This part is not only going to include the section from the commission on the Artane Industrial School, but also a news story from the victims of Artane describing what happened to them, I will include that news story first, with a link to it, and then continue with the report.

BROTHERS FROM HELL; 10 former Artane Boys Tell of Broken Legs, Torture and Sex Abuse.

TODAY 10 former Artane boys tell JILLY BEATTIE their stories of life at the notorious Industrial School.

Six of them have made allegations to the Gardai as part of Ireland’s biggest child abuse investigation in which 40 Christian Brothers Christian Brothers: see John Baptist de la Salle, Saint. have been named and accused. The other four intend to do the same.

They all say their lives have been destroyed by their experiences under the guardianship of the Brothers at Artane, citing relationship breakdowns, unemployment and clinical depression as some of the problems they have had.

Two of the survivors never married, the marriages of seven broke down and one is still married.

Of the eight who did marry, only two told their wives about the abuse they suffered, and none of their children knows about their past life in Artane.

All the fathers say they have difficult relationships with their children.

Four have tried to commit suicide, four are long-term unemployed and all 10 are currently receiving counselling.

These survivors are among 250 men seeking justice for the sexual, physical and emotional abuse they claim they suffered at Artane at the hands of Christian Brothers.

GERRY 1966-69
In care from eight months after being conceived outside marriage

I WAS beaten and raped by nine different Brothers.

Joseph O’Connor dragged me to his room and he threw sweets on the floor. When I bent to pick them up he pulled my trousers down and thrashed me with the leather cosh.

I squealed and screamed and he kept on hitting me, all over my body and head. I suppose he stopped hitting me when I passed out.

My mother came to see me during that time and she was told I was being treated for TB and couldn’t be seen.

I still wake up screaming in the night, convinced a Brother is trying to get me, trying to drag me away.

The Christian Brothers have to pay for what they did to us as boys.

They have apologised to anyone who was hurt while at Artane but that’s not enough to let me get on with my life.

MALACHY 1965-69
Sent to Atane with his brother for mitching school

THE day Artane burned down I thanked God. I prayed that all the Brothers who hurt me had died but most of those b*****ds are still alive.

I suffered all sorts of abuse. Most of it I still cannot talk about.

They raped me, they beat me, they humiliated me.

Sometimes when you turned up they would be abusing some other boy and you would have to watch or join in.

We were made to crawl on our hands and knees while the other boys were forced to hit you. If they didn’t hit you, they had to get down and start crawling too.

Artane was a concentration camp. Anything we arrived with was taken away from us – clothes, shoes, love, good memories, happiness and trust.

JOHN 1958-61
Sent to Atane for the theft of an overcoat

I WAS a tearaway as a child and eventually the Guards got sick of hauling me up and I was put into Artane.

I ran away three times after being beaten but the Guards brought me back.

After the first time I was beaten around the dormitory. I had my two front teeth knocked out and my wrist was broken.

Then I had to sit in agony as the barber – one of the boys – shaved my head for running away.

Anyone found talking to me was beaten.

I know there were boys raped and interfered with in Artane, but I never was.

The Brothers picked their victims well and chose the most vulnerable.

When I was older they used me to abuse the younger boys. They made me a monitor and I used to beat the boys too.

The Brothers were evil. They enjoyed the violence they meted out. Their favourite weapons were fear and the leather strap.

AIDAN 1966-69
Sent to Artane for mitching school

I WAS always a quiet child and was labelled stupid because I had dyslexia

I used to mitch school because I was teased. Then I was sent to Artane.

It was the worst thing anyone could have done to me. I was the perfect victim of the abuse the Brothers favoured. I spoke to no-one.

I was raped three months after I was moved to Artane and used by three particular Brothers, one of whom, Brother O’Connor, is dead.

I was like a rag doll. They threw me about the place. I was b*****ed, forced to touch the Brothers, masturbate them and have oral sex.

When I was sick I was beaten and kicked. The sexual abuse was indescribable, but it was worse when it was coupled with physical abuse. I ended up in the infirmary seven times during my three years there.

My wife knows – but I still find it hard to hug and love her. No-one deserved what we got.

DECLAN 1965-69
In care from three years after mother deemed unfit unfit to look after him

I HAD no-one to turn to when I needed to get away from Artane. I was put in there because the authorities said my mother couldn’t look after me and my brothers.

I was b*****ed 18 times in Artane and beaten probably every day I was there.

In the summer when some of the other boys had gone to foster families, I was left with the others and that’s when I suffered most abuse.

One night I was made to strip before I was hit and a Brother stood on my hands so I couldn’t move. The beating was started by one Brother and finished by another.

O’Connor was a depraved de·praved b*****d. He was at Artane from 1930 and he did everything he could to inflict as much pain as he could on the boys.

He ran the band and even appeared on an RTE programme dedicated to his so-called good work. That bastard sat and smiled his way through it. I dread to think how many boys’ lives he ruined. He destroyed me.

ADRIAN 1965-69
Sent to Atane with his brother for mitching school

I HAD both my arms broken by a Brother.

I still don’t know Don’t know what I did wrong but I was told not to be bold or I would suffer for it.

Then he lashed into me, I was 11. He hit me with the leather strap, then he started punching and kicking me.

I fell to the floor and he kicked me with his boots. I stopped screaming and he kept hitting me for a bit. Then he told me to pray for forgiveness.

He told me I was bad and would have to ask Jesus to stop me being bad. Two boys took me to the infirmary.

On the way another Brother said I should never be bold because God can see everything. I was terrified

If the Brothers did this to me, what would God do?

JOE 1951-56
Put in care after the death of his mother and suicide of his father

I WAS separated from my brothers and sisters and sent to Artane.

Joseph O’Connor met me at Connolly Station and pushed me into a car. He ran the band and when I said I’d never been interested in music he stopped the car, dragged me out and thrashed me.

When I arrived at the school it was four days before Christmas. One of the boys in my dormitory told me we would be safe for the day. I later realised this meant that we were less likely to be sexually abused on December 25.

Joe Boy O’Connor was an evil bastard. He never raped me but he beat me until I fainted one day. When I woke up I was in the infirmary.

One day I was flogged by another Brother and made to wear a singlet which had been soaked in salt water. I believe it was to literally add salt to my wounds and make it more painful for me.

DESMOND 1964-66
Sent to Artane for mitching school

MY earliest sex education was being forced to watch two younger boys masturbating a Christian Brother.

Then I was forced to beat them before I was fondled by the same Brother.

This happened for five nights with 10 different boys and me looking on every time.

I was never b*****ed but I know two boys who were. I was made to give a number of the Brothers oral sex.

Today I am a gay man but I’ve had problems forming relationships. I still wonder, if my first sexual experiences had been with a woman, would my life have been different.

I think the Brothers at Artane were gay and used the boys for their sexual desires.

We were abused. There’s no excuse for what they did. They violated us – continually.

The beatings were incredible. And the shaming was awful.

EAMONN 1965-68
In care from 10 after mother died

I ended up at Artane after my mother died. I was heartbroken but sure the Brothers would understand and look after me.

I had a terrible shock. The first time I was caught crying on my second night I was beaten by the Brother in charge.

I wet myself and was beaten more. I cried and had my head pushed into a drawer and was thrashed from behind. He only stopped beating me when I couldn’t cry any more.

We were constantly told we were worthless.

I grew up quickly and realised that the beatings and the sexual abuse would not stop until the day I walked out of the doors forever.

I ran away twice and was brought back by the Guards. The first time I was beaten and had my head shaved. The second time it was worse.

I was told I was an ungrateful, worthless little b*****d. I was told I had no-one who loved me and that I would learn to appreciate the care the Brothers showed me. Then I was beaten again.

DONACHA 1966-69
In care from six years after mother deemed a violent alcoholic

I HAD suffered violence from my mother and father at home and was glad to get out of the house to be looked after by the Brothers in Artane.

I’d heard they were tough but I thought it had to be better than at home. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I was first raped when I was 12 and I lost count of the times it happened again. Every day was spent trying to avoid being hit, but it was useless.

There was the odd decent enough Brother who tried to keep me from trouble but I’ve since been told the ones I thought were OK were b*****ds to some of the other boys. Maybe they just liked me.

Boys were dragged from their beds at night, we were beaten in full view of other staff and boys and we were sexually abused in front of other boys too.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BROTHERS+FROM+HELL%3B+10+former+Artane+boys+tell+of+broken+legs,…-a060413360

NOTE: After a three year Garda investigation and a further 7 year legal process, ONE Christian Brother was convicted of indecent assault in Artane.

Ireland’s Commission Report

Chapter 7
St Joseph’s Industrial School, Artane (‘Artane’), 1870–1969

Introduction

Background

7.01St Joseph’s Industrial School, Artane was established under the Industrial Schools Act (Ireland), 1868 by the Christian Brothers at the request of the then Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Cullen. It opened on 28^th July 1870 with the aim of caring for neglected, orphaned and abandoned Roman Catholic boys, and it operated as an industrial school until its closure in 1969.

7.02The Industrial School was located in a north-eastern suburb of Dublin some five kilometres from the city centre in an area which was, at that time, open countryside amenable to intensive farming. The application for a certificate in June 1870, to the Chief Secretary for Ireland, stated that Artane Castle plus 56 acres of land had been purchased for the purpose of setting up an industrial school. The request was approved and the School was licensed to accommodate 825 boys on 9^th July 1870. From an original intake of three pupils, it quickly grew in scale, housing 700 boys by 1877, and reaching its certified size of 825 boys before the end of the nineteenth century. During its existence, approximately 15,500 boys were cared for and educated in Artane.

