished, to listen back to their evidence that had been audio-recorded by the Committee. The listening did not constitute a hearing and witnesses could not alter, add in, or take away any written record of their evidence. The opportunity to listen to the recording of their hearing was offered for the potential beneficial effect it would provide.26 Seventy four (74) witnesses returned to listen to some or all of their recorded evidence.

Reasons given for attending the Confidential Committee

The witnesses reported different reasons for applying to be heard by the Committee, which are categorised in Table 3 below. The most frequently cited reasons were a wish to have the abuse they experienced officially recorded and a desire to tell their story. The protection of children and the prevention of future abuse were other reasons frequently given for providing evidence. Witnesses stated their hope that, by reporting their own experiences and having them placed on public record the need for greater vigilance and protection for children in out-of-home care would be recognised in future.

Reasons for giving evidence	Males	%	Females	%	Total witnesses	%
To record abuse	174	29	114	23	288	26
To tell their story	84	14	88	18	172	16
Prevent abuse in the future	111	19	97	19	208	19
Therapeutic benefit	98	17	85	17	183	17
Encouraged by others	61	10	67	13	128	12
Sense of obligation	23	4	11	2	34	3
Other reasons	31	5	31	6	62	6
Not stated	10	2	5	1	15	1
Total	592	100	498	(100)*	1,090	100

One hundred and twenty eight (128) witnesses reported being encouraged by a range of people, including family members, other survivors, counsellors and solicitors to apply to the Committee. They expressed the hope that attending the Committee would help them put painful memories of the past behind them and achieve ‘closure’. A small number of witnesses reported that they had been encouraged to attend by former staff of the institutions.