4 entries for Br Marque

Br Marque was transferred to Salthill in the early 1970s, where he remained for 15 years. One Visitor was very critical of Br Marque who held a senior position in the Community at that time. He noted: Unfortunately he has a problem with drink and when under its influence he can deal harshly with erring boys. The boys are aware of this weakness and the irrational motivation behind these punishments. This does not increase their respect for their staff nor their confidence in it.

The following year, the Visitor noted that Br Marque ‘still has a drink problem but the Superior’s good sense and vigilance have helped to lessen the gravity of the situation’.

The situation remained unresolved into the mid-1970s. The Visitor remarked that Br Marque gave the impression that he was not too happy in Galway and repeated, verbatim, the comment of the previous year: ‘He still has a drink problem but the Superior’s good sense and vigilance have helped to lessen the gravity of the situation’.

During the mid-1970s, the Resident Manager’s diary recorded that, at 2am, a former pupil, Brian Dunne, who had been discharged some 10 years previously, ‘broke in and interfered with boys’. The following night, at 1.30 am, he again broke into the School and sexually assaulted five boys. On this occasion, he was caught by Br Marque. Eight months later, he once again broke into the School. No further details of these incidents are available. The former pupil had been in Salthill for six years during the 1960s. Patrick Nolan,26 trainee childcare worker