7.03In 1870, the buildings consisted of a large dwelling house with out-offices, gardens and 56 acres of arable land. The property had been purchased for £7,000, and it was proposed that dormitories, classrooms etc. would be erected for a further £1,600. Three boys were admitted in the beginning and then tarred sheds were put up to accommodate 40 boys. The Congregation’s Opening Statement described how the ambitious scheme developed thereafter:

Public personages of all shades of opinion gave the school generous support. To raise funds for the provision of permanent buildings a petition signed by a large number of people was presented to the Lord Mayor. A public meeting was called by the Lord Mayor in response to this petition and substantial voluntary funds were soon received. From this response and from newspaper articles of the time it is clear that there was strong public support for the work of the school. The design, atmosphere and work ethos of the school received much acclaim from numerous eminent persons in public life and many visitors were impressed with what they witnessed.

7.04Although the initial proposal was that £1,600 would be spent building dormitories and classrooms, an Annual published by the Brothers in 1905 recorded that buildings costing over £60,000 had been erected at Artane by that time. The land associated with the School increased from 56 acres to more than 350 acres by the early 1940s.¹ In 1934, some 147 acres were under meadow and tillage, with the remainder being used for grazing, apart from land occupied by buildings and playgrounds. The main building still stands today.

7.05Artane was conceived on a grand scale. Dormitories accommodated up to 150 boys, sleeping in ordered rows of beds with no personal space. The dining area or refectory accommodated all 825 boys at one sitting. A submission in 1934 to the Cussen Commission into industrial schools boasted that a ‘magnificent corridor 365 feet long runs the whole length of the building’.

7.06The undertaking comprised the School, the trade shops and the farm, in addition to the Community house. The trade shops and the farm constituted a substantial business enterprise, of which the farm brought in a large yearly income.

7.07The Investigation Committee engaged a Consultant Engineer, Ciaran Fahy, to examine and report on the buildings and accommodation in Artane, and his report is annexed at Appendix 1 to this chapter.

7.08The Rules and Regulations of Artane were similar to those of other industrial schools and required it to provide for the physical needs of the boys committed to the School, who were to be supplied with suitable accommodation, clothing, food, and instruction. Recreation was to be provided and they were allowed to receive visitors and to correspond with outsiders. They were to receive religious instruction, a secular education and industrial training. The School was also required to develop a spirit of industry, pride and discipline amongst the children.²

7.09The number of children detained in Artane from 1937 to 1969 was as follows:

1936	n/a		1944	820		1952	732		1960	421		1968	230
1937	679		1945	820		1953	696		1961	395		1969	211
1938	737		1946	811		1954	739		1962	367
1939	772		1947	797		1955	650		1963	341
1940	820		1948	830		1956	566		1964	319
1941	817		1949	803		1957	496		1965	314
1942	817		1950	776		1958	426		1966	307
1943	810		1951	749		1959	446		1967	230

7.10These boys were ordered to be detained in Artane by the courts for reasons of inadequate parental care, destitution, neglect, truancy or the commission of minor offences. It is clear, however, that poverty was the underlying reason why children were sent to Artane, whatever the statutory category grounding the detention.

7.11The reasons for committals during the period from 1940 to 1969 were as follows:

Improper guardianship	School Attendance Act	Destitution	Homelessness	Larceny	Other crime
1374	1045	720	227	229	90

7.12Other admissions to Artane were insignificant in number in the 1940s but they increased substantially later. Health Board and voluntary admissions increased from 13 in the 1940s to 113 in the 1950s, and 136 in the 1960s. These admissions were not included in the number of children in respect of whom a capitation grant was payable by the Department of Education. They were either privately funded to attend the School or paid for by the Health Board, and in the latter years they accounted for an additional 50% of boys in Artane.

7.13During June 1969, the 211 boys who were still detained in Artane were moved out and the Institution closed on the 30^th of that month. 120 boys were discharged to their parents or godparents or placed in jobs. Of the remainder, 26 boys were transferred to Ferryhouse, and the others went in small numbers to different institutions around the country. These dispositions were agreed after much discussion and many meetings between the School authorities and the Department of Education.

7.14In the years leading up to the closure, and particularly during the late 1960s, there was a dramatic decline in the number of children who would potentially have made up the population of industrial schools. Legal adoption, fostering and boarding-out were among the principal reasons for the decline. In addition, attitudes of the public and a number of State officials had become unsympathetic to industrial schools as a means of caring for deprived children. Improvements in economic and social conditions and benefits also contributed.

7.15Artane, as the biggest industrial school, was most vulnerable to these developments. The Superior was a member of the Kennedy Committee that began work in 1967 and was expected to report in mid-1968. He was privy to the thinking of the Committee and was able to inform his colleagues in the Congregation that the Committee was going to recommend the closure of Artane.

7.16Br Reynolds, Deputy Leader of St Mary’s Province of the Christian Brothers, said at the Phase I hearing that it was clear at the time that the Kennedy Committee would recommend the closure of industrial schools. The Opening Statement stated:

it was becoming clear to the Congregation that the future of Artane Industrial School was uncertain and had been under discussion from the middle nineteen fifties. Eventually, in or around 1967 the Congregation took a decision in principle to close the institution.

7.17Br Reynolds added that he thought that the decision ‘could have been taken in 1967’, with the timing being left to the Provincial to decide. On 23^rd January 1968 the Provincial informed the Minister for Education that the School would close on 31^st August of that year. At a meeting attended by the Minister in March, the Brothers agreed to a deferment until 31^st December 1968, to give the Department time to arrange alternative accommodation for the boys. One further extension until 30^th June 1968 was subsequently agreed.

The Cussen Report and Artane

7.18The beginning of the relevant period of this inquiry coincided with the publication in 1936 of the Cussen Report into Industrial and Reformatory Schools.³ The Congregation had made a written submission to the Cussen Inquiry, with a detailed account of the system of care and an unapologetic defence of all aspects of the Institution.

7.19The Congregation was worried that the Cussen Commission would call for changes in Artane, and there was relief when that body’s visit to the School went off successfully and the Brothers were reassured by their belief that the Commissioners seemed pleased by what they saw. The Brothers knew that talk of change was in the air and they were hoping to persuade the Commissioners to approve the existing state of affairs. Br Strahan, who wrote the submission for the Congregation, concluded it with the request that Artane should remain as it was:

Whether judged by the greatness of its successes, or by the small proportion of its failures, or by the world-wide fame it has attained, we submit, Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, that not only should Artane be allowed to stand untouched, but that it should be cordially and generously supported.

7.20The submission responded to the suggestion that the School was too big, by arguing that it had succeeded beyond all expectations and that:

in its largeness lies its chief merit and advantage; for it is its size and its multiplicity of activities that afford exercise to those following the various trades, etc., within its own precincts. It is only in a large school that such a variety of trades could be established to meet the immediate demands of the Institution.

7.21Acknowledging that ‘the air has become charged with reports of even drastic changes’ because of recent legislation in England, Br Strahan emphasised the differences between the countries and the fact that the new ideas were as yet unproven. He wrote that the legislation dealt ‘with a different people, a people of different temperament, of different religious opinions’.

7.22The submission painted an idyllic picture of life in Artane, describing in detail the facilities for education, training, recreation, aftercare and the living conditions of the boys as being in all respects of the highest quality. No significant faults were admitted. However, in spite of the writer’s zeal in defending every feature of the Institution, something of the impersonal nature of the School crept into the submission. The mealtime routine was described as follows:

After mid-day we hear a bugle-call and see the assembling of the clans from farm and shops and band room and knitting room, as they form in companies before dinner hour. We see them walk in perfect order, but with free step, and await in silence till the presiding Brother pronounces Grace. We see them sit down in perfect silence until given leave to chat …

7.23Some issues that were of real concern to the Commissioners in the Cussen Inquiry were discussed very favourably in the Christian Brothers’ submission, but it transpired when the Report was published that they were anything but convinced. The recommendations made by the Cussen Commission rejected some important parts of the submissions that the Congregation had put forward. The proposal to split up Artane into four units, the criticism of education, and the dissatisfaction with supervision and aftercare of children leaving Christian Brothers’ industrial schools went directly against the arguments in support of the Institution. Some other recommendations were not specific to Artane but were no less applicable and were also implicitly adverse findings.

7.24The Commission concluded that the School was too big by a factor of about four, and recommended that it should be divided. Paragraph 72 of the Report stated:

In our opinion the best results can be obtained only where the number under any one Manager does not exceed 200 pupils. We think that in no case should the number exceed 250. It is necessary in this connection to refer specifically to the case of Artane Industrial School, which is certified for 800 boys and where there are on an average about 700 boys. It is in our view impossible for the Manager in an Institution of this size to bring to bear that personal touch essential to give each child the impression that he is an individual in whose troubles, ambitions, and welfare a lively interest is being taken. We strongly recommend, therefore, that Artane should be divided into separate Schools, the pupils being segregated according to age and attainments. Each school should contain not more than 250 pupils under the control of a sub-manger, whose appointment and removal should be subject to the approval of the Minister …

7.25Artane was also singled out for criticism of the education provided. The Commission noted with regret at paragraph 92 of the Report:

… that in Artane Industrial School, with over 700 pupils, only the minimum standard of literary education required by the regulations is provided, and pupils, however promising, cannot, as a rule, proceed beyond sixth standard.

7.26The Commission commented on supervision and aftercare of children discharged from industrial schools, and was critical of this aspect of care in schools run by the Christian Brothers. Paragraph 120 said:

We are not satisfied as to the adequacy of the methods of supervision and after-care of children discharged from these schools, particularly in the case of boys leaving the Industrial Schools which are under the management of the Christian Brothers.

7.27On this subject, the Brothers’ submission had described a very satisfactory situation, which was obviously not accepted by the Commissioners:

The school keeps in touch with the ex-pupils by letters, enquiries, meetings, when on holiday, reports from employers, etc., for at least two years, and generally for three years after they leave school, and taking into account how greatly they were handicapped in earlier life, it is most gratifying to find the small percentage of those who have failed to make good.

7.28The Cussen Report made other observations and criticisms that were not specific to Artane or to Christian Brothers’ institutions, and they are discussed as they arise in considering the evidence.

7.29The concerns expressed by Cussen were well founded. In particular, the excessive numbers of boys in the School continued to have a detrimental effect on the capacity of the Institution to provide a caring environment and on the lives of those who lived and worked in it, and contributed greatly to the problems that emerged over the years. The Congregation has conceded that, because of the numbers and because of the need for constant vigilance, Artane was run on a highly organised basis, even to the point of regimentation.

7.30The recommendation to divide the Industrial School was not implemented, although, in the last years of Artane’s existence when the numbers had dropped to a fraction of previous decades, the boys were segregated into two groups according to their ages. The documentary records of the Christian Brothers and the Department of Education did not disclose the reason for rejecting the proposal to divide the School. There was no record of discussion or debate or of any explicit decision in that regard. Although the Congregation in its submissions has blamed the Department of Education for failure to implement this recommendation, it must also bear responsibility. If the Brothers had proposed such a change, it is difficult to see how the Department could have reasonably opposed it. When the division was made in 1967, admittedly a much smaller alteration in view of the reduced population, it was an internal decision of the Congregation.

Management and staff

7.31The hierarchical nature of the religious leadership in Artane had consequences for the management of the School. Evidence before the Committee pointed to a rigid and simplistic management structure, whereby all the power and all the decision-making function lay with the Resident Manager. Individual Brothers spoke to the Committee about their own feelings of helplessness and frustration at their inability to effect change. Older Brothers had authority over younger colleagues, and this allowed a system to develop whereby all the heavy workload of the Institution fell on a small number of young, inexperienced Brothers who were obliged by their vows of obedience to carry out instructions without question.

7.32The Institution was not adequately staffed. The day-to-day operation was left to a small number of largely inexperienced and untrained Brothers who were required to work for up to 14 hours a day, seven days a week. Other Brothers lived in the Community and participated to varying degrees in the Institution, for example in administrative work, while some Brothers did not participate at all in the running of the School due to age, ill-health or even, according to one Brother, because of disinclination. These Brothers were supported by the School, but did not participate in its work.

7.33The Brothers working in the Institution were not instructed in childcare. Their tuition was the teacher training for national schools which was provided by the Congregation at its own Marino training college. Brothers attended teacher training in Marino for one year and were then sent out to a Christian Brothers’ school for experience for a number of years, before returning to complete their second and final years. Many young Brothers were sent to Artane as their first posting in this interim period, when they were wholly unqualified to care for children and had completed only half of their course as teachers. The Investigation Committee heard evidence from former members of staff of Artane that they were shocked by their first experience and overwhelmed by the scale of the task imposed on them.

The investigation

7.34Phase I of the hearings into Artane took place on 15^th September 2005 with a public session at the Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2. Evidence was heard from Br Michael Reynolds, who described life in the Institution and outlined the Congregation’s view as to how the Institution operated.

7.35Phase II commenced on 26^th September 2005 in the offices of the Commission and continued in private in accordance with the legislation until 16^th December 2005. The Investigation Committee invited 78 complainants to give evidence as part of the Artane inquiry, of whom 48 attended and gave evidence. 26 respondents, either Brothers or ex-Brothers gave evidence. In addition, the Committee heard from two other witnesses who were in a position to give general information about the Institution.⁴

7.36In Phase III of the Investigation Committee’s inquiry into Artane, Br Reynolds returned to give evidence on behalf of the Congregation at a public hearing which took place on 22^nd and 23^rd May 2006. This session focused on issues that arose as a result of the private hearings into Artane and the documentary material furnished to the Commission.

7.37In addition to oral evidence, the Investigation Committee considered documentary discovery material received from a number of sources, namely the Christian Brothers, the Department of Education and Science, An Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Archbishop of Dublin and the Health Service Executive.

7.38There are Department of Education General and Medical Inspection Reports for most of the period of the investigation. Files from the headquarters of the Christian Brothers in Rome yielded evidence of cases of sexual abuse considered by the Congregation to have been admitted or proven against individual Brothers. Visitation Reports of the Christian Brothers were another valuable source of information. Infirmary records were scant and were shown to be misleading in some cases. There was a statutory requirement to maintain a punishment book, which was to be examined by the Department of Education Inspector, but no such book was maintained.

7.39An unusual feature about Artane was that there was independent evidence as to conditions there. The evidence was firstly that of Fr Henry Moore, who was chaplain to Artane by appointment of the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr J.C. McQuaid, from 1960 to 1967. Fr Moore was the author of a confidential report on conditions in Artane, which he wrote in 1962 at the request of the Archbishop. He also gave evidence about the Institution to an Inter-Departmental Committee on juvenile crime in the same year, as a result of which controversy arose between officials of the Department of Justice and the Department of Education. Fr Moore was exceptionally qualified to comment on residential schools and the Christian Brothers, because he had spent nearly 10 years as a resident of St Vincent’s Glasnevin, an orphanage operated by the Christian Brothers. Fr Moore’s evidence is discussed in detail later in this chapter.

7.40The Investigation Committee also heard evidence from Dr Paul McQuaid, consultant psychiatrist, who was a regular visitor to Artane in the late 1960s.

7.41The Investigation Committee engaged experts to prepare reports on Artane. Mazars, a firm of accountants and financial consultants, analysed the accounts of the Institution and produced a report which was provided to the Congregation for comment and response. The issues concerning Artane are analysed in the Mazars’ report which is dealt with in Vol IV. As indicated above, Mr Ciaran Fahy, consulting engineer, prepared a report on the buildings and lands of the Institution, which was similarly sent for comment and which is also annexed (to the chapter).

Concessions and submissions

7.42The Investigation Committee received submissions from the Christian Brothers in relation to Artane in February 2007. A number of complainants and individual respondents also made written submissions on the oral and documentary evidence that emerged during the inquiry.

7.43The Christian Brothers made similar submissions regarding Artane as they made in relation to other institutions. In particular, they submitted that:

an analysis of all the evidence before the Commission strongly suggests that, at a time of significant economic deprivation in the State, the Congregation fully and properly discharged its legal and moral obligations to care for the boys in Artane and that it did so notwithstanding limited financial and related support from the State. Further, in spite of considerable restrictions, the Congregation adopted a progressive and reforming approach to childcare which became particularly apparent in the 1960s. When one takes all of the evidence before the Commission into account, there can be no doubt that, at all times, the welfare and best interests of the boys was the paramount concern of the Congregation and of its members who worked in Artane. The evidence would also suggest that the quality of care which was thus provided to the boys was, in all the circumstances, of a particularly high standard.

7.44The Congregation accepted that the regime was mainly one of physical care and did not encompass much in the way of emotional attention. The Brothers denied that the Institution was generally an abusive one, and their fundamental contention was that Artane was a positive Institution which generally was a force for good.

7.45With regard to sexual abuse, they acknowledged that such incidents had happened, and they greatly regretted them. They said that, as a Congregation, it did not tolerate such behaviour and the available evidence, they claimed, showed that they responded appropriately according to the norms of the time, even if present standards would condemn them.

7.46As to allegations of physical abuse, the Congregation was also generally defensive. It maintained that this issue had to be seen in the context of the time, when corporal punishment was permitted, not only in industrial schools but in all schools, and was also common in homes across the country. Moreover, the Christian Brothers’ own rules forbade excessive punishment and encouraged a minimalist approach to the physical punishment of children. Where excessive punishment occurred, it was disapproved of, and the records of the Congregation showed that, where instances came to light, they were the subject of comment and criticism. A Disciplinarian was employed in the School to deal with all serious breaches of discipline, and that promoted consistency of treatment.

7.47They maintained that there was overall a good relationship between Brothers and boys in Artane, and the picture of a frightening regime with a climate of fear was a misrepresentation of the situation.

7.48The positions adopted by individual respondents were more consistent with the evidence of the complainants.

Issues

7.49In accordance with the legislation, the Committee was required to determine what abuse took place in Artane, how it happened, how much of the particular abuse was perpetrated, and why it happened. This chapter addresses the different forms of abuse, which can be summarised as physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and emotional abuse. The method adopted in this and other chapters, in dealing with specific abuse, is first to analyse documentary material which may be considered reliable, and then to proceed to the oral evidence given by complainants and respondents, and to relate it where appropriate to the documented evidence. A further question has also to be considered, namely whether the Institution provided a safe, secure environment for the boys who were detained in it.

7.50With regard to the oral evidence of complainants, the Congregation in its submissions drew attention to features that it maintained detracted from the credibility and reliability of testimony of abuse. It pointed out that the events in question happened many years ago, and witnesses’ memories were less reliable because of the lapse of time. They also pointed to interference of independent recollection by reason of contact with other former residents and by attendance at meetings promoted by campaigning groups. Other relevant features included media publicity and issues of compensation. These problems were exacerbated in the investigation of Artane because it was the biggest institution and one of the most controversial.

7.51Any investigation of an institution such as Artane has to be aware of the possibility that evidence may be lacking in credibility or reliability for many reasons. Memories can indeed be affected by lapse of time. Witnesses whose credibility is not in issue may nevertheless be mistaken in their recollection of particular events. Influences may operate even subconsciously. A tendency to exaggerate the details of events also cannot be overlooked. Some witnesses intentionally set out to give untruthful evidence. The campaign for recognition and redress for wrongs alleged to have been committed in the past was not a reason to reject the testimony of everybody involved. The fact that witnesses attended meetings or spoke to others was relevant in considering the value of their evidence, but was not a basis for rejecting it as necessarily unreliable.

7.52There can be no general rule, in Artane or elsewhere, either to accept or to reject the evidence of witnesses who may have been affected by factors tending to reduce the reliability of their evidence. Each witness has to be considered individually. As with evidence in a civil or criminal trial in court, the Committee may accept or reject the whole or any part of the testimony offered.

7.53Grounds for questioning reliability of evidence were not confined to complainants. Respondents also were subject to lapses of memory and potential distortions of recollection. In some cases, the reliability of evidence could have been affected by the gravity of the allegations made against respondents themselves or against their colleagues; loyalty and affection for others, and for the Institution and the Congregation, may also have had a distorting influence on their testimony.

7.54The approach taken by the Committee, of proceeding from analysis of documentary material containing contemporary accounts of incidents and then, where possible, assessing the oral evidence by reference thereto, tended to lessen the occasions where it was necessary to choose between witnesses asserting and denying particular events.

7.55The Committee was satisfied that its approach yielded an accurate picture of the Institution and the matters which it was required to determine.

Physical abuse

Introduction

7.56The role of corporal punishment in the management of the Institution is central to this topic. The Congregation accept that it was part of the disciplinary regime, but it also contends that Artane was no different in that respect from other schools, and that corporal punishment was also a feature of home life for many children at the time. Against a background of widespread use of corporal punishment, they contend that the system of discipline in Artane was not stricter than it was in primary schools. They do, however, concede that there were cases of excessive punishment by Christian Brothers in Artane. Some of those were documented in the Congregation’s records that were made available by way of discovery of documents to the Investigation Committee. The Brothers point to these records as evidence that the Congregation did not overlook or condone excesses in physical punishment. They also accept that there may have been more cases, but they are reluctant to go further by way of concession on this issue than was required by the documentary material in the Congregation’s archives. In coming to their position on physical abuse, the Brothers did not take into account the allegations that were made by complainants in their written statements.

7.57The spokesman for the Christian Brothers at Phases I and III of the hearings was Br Michael Reynolds, who conceded that:

There are three and possibly four cases there where I would say yes, there was certainly very severe punishment administered. I am not saying that is the totality of it, I am saying that is what I can work out of on record. I would say the discipline was quite strict and corporal punishment was used and so on. What I am saying is I don’t think that even in relation to physical punishment that it was an abusive institution by the standards of the time.

7.58He was then asked if he accepted that it probably went further than that and he replied:

I do, yes. Unfortunately I am doing that in one sense off the top of my head or from a gut feeling rather than saying – if I was challenged on that I can’t stand it up with documentation because I haven’t got it, but I am not saying that in the absence of documentation that nothing else happened other than what was documented here.

7.59In relation to documentary sources, Br Reynolds was unable to explain the absence of a punishment book, which was required by regulations to be kept, but he accepted the obvious point that such a record would have assisted the inquiry. Indeed, as appears from the discussion of this matter below, maintaining that book would also have tended to reduce excesses.

7.60The Congregation’s concessions stopped far short of what the complainants alleged and did not even match the admissions of individual respondents. Among the latter witnesses were Brothers and former Brothers who expressed sympathy with the boys and agreed with much of their evidence, and a number of them were also prepared to admit their own failings and frustrations and to criticise the system generally. The Congregation engaged a barrister, Mr Bernard Dunleavy, to report privately on a number of institutions, including Artane. In the course of this research, some Brothers were much more candid in interviews with Mr Dunleavy than were the Brothers who appeared before the Investigation Committee.

7.61Complainants alleged that the regime of discipline was unlawful, cruel and unjust. They claimed that it was impossible to avoid punishment in Artane, and that punishment was administered inconsistently, irrationally and capriciously by different Brothers. They alleged that, even if a boy obeyed all the rules and did what he was told, he could encounter a Brother who was in bad form or who had some other excuse for administering punishment. A boy might be punished for anything or for nothing. They maintained that there was a pervasive climate of fear in the Institution that came about because of the unbridled use of corporal punishment.

7.62Although Artane had an appointed Disciplinarian to deal with serious offences, all Brothers carried leathers and administered punishment for a wide variety of infractions, and other adults were also permitted to punish. Witnesses did not generally complain about punishment that they felt was deserved, even if it was severe.

7.63One long-serving Disciplinarian was acknowledged, by all the former residents who spoke about him, to have been strict but fair even though he sometimes punished them severely. This Brother was named and accused of physical abuse in many complainants’ statements, but the Investigation Committee did not find that the evidence at Phase II supported such a conclusion.

7.64The Investigation Committee had to choose between conflicting accounts of the regime in Artane on the fundamental issue as to whether uncontrolled corporal punishment was a feature of the system, so that physical abuse was systemic, or whether there were occasional contraventions of the rules that did not undermine a proper system of management.

7.65The material available to the Investigation Committee in considering this issue included:

• The evidence of former residents and members of staff.
• The evidence of Dr Paul McQuaid, Consultant Child Psychiatrist, who did some work and research in Artane.
• The report written by Fr Henry Moore in 1962, together with his evidence to the Investigation Committee.
• Department of Education discovery.
• Garda Síochána discovery.
• Contemporary documents including the Visitation Reports compiled by the Christian Brothers during the period under review.
• Letters on the subject of corporal punishment provided by the Christian Brothers.

Documentary evidence

Br Noonan’s attempts to limit corporal punishment

7.66Br Noonan was Superior General of the Congregation from 1930 to 1949. He was anxious to reduce the reliance on corporal punishment and he admonished those who were intemperate in its use. There are some grounds for believing he did keep down its excessive use during his tenure of office. Letters written by him make it clear that the management of the Congregation knew excessive and frequent use of corporal punishment was a problem from the beginning of the period of this inquiry.

7.67A Visitation Report in the early 1930s described an extraordinary penalty imposed on a Brother in the refectory:

Br Sebastien⁵ erred on two occasions in punishing boys severely. The Superior reproved him publicly and ordered him to make a public apology, on his knees in the Refectory … Br Sebastien was honestly penitent and determined to amend. Indeed he is on the whole a good young Brother.

7.68The severity of the punishment meted out to the boys to warrant this extraordinary reprimand was not disclosed, but Br Sebastien did not mend his ways and continued to punish boys excessively. Evidence of his subsequent conduct was found in a letter to him in 1937 from the Superior General, Br Noonan, who made it clear that he deplored severe physical punishment:

In order to make your life more pleasing to God by fidelity to your obligations I wish to point out two rather serious faults mentioned in the suffrages I received about you. One is your severity to the boys. This is indefensible; it is in every way against the canons of the teaching profession. Punishment in a moderate way is allowed; but severity is altogether to be avoided. It injures the boy’s feelings and never produces real improvement. Let Christ be your Model; He was meek and kindness itself, yet He was the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. Do not imagine you have discovered better methods in harshness and severity.

7.69The second fault referred to in the letter concerned his vow of poverty.

7.70In a similar letter in 1935, Br Noonan wrote to Br Jules⁶ in Artane:

You incline to the harsh side in school both in language and in inflicting bodily pain. Pupils hate sarcasm and they have a keen sense of what is just and fair in punishment. If you would secure respect for yourself and for your teaching be kind and just towards your pupils. It is said you are a poor student yourself. Perhaps it is due to your failure to make preparation for your work as a teacher that your pupils are made to suffer doubly.

7.71Br Jules previously worked in Tralee in the 1930s, where his behaviour had also come to the attention of the Provincial and a Visitor. Whilst in Tralee, he was accused of beating a boy severely. When he was asked for an explanation of this severe corporal punishment, Br Jules wrote to the Provincial claiming that the Industrial School Inspector had advised him to give the boy special physical training to remedy a physical defect. The boy failed to perform an exercise on this occasion, though formerly he had been capable of doing so, and he had therefore been punished. Br Jules acknowledged that this punishment was excessive in the circumstances.

7.72Less than a month later, the Visitor commented that Br Jules had his:

boys in a state of terror. He maintains a harsh, unnatural discipline. His boys show this. At times, he has been very severe and has treated individual boys in a cruel manner. He does not seem to realise that he is severe or if he does he will not admit it. Br Karcsi⁷ is being drawn to follow his bad example however, Br Karcsi is by no means so bad … Were it not for the occasional outbreaks of severity on the part of Br Jules, and his general harsh manner in dealing with them, the school would hold a high place amongst our Institutions.

7.73Br Jules had been due to take his perpetual vows, but was rejected. The following year, it was noted that he was too exacting in school. He showed ‘little devotedness to study’ and was ‘troublesome, crossgrained’. It was concluded that he ‘has not had good record – doubtful candidate’. He was, however, ultimately allowed to take his vows.

7.74He moved from Tralee to Artane, where he stayed until the 1950s. He later worked for six years in Glin.

7.75Br Beaufort⁸ was on the staff of Artane throughout the 1940s and early 1950s, having previously worked in Tralee,⁹ where he received a letter from Br Noonan, Superior General of the Congregation, warning him about his temper and the risk he posed of causing serious bodily harm to the boys:

A still more dangerous weakness in you was mentioned in the suffrages. You are passionate in your dealings with the boys. In fact at times you show so little control of your temper that you are in danger of inflicting serious bodily harm on the boys by your manner of correcting them. Watch yourself and pray to God to give you some of His meekness and forbearance. Never punish a boy in any way except what is permitted by the Rule. Forgive easily the small failings of your pupils and in this way more good will be done than by harsh treatment.

7.76The Investigation Committee heard evidence from complainants about Br Beaufort. A witness recalled an example of his temper, when he suffered the kind of serious bodily harm apprehended by Br Noonan. Br Beaufort thought that the boy was laughing at him in class and responded impetuously:

he jumped straight at me, picked me up, threw me like a dog around the place. I hit desks, hit the floor. I landed after some time on the floor. The commotion of boys screaming had brought Br Quintrell,¹⁰ who was in 11 school, which was the next school, he flew in and pulled him off. I know I was unconscious, and I know to God that if it hadn’t been for him coming in, I do not think I would be here today, in all honesty. The attack was vicious. Moments later, he was apologising, crying.

7.77At the time of this incident, the boy was recovering from injuries to his hand sustained from an accident in the carpenter’s shop, which was confirmed by the infirmary records. The wounds opened in the assault by Br Beaufort. In addition, the witness complained of lacerations and injuries to his left eye and neck. Some of his teeth were broken, he lost one tooth on one side of his mouth and two on the other. He was brought to the infirmary after the attack and when he had quietened down he was taken to the dormitory. Until this incident he had had no difficulty with Br Beaufort, whom he described as friendly.

7.78Another witness, who was in Artane from 1945 to 1950, claimed that Br Beaufort oscillated between kindness and impetuous violence.

7.79In conclusion:

• Notwithstanding the opposition of the Superior General to excessive and intemperate punishment and clear guidance given to Brothers, the problem persisted.
• The Superior General expressed himself in the restrained, admonitory language of pastoral counselling rather than issuing direct instructions.
• In circumstances where every Brother in Artane was given a leather for corporal punishment of the boys, it is difficult to see how these excesses could be avoided. Restricting the leather to the Disciplinarian would have had a direct effect on preventing capricious and excessive punishment, and Br Noonan could have directed that this be done.

Letter of complaint to the Department of Education by former resident

7.80In 1946 a former resident of Artane (from 1929 to 1935) began to correspond with the Department of Education regarding conditions at Artane. Initially, his complaints related to the primitive sanitation system in operation in the Institution. Then, in a letter dated 6^th November, he wrote:

It is 11 yrs since I was in Artane and I dont forget one minute of it, neither do others, the injustices done to others and myself, I will see; wont happen to others:

Boys beaten, under the Shower Baths by Staff Mr Byrne,¹¹ Boys heads beaten on the Handball Alley Wall by Bro Acel¹² And a Drill Master who used say “do it where you Stand” when a Boy ask to go to the W.C.

7.81In a memorandum dated 8^th November 1946, the Assistant Secretary in the Department of Education agreed with the Inspector that no action was required in response to this letter. No response was sent to the former resident and no comment was sought from the Resident Manager.

7.82

• The attitude of the Department of Education to a serious complaint was dismissive. No attempt was made to establish the veracity of the complaints.

Br Maurice¹³

7.83A Visitation Report in the late 1930s was critical of a Brother for his free use of the ‘slapper’, which was a shorter and thinner strap than the leather. The Visitor noted that the boys were:

well disciplined and I am happy to be able to say that there was no evidence of undue or severe corporal punishment. I was assured by practically all the Brothers that there is very little corporal punishment indulged in. I did come across one case of the free use of the slapper. This was in the class room of Br Maurice. He gave about 16 slaps one after the other. I walked in just at the end. The slaps were not severe and the effect could only help towards demoralising the poor lads. I had a word with Br Wiatt¹⁴ and asked him to help Br Maurice to establish his control without having recourse to the useless method of indiscriminate slapping. But it is indeed satisfactory to find that there is very little corporal punishment and that in recent times there has not occurred any instance of undue severity. Br Eliot¹⁵ is Master of Discipline and is doing very well in this position. He is very anxious to do his best and he is succeeding very well in his exacting duties. There is still too much reliance on the slapper and not enough on personal influence. The only member of the staff who has succeeded in getting along with the boys without having recourse to corporal punishment is Br Dennet.¹⁶ His personal influence is very great, and his single-mindedness and truly Christ-like attitude in his dealing with his boys is having a marked effect for good on them.

7.84In view of the content of this section of his report, it is hard to understand how the Visitor could have been assured that there was very little corporal punishment indulged in. The comment that it was ‘satisfactory to find that there is very little corporal punishment’ was contradicted by the criticisms he went on to make. He noted that only one member of the staff had ‘succeeded in getting along with the boys without having recourse to corporal punishment’, and there was ‘too much reliance on the slapper and not enough on personal influence’. Furthermore, his comment, ‘It is indeed satisfactory … that in recent times that there has not occurred any instance of undue severity’ implied that there had been such instances in the past.

7.85

• At the very least, this report showed there was a problem regarding the use of corporal punishment in Artane. Only one Brother could maintain discipline without using the leather.

Br Eriq¹⁷

7.86Br Eriq worked in Artane for less than a year in the late 1940s. He left in April, not August, which was the usual time for Brothers to be moved. Br Eriq had previously worked in Tralee in the late 1930s, where three consecutive Visitation Reports were critical of his severity towards the boys. A full account is contained in the Tralee chapter.

Br Olivier¹⁸

7.87The Inspector of Industrial Schools wrote, in July 1949, asking for details of an incident involving Br Olivier, and the Resident Manager replied three days later:

Last year [the mother of a boy] happened to visit the School the very day her second son … had a black eye. She mentioned the matter to me, and I investigated it there and then. Apparently the Brother losing his temper in class gave the boy a blow on the face with the palm of his hand, and next day the skin was discoloured. (Of course the discolouration disappeared within a few days.) I spoke to the Brother implicated (Br Olivier) and made it clear that such should not happen again. And as far as I know nothing has happened since then.

7.88Br Olivier gave evidence to the Investigation Committee. He did not recall being reprimanded by the Resident Manager for using excessive violence, but he thought that an elderly teacher had told him to keep his temper in check.

7.89Br Olivier served in Artane in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He said that all Brothers were issued with a leather strap to maintain discipline, and commented:

The danger with that is this; that it could be used excessively … depending on the type of person you were. You could be somebody with a short fuse like myself, I have to admit I had the short fuse, and there would be times perhaps when … you would be inclined to use it. You see it was the only armoury you had … In fairness I would say though that the Rules of the Congregation laid down, I am just thinking back and I want to be fair to the Brothers as well, rules are there maybe to be broke, but it was specified that corporal punishment should never be used for failure in lessons, that type of thing.

… I could go a week, a month, without ever giving a slap to a fella, it could happen. I am not trying to make myself out that I am a saint or that I wouldn’t use it, I certainly would indeed, and I’m awfully sorry …

7.90He said he did not adhere to the rules regarding corporal punishment very often. He did not recall the rules being brought to his attention while in Artane. He had never seen a punishment book:

I could have slapped a fella maybe on the face or something like that. I might even hit a fella a punch in the back. It could have happened.

7.91Several witnesses complained about Br Olivier’s excessive use of physical punishment. One witness said he used to punch boys on the jaw without warning. The Brother responded to this allegation by saying:

Yes. That could be. I am not denying it. I cannot remember any specific case … but I am not denying that such a thing could have happened.

7.92Another witness told the Committee, ‘life with Br Olivier was one long beating … for one reason or another’.

7.93This witness described in detail an incident which he believed was a punishment for trying to get out of playing hurling, the sport in the charge of Br Olivier. The witness described how he developed a blister on his finger and tried to lance it with a needle, as he had seen his grandmother doing. He said that Br Olivier, however:

… accused me of deliberately trying to harm myself to avoid going training. He said he would cure it for me. That evening in the dormitory, him and Br Boyce¹⁹ called me into the boot room … they had a kidney shaped utensil and boiling water. They got hold of me and I realised what they were going to do and I tried to make a run for it. The pair of them got hold of me and Br Olivier got my finger and shoved it in. I screamed and roared and tried to pull it back and they held it. After 10 or 15 seconds the pain went. It just went numb and it was bearable. They held it in for a while and out it come. That’s when he told me to walk the passageway, gangway which was linoleum in the centre of the dormitory. As time went on it swelled, it swelled. He obviously went to bed.

7.94The night watchman found the boy, who had not gone to bed because of the instruction from the Brothers to ‘walk the passageway, gangway’, and told him to go to bed:

The next morning I got up my finger was a white ball of flesh, waterlogged. I reported sick, I reported to Br Cretien²⁰, which you had to do to get to see the nurse. I told the nurse what happened. I was treated at least a month or six weeks until eventually all the skin peeled off. Sometimes the nurse would cut it. After some weeks I was like a plucked chicken, bare skin. In time the skin grew back on the nail. To this day that finger, especially in cold weather, is numb, there is no feeling in it. I swear they must have burned the nerve ends.

7.95Br Olivier gave his account of the incident:

… I was trying to help him, I was trying to cure him. That was a common thing long ago in the country, a bread poultice, you know, in water, like, before it comes to the boil. That’s what I tried to do with him. He looked upon it as a penance I think, but I didn’t mean it as a penance.

7.96The complainant told the Investigation Committee that there was no bread involved. The records show he was treated in the infirmary for a septic finger and that the Artane general practitioner saw him to treat the finger on two occasions, although the witness did not recall being seen by the doctor.

7.97The Investigation Committee was faced with two conflicting versions of the motivation for this incident. On the one hand, Br Olivier claimed it was an attempt to treat a septic finger. On the other hand, the complainant firmly believed he was being punished for injuring himself to avoid games.

7.98If the main motive was treatment, then the treatment should have been administered with due care, to ensure no further injury would result. There was an infirmary with a trained nurse available, and no explanation was offered as to why this facility was not used. The two Brothers opted to use instead a ‘hot poultice’ and clearly did not ensure the water was of a low enough temperature to prevent scalding.

7.99There were, however, elements of punishment to the whole procedure. The boy was so terrified that he tried to make a run for it. Despite being in obvious pain, he was then made to walk the corridor. Normal resources for treating sick children were not used, suggesting the Brothers did not take the injury to the finger seriously. Given these facts, it is not surprising the boy believed he was being punished, rather than treated, for his affliction.

7.100Moreover, the respondents’ defence was more cautious than a totally innocent explanation of the incident would suggest. In cross-examination, the complainant was initially told that Br Boyce had no recollection of the event, casting doubt on whether it had taken place. When he gave evidence, however, Br Boyce recalled the incident and said the water was not boiling. It turned out that both Brothers could recall the event, but insisted the motive was driven solely by concern to cure the finger.

7.101The occurrence of the event was no longer in dispute. Nor was it in dispute that he was treated for some weeks for a septic finger. The boy’s feeling that it was more punishment than treatment does not seem surprising. Subsequent events proved he needed care and professional treatment.

7.102A second, subsequent incident happened some considerable period later when the boy again failed to attend training. Br Olivier, he said:

took me into the washroom. What we used to do if a Brother was going to beat you that night we tried to hang on as long as we could with our trousers on and our clothes. If you stripped off you only had a night-shirt. You didn’t have pyjamas. I thought he is not going to come, good. I stripped off. Sure enough he came in.

He brought me into the washroom. He told me to kneel down on the floor and he stood over me with his arms folded. He was quite cool and calm and he said ‘I have told you now more than once to come out and I am going to give you the hiding of your life’ real calm. He was enjoying it. He said ‘hold your hand out. Hold your left hand out and don’t drop it until I tell you’. He took this leather strap out and he gave me four or five straps. I couldn’t hold it out any longer because the strap was starting to go up my arm. I had welts on it. I dropped it. He said ‘I have warned you not to drop your hand. Now, put your other hand out’ and I did. He started to beat me again. Again I dropped it. He said, ‘I did tell you’ and he went berserk. When you seen this man when he lost his temper he was like a wolf. His jaws literally went out and he bared his teeth and he just lashed at me. I was running trying to get away from him. He hit me, it didn’t matter where, legs, back, head, anywhere. During that I must have passed out because when I came around there was water running on my head and the taps from these baths were about that wide … real old fashioned taps. I must have thought I was dreaming it. Then I thought I was drowning. I drew back and I cracked my head on the nozzle of the tap so I had blood coming down, I had tears, I was soaking wet. He wasn’t finished then. He threw me on the ground and he said ‘you’ll walk that floor for the rest of the night. Of all nights I thought the watchman would come but the watchman didn’t come that night. Nobody came and I walked that passage until 6.30 the next morning. I was so terrified of going to bed that he might come back and beat me again. I walked the whole night without sleep, I swear to God ….

The injuries, you just put up with them. I was black and blue but I just had to put up with them … I never missed a session after that, I can assure you.

7.103In evidence, Br Olivier queried the complainant’s recollection in relation to this incident, as Br Olivier said that he would not have been training boys of the complainant’s age at this time.

7.104Br Olivier did not recall the incident but, with honesty, again said ‘I am capable and I am ashamed to say I am capable of that’. His approach was clear and candid, because he refused to say that it did not happen simply because he could not remember the incident. He was willing to take responsibility for his general behaviour, even though the details of the complainant’s account did not make sense to him or trigger a memory. There was no dispute that such an incident could have happened, and the likely explanation was that the complainant was mistaken about the time lapse between the events he described.

7.105Br Olivier was also involved in a shocking incident that began when a 12-year-old boy accidentally defecated on the floor in the sports dressing room. The Brother came on the scene and some of the excrement ended up on his shoes. The Garda statements made by the witnesses differ as to how this happened, and the precise sequence of events, but what is admitted in statements made by Br Olivier is that he told the boy to lick the excrement from his shoes and he did so. The Brother, in his statement to the Gardaí, said that he was shocked when the boy did this and told him to stop: ‘I only said it out of frustration. I didn’t mean him to do it’.

7.106In the 1990s, Br Olivier wrote an apology to the former resident. A copy was furnished to the Committee by the Congregation. Br Gibson had asked him about a statement made by the former resident. Br Olivier’s letter to the man was as follows:

Br Gibson … brought to my attention a statement you made to him some time ago.

I am deeply saddened to learn of your pain and hurt and I sincerely offer you my humble apology for my part in causing any of the above pain and hurt.

I hope you find in the goodness of your heart the courage to forgive me and I promise to remember you always in my prayers.

I pray and hope that you will find peace of mind and happiness in your life.

May God bless and protect you always.

Sincerely yours.

7.107In his written response to the Investigation Committee, Br Olivier gave a full account of the incident as he remembered it, and repeated this apology. He wrote:

On the day in question I was playing football with another Brother in a field far away from the dressing room.

When we finished playing we returned to the dressing room to change and I noticed [the complainant] coming out of the dressing room. I asked him what he was doing there and he said he had to go to the toilet. I brought him back in and noticed the floor and my shoes were covered in faeces. I told him to clean up the mess and he replied he had nothing to clean it with. I spontaneously told him to lick it, meaning my shoes. To my horror he proceeded to do so and I immediately told him to stop and to go back to the class or he would be late. I did not give him any beating or bath and I proceeded to clean my shoes and the floor myself.

On the day in question I was not on duty. I also wish to state that I never refused anyone permission to go to the toilet in my entire teaching career.

I repeat the unqualified apology I made to [the complainant] sometime ago when this incident was brought to my attention.

7.108He was specific in his statement that the apology was for asking the boy to lick excrement off his shoes. In that sense, it is indeed an ‘unqualified apology’. However, the Christian Brothers, in their response to the complainant’s allegations, wrote:

[The complainant] describes in detail an occasion, while out training, he had stomach cramps, and accidentally defected himself. He claims that he was terrified that Brother Olivier would find out, so he hid his soiled clothing. Brother Olivier ultimately found the clothes and stained his shoes on the soiled clothing. [The complainant] alleges that Brother Olivier made him lick his boots clean. This alleged act took place in front of an ‘entire group’. [The complainant] continues that the group was asked to leave and he was then “subjected to a beating from Brother Olivier which lasted about 5 minutes”. In relation to the allegations made against Brother Olivier I would like to refer to a letter dated the … addressed to [the complainant] from [Br Olivier] In this letter [he] wrote “I am deeply saddened to learn of your pain and hurt and I sincerely offer my humble apology for my part of the above pain and suffering”. While this letter acknowledges [the complainant’s] alleged pain, the letter is not intended to be an admission of the allegations made against Brother Olivier.

7.109There is a marked contrast between the apologetic position taken by Br Olivier and that of the Congregation. The Brother admitted the essence of the complaint, namely that he told the boy to lick excrement; the Congregation adopted an exculpatory position, despite the fact that the Brother and the complainant agreed that the incident essentially did take place. Br Olivier made an unqualified apology in his letter for the purpose of making amends, whereas the Congregation’s submission put the best gloss on a situation that had the potential for embarrassment for the Brother and the Congregation. The effect was to detract from the force of the apology that was always meant to be ‘unqualified’.

7.110The former resident did not proceed with his complaint before the Investigation Committee.

7.111

• The Brother’s spontaneous response to the unfortunate and embarrassing incident when the boy defecated was an abuse of power. When he was confronted about it years later he was able to admit what had happened and to apologise to the victim. The Congregation’s failure to do the same was regrettable.

Br Cyrano²¹ – a broken arm

7.112In the mid-1950s, the mother of a boy in Artane wrote to the Department of Education to ask if she could be allowed to see her son, who had sustained a broken arm and head injuries during the previous week. She also asked if the incident could be investigated. She wrote:

I heard during the week that my boy Thomas²² Artane School had an arm broken as a result of a blow with a brush by one of the brothers I call to the school yesterday and the superior admitted that one of the brothers had given him a blow and that his arm was broken I did not see the boy²³ but I believe he was attending another hospital for treatment the superior said he had it xrayed and seen the result the arm is in Plaster of Paris I also heard that his head was bandaged during the week Im very worried over it and I called on Sunday to see him and was not allowed If it could be arranged for me to see him to ease my mind. In any case please have the matter investigated and let me no the result.

7.113The Department asked for a full report on the incident and asked if arrangements could be made for the mother to visit her son. The boy’s father, who was resident in England, also wrote to the School asking for a report on the matter. It is clear from a letter from the Department of Education to the School that a report was furnished but it has not survived. In this letter, the Inspector of Industrial Schools wrote:

The incident referred to should have been reported immediately to this Office and the boy’s parent should also have been notified of the boy’s injury without delay and the parent should have been allowed to see the boy when she requested.

In connection with the administering of corporal punishment in the school, I am to refer to the Circular no. 11/46 of the 1st November, 1946 “Discipline and Punishment in Certified Schools” (copy enclosed) and I am to suggest that the terms of that Circular should be brought to the notice of the School Staff from time to time.

7.114Given the seriousness of the injuries to the boy, these reprimands are slight. The Department’s powerlessness to take further action is evident in this case.

7.115The incident was then raised in the Dáil and was covered by the Press. The TD, Captain Peadar Cowan, regretted having to raise the matter in the Dáil, but he said that:

the House will want an assurance from the Minister, and the country will want an assurance from him, that punishment, if it is to be inflicted on those sent to industrial schools, will be inflicted by some person of experience and responsibility. If punishment were to be imposed in a fit of hot temper, it would be exceptionally bad and, in fact, as in this case, it would be dangerous.

… The very fact that the incident did occur shows how necessary it is that this House, through the machinery of the Department of Education and through the Minister charged with that responsibility, should have the closest supervision of schools such as this, where children, many of them without parents at all, are sent to be brought up.

7.116The Minister for Education agreed, ‘I think the punishment should be administered … by a responsible person in conditions of calm judgment’.

7.117The Minister then added:

Apart from my high regard for the Brothers concerned, the community concerned, there is also a very constant system of inspection for all such institutions. I personally have visited practically all of them … I know in that particular school how deep is the anxiety for the children’s spiritual and physical welfare. This is an isolated incident; it can only happen again as an accident.

7.118This response implied that the regular inspections of the School included consideration of the administration of corporal punishment. There is, however, no evidence that the inspections conducted on the Department’s behalf included an examination of the use of corporal punishment. Punishment books were not kept. Neither the General Inspection Report nor the Report on Medical Aspects of School Accommodation referred to this matter on the standard printed inspection form. There are no references to it in the general observations and suggestions section. Although one of the Brothers in this incident recalled being interviewed by Dr McCabe²⁴ about it, no report from her survives in the records. The report from Dr McCabe following her next annual inspection made no reference to the incident, or to the question of punishment in the School.

7.119In one newspaper, under the headline, ‘Boy Wasn’t Beaten, Say Teachers’ the journalist wrote:

A boy in a school for delinquents had his arm broken when he resisted a beating, the Dáil was told before it broke up this week, but teachers at the school gave a different version of what happened … Captain Peader Cowan told the Dáil that the boy resisted [being] slapped on the hands with the leather … The boy, said Captain Cowan, grabbed a sweeping brush to resist the punishment, but was struck on the arm by it as two Brothers wrested it from him … When I visited the school yesterday, teachers told me the story had been exaggerated. The boy was hurt when he attacked the Brother with a brush, they said.

7.120The Congregation referred to this incident in its Opening Statement. They commented:

Although there are differences of opinion concerning precisely how the injury was caused and when the mother was allowed to see the boy, it is quite clear that the boy was injured and that his arm was broken. The Brother in question was transferred out of Artane.

7.121At the first public hearing on 15^th September 2005, Br Reynolds, speaking for the Christian Brothers, was asked if he found it appropriate for the Congregation to effect such a transfer under the circumstances, and he replied:

It wasn’t appropriate. I would say it wouldn’t have been uncommon in various places at the time. Certainly that one is the most serious incident we have and it was handled badly I would say from all aspects of it. The other thing that gives some sort of indicator or is indicative of society at the time and what surprised me when I read it that even Peader Cowan, the TD who alerted the Dáil to it at the end of it said, “this is an isolated incident and it won’t happen again” and so on. That came as a surprise to me, but I am taking that as indicative of the times as well. It’s probably indicative of the attitude that somebody who did something of that nature could be transferred elsewhere.²⁵

7.122The boy whose arm was broken is now deceased. The only witness available to the Investigation Committee was Br Michel,²⁶ who was involved in the incident with Br Cyrano. Br Cyrano made a statement at the time, in which he said:

As I was asking Br Michel something about the Easter tests he mentioned that a boy … had caused him trouble that morning. He asked me what should he do and I told him that it would be better to give some punishment as he would only cause trouble again. I closed my door and began writing on the black board. During this time I could hear the boy talking and saying “I won’t give in if you keep at me for a week”. The boy was making remarks similar to this but I could not hear them to make them out. My own class stopped their work when they heard the noise next door. I knew from this that the boy was resisting punishment. I continued writing on the board and suddenly the door was opened in a hurry. A boy from Br Michel’s class entered saying that [he] wanted me immediately. I dropped the chalk and went in. As I entered I saw Br Michel and the boy in a corner. Br Michel was holding the boy who in turn had a brush raised as if to hit [him]. I lost my temper and in the spur of the moment I caught the brush and hit the boy. But how often or where I hit him I can’t say for definite. Then I gave the brush to another boy and told him to leave [it] at the far end of the room. As I was going back to my own room again I noticed the boy looking at his arm. I asked him to bend it which he did. I then left the classroom and went back to my own.

7.123Following the incident, a fellow pupil took the boy to the infirmary. The infirmary record read as follows:

… Injury to arm (Accident in schoolroom) Iodex dressing and crepe bandage. Head dressed and bandaged. Taken back to school by boy who brought him to the infirmary.

7.124This treatment indicates that the boy had lacerations to his arm and head, in addition to the fracture that was later diagnosed. The severity of the beating must have been obvious.

7.125A doctor did not see him until the next day, when the entry in the infirmary record read:

… Examined by Dr [name] – sent to Mater Hospital. X-rayed. Result: fracture. Put in plaster. To return [date]. Admitted to Infirmary.

7.126The boy continued to attend the Mater Hospital on a daily basis, and he was finally discharged two months after his first attendance.

7.127Had the mother not written asking for an investigation into the matter, these two infirmary records would have been the only written evidence of the incident. It was simply recorded as an ‘accident’, and no Brother was mentioned as being involved.

7.128Six days after the mother’s letter of complaint was written, Br Cyrano, who had struck the blows, wrote to the Provincial of the Congregation:

I am very sorry for all the damage I have done to the Brothers of Artane Community and to the Brothers in general. I have been very much upset and worried since it has happened. I will never forget it all my life. I would like if you would give me a change, as I would never really settle down again in Artane. As a favour I would be very much obliged if you considered my case, in making the change …

7.129These two contemporary documents within the records of the Congregation contain no details at all about the nature of the incident and the personnel involved. The infirmary record wrongly described it as an accident, with no indication that the fracture was the result of a deliberate blow, and the Brother’s letter expresses concern about the damage done to the Congregation rather than concern about what had happened to the boy. Even so, the fact that he was so upset and worried, and felt he would never be able to forget it, did not accord with Br Reynolds’s assertion that the attitude of the times to such incidents was not to view them as seriously as they would be viewed today.

7.130This document also revealed that Br Cyrano was transferred out of Artane at his own request, because he felt he could never settle down there again. The assertion that his transfer was the result of action taken by the Congregation, to remove him from his position in Artane, misrepresents what actually happened.

7.131Br Michel, the other Brother involved in the incident, appeared before the Investigation Committee and also expressed his remorse, describing it as ‘one of these things that I have to carry with me to the end of my life’. He said:

… a thing happened which I have found very difficult to bear ever since. It is 51 years ago now. In the classroom one morning, a young lad and myself – he wasn’t responding to the slaps that I was giving him, as far as I can recollect it now, and I was a young man, he was quite a hefty fellow. At any rate he decided to rush to the side of the classroom and grab a brush and went to strike me with it. Now I was absolutely nervous, didn’t know what to do and did the wrong thing, unfortunately. I called in another Brother, and he grabbed the brush from this young man and it all happened on the spur of the moment, regretfully. He did strike the young chap and he caused some injury to him. The matter was investigated at the time by the inspector for industrial schools and, regretfully, that other man was transferred out of the place.

7.132This Brother did not know that the transfer was made at the request of his colleague and thought it followed the Inspector’s investigation. Under questioning, he added:

It happened very very suddenly and in actual fact I didn’t realise there was any harm done, if you know what I mean, at the time until sometime afterwards, some days later.

7.133This young Brother had seen a boy hit several times with a brush, causing visible injuries to his head and arm and he ‘didn’t realise there was any harm done … at the time until sometime afterwards, some days later’. This simple statement indicates how a violent incident did not seem to be extraordinary in Artane. The extent of the harm done only emerged after the complaints had been made.

7.134Br Michel blamed himself for the incident. He said, ‘I was young, I was timid. I hadn’t the control I should have’. He then uttered the following apology, ‘I wish to apologise profusely to people that I offended and I feel I have done my best to put that before the Commission’.

7.135Neither of the Brothers escorted the boy to the infirmary: a fellow pupil took him. Br Cyrano, who struck the blow, appears to have suspected a fracture, because he wrote in his statement that he saw the boy looking at his arm and asked him to bend it, but he did not pass on that concern to the infirmary. The obvious severity of the injuries should have resulted in a full medical history being taken and a thorough examination.

7.136The TD who raised the matter in the Dáil took up the case as a solicitor and wrote making a claim. In correspondence, it was suggested that a payment could be made to the parents by way of settlement. The Christian Brothers at the time were willing to make a settlement in order to avoid proceedings, but they were advised that a payment would not prevent a claim being made when the boy reached his majority, and that payment should not be made to the parents. No agreement could be reached, and the matter apparently ended without any payment being made.

7.137In conclusion:

• Young, inexperienced Brothers were left to cope with difficult children without adequate training, and without the support and supervision of a good management system.
• There was no ordered system of discipline: control was maintained by force.
• The gravity of inflicting serious injury on a boy was not apparent to the Brothers until an external complaint was made.
• It should have been routine for the parents and the Department to be notified of a serious injury to a child, however it was caused. Failure to disclose such a serious incident immediately suggests that there was a policy of concealing damaging information.
• Injuries inflicted by Brothers should have been fully investigated.
• The infirmary record was wrong, and was not subsequently amended as it should have been.

Death of boy after fall

7.138An Artane boy’s death in the early 1950s was recalled by complainants and respondents as a tragic and traumatic event that affected everyone in the School at the time and left a lasting impression for years after the event. Many former residents, including some complainants, alleged the boy fell because he was being chased and punished by a staff member. For this reason, the Investigation Committee investigated the incident in full.

7.139At bed-time, around 8.30pm, Stephen Cavanagh²⁷ fell some 14 feet to the ground and suffered injuries including gum and lip lacerations. He was brought to the Mater Hospital, where he underwent an operation under general anaesthetic to repair the lacerations of his mouth. His condition deteriorated after the operation and he did not respond to treatment, and he died in the early hours of the next day. A post-mortem examination was carried out and an inquest was held in the hospital the next day, resulting in a verdict of accidental death.

7.140A boy who was acting as monitor at the time of the incident told the inquest what he saw: the deceased went up the stairs to the dormitory with the other boys and then came back out onto the stairs and went to do a ‘circus trick’ in which he leaned his body on the handrail and slid down a short distance ‘when he seemed to overbalance and fall face downwards to the floor below’, which was a distance of over 14 feet. The injured boy had damaged his teeth and ‘put his hand to his left side as if he was hurt’. He was able to go into the dormitory to get his boots before he was taken to the hospital.

7.141A Brother who was on duty on the first-floor landing described in evidence to the Committee how the injured boy was being partly carried by another boy and was brought to the infirmary before being removed to hospital. He said there was no question of the boy being pushed or being pursued at the time and that ‘he just accidentally fell over the staircase’.

7.142The treating doctor at the Mater Hospital gave evidence to the inquest that the boy was admitted to the hospital at 9pm on the evening of the accident, with a history of having fallen about 14 feet and that, on examination, he was conscious and suffering from shock, with a laceration of the lower lip and lower gum, four upper front teeth missing and a bruise over the right lower jaw. The doctor decided to operate to repair the injury to the boy’s lip and gum, which he performed at around 12.30am. He described the anaesthetic that was given and said that an endotracheal tube and pack were placed in position. He continued: ‘After the operation was completed, his breathing became embarrassed, for which he was immediately treated, but in spite of this he did not respond, and died’. The doctor expressed his agreement with the evidence given by the pathologist as to the cause of death.

7.143The pathologist described the boy’s condition when he carried out the post mortem. Externally, there was a lacerated wound on the lower lip and the four central upper teeth were broken. There were superficial skin lacerations and bruises on the lower jaw near the chin. Internally, there were no fractures of the jaw or skull bones detected: ‘Both lungs were oedematous. The lower lobes, and the posterior half of the upper lobes of both lungs were congested with blood. The thymus gland was enlarged. The heart showed slight thickening and contraction of the cusps of the mitral valve. The veins on the surface of the brain were distended with blood, otherwise no abnormality was detected in the brain. All other organs examined appeared normal’. The pathologist then gave his opinion as to the cause of death which was embodied in the jury’s verdict: ‘Death in my opinion was due to cardiac and respiratory failure, secondary to acute congestion of the lungs following the injuries accelerated by general anaesthesia and probably predisposed to by the presence of an enlarged thymus gland’. The coroner added that he regarded the supervision of the Brothers as adequate.

7.144A Sergeant from Raheny Garda Station visited the School on the day following the accident and inspected the scene, and spoke to the boy who was acting as monitor, and gave evidence to the inquest about the location of the fall.

7.145The inquest concluded with a verdict of accidental death.

7.146The Resident Manager reported the matter to the Department of Education in a letter that was received six days after the accident, in which he briefly described the incident and expressed his understanding that the boy died when he ‘reacted unfavourably to the anaesthetic’. Dr Anna McCabe visited Artane two days later to get details of the accident. She reported the following day in a short note, in which she recorded that the inquest found that the ‘cause of death was attributed to anaesthesia’. She went on to say: ‘No negligence was attributable to the School’.

7.147— The evidence in this case does not support a conclusion that the Christian Brothers were at fault for the boy’s death. The precise reason why the boy died remains somewhat unclear because of the multiplicity of medical complications cited by the pathologist.

Br Gerrard²⁸

7.148In the mid-1950s the father of a boy wrote to Br Gerrard, who was in charge of the boys’ kitchen, to complain about the treatment his son had received while working there. He wrote:

Sir,

It has come to my notice about my son’s hand which is sepiet; and also the method used in your kitchen. My son is no robber and I hope you will be able to answer for the character you have given him, have you got any authority to use a rod with iron through it. You have noticed I hope I have not giving you the title of brother, as I don’t think you are fit to be one. I will make regular inspection of his body either at home or in the school. I have already wrote to the authorities about the matter.

I will expect a reply and explanation from you as soon as possible.

If the child concerned has suffer any Punishment through this letter I hope you will be prepared to face a court of Inquiry as I will demand it from the Ministry of Education.

I am not going over your head yet that’s why I am writing to you, hoping you will have a explanation of your conduct.

You will want to look after that childs hand if you don’t Artane will be getting into trouble for neglect by outside factors. Trusting you will reply soon as I am fed up listening to the treatment dealt out at Artane by others who have complained.

7.149The father received no response from Br Gerrard, and wrote to the Superior the following month:

I have already sent a letter to Bro Gerrard concerning an Enquiry about my Son; which he did not reply to in fact it is nearly a week ago, as you Know silence is to admit of guilt.

I wish you would remind him and ask him to reply so I am not going to be treated as dirt … If I do not have a reply soon, I will be forced to lodge a Complaint to the Board Of Education as well as the Minister of Education as I would not stand by and see my Son Branded as a robber … Hoping you will look into the matter as soon as possible …

7.150The Congregation commented in its Opening Statement that the main complaint of the second letter was that the boy’s character had been impugned. They further argued that, as there was no further document available on the matter, this was a case that they considered to have insufficient documentary evidence, and what was available provided evidence of opposing views and so left matters inconclusive. They did not refer to the first letter containing serious allegations of physical abuse.

7.151Among the materials disclosed to the Committee under legal process of discovery was a statement by an employee who worked in the boys’ kitchen at Artane for over 20 years. He mentioned Br Gerrard who was in charge of the boys’ kitchen until the early 1960s when he was transferred to another position. This employee worked in the kitchen from the later 1930s until the early 1960s, and his statement to the Gardaí in 1999 named a number of Brothers whom he recalled working in the kitchen during this time. He particularly recalled an incident with Br Gerrard. He said:

I had many arguments with Brother Gerrard mostly because of the way he would beat the kids. Sometimes he would go overboard when beating the kids. I can remember telling him to stop beating the lads on a number of occasions. One day when I came into the kitchens Brother Gerrard was really laying into a lad. He had him down on the ground and was beating him all over his body with the leather. I went over to him and pulled him away from the boy and I hit Brother Gerrard across the face. He said he would speak to the Superior and get me sacked. I never heard any more about that incident.

7.152He went on to state that, ‘I had a leather myself and I often hit the lads from time to time when I felt they deserved it’.

7.153A witness who was in Artane up to the early 1950s recalled Br Gerrard and said his ‘weapon’ was a:

… stretched out rubber from a pram wheel. I know there was never any prams in Artane, but that is what he used to use. When he would hit you my goodness me, the pain, you just cannot remember. He would take the very very tip of your finger and then he would say, “Come again” with a big evil smile on his face as he went up on his toes and he would whack again. Absolutely cruel, cruel man.

7.154— This letter from a concerned parent was ignored. A person with a legitimate interest was expressing a serious concern, and it was not dealt with at any level by the authorities in Artane.

Br Searle²⁹

7.155In a letter to the Department of Education from the foster-mother of a boy who was resident in Artane in the 1950s, only part of which survives, the woman complained that the boy’s head was cut following a blow from Br Searle. The Resident Manager prepared a report for the Department regarding her complaint, the relevant portion of which reads:

The Br Searle mentioned in [the mother’s] letter was changed from Artane about two years ago. I have got in touch with him about the matter and the following statement is taken from the letter which I received from him:

“I remember the occasion when [this boy] received a slight cut on the head. It will be remembered that on a prior occasion when I had a group of boys out on walk, one of them … jumped out on the road, was struck by a lorry, and was killed instantaneously. The fear of a similar occurrence haunted me subsequently when taking boys on a walk. About four years ago when I had a group of boys out on a walk [the boy] began to act in a similar and even more dangerous manner. I was shocked at the thought of what could have happened to him. The impulsive thrust which accidentally struck him was a gesture of protection from a greater danger on a busy highway. I explained all this to [the mother] at the time but to the best of my recollection I never suggested that she should say nothing about what happened”.

I am here for the past four years and never at any time did I receive a complaint from [this woman]. As a matter of fact she has expressed, frequently, her thanks for all that was being done for the boy.

7.156The injury to the head was not disputed. The Brother explained that it was an ‘impulsive thrust which accidentally struck him’. The foster-mother had, apparently, had all of this explained to her, yet she was concerned enough to make a complaint to the Department of Education.

7.157— The unquestioning acceptance of the explanation given by the Brother, without even asking the boy what happened, was indicative of the uncritical approach adopted by the Department of Education to genuine complaints.

Br Verrill³⁰

7.158The parent who made a previous complaint in the mid-1950s about Br Gerrard, which is considered above, made another written complaint two years later that Br Verrill had injured his son. It seems that the letter was written during the course of a General Election campaign, as it refers to a visit to the writer’s home by a candidate who was a doctor by profession and who saw the injured boy and encouraged the writer to complain.

7.159The letter stated:

Dear Sir

I wish to make a Complaint regarding my son … I noticed he had marks of Violence on him, In fact a Candidate who called to the house to day remarked his face Swollen and Bruised as the man who called happens to be a Dr.

He advised me to write in to you and ask for explanation from you and to get a reply within 3 days before he goes ahead with an investigation. This is not the first time it has happened it would appear that Bro Verrill takes out his temper on the children, in fact if it happened to a ordinary man he would get 6 months. As my Dr. Candidate said he looked as if he was Punched ontil he bleed. Trusting you will look into the matter as soon as Possible as my T.D. expects a reply within 3 days. Sorry again to have to Complain as its going on to long now. After all he is only a child and I am sure the High Author dose not Know about the treatment giving to those boys. Trusting again I will have a reply soon.

7.160Recorded on the back of this letter is a handwritten note:

Answered: [Date] Examined boy’s face no mark. Got him to examine it himself no mark. Boy asked not mention to [Br Verrill]. Wish acceded to. Reason? Mentioned boy was happy at Trade & Technical Course. Boy states that he did not see any T.D. Asked father to put me in touch with T.D.

7.161It is clear that:

• Examining the boy for marks of violence was not an adequate response to the allegation of violence but was more consistent with a defensive attitude by the Superior. The father complained of assault by the Brother, and that should have been properly investigated. Instead, the focus was on disproving the allegations. A full record should have been kept.
• The Superior should have been concerned at the boy’s fear of being removed from his trade by Br Verrill if he discovered that a complaint had been made. He could have reassured the boy that he would not be removed from the course, while still carrying out an investigation.

7.162In its Opening Statement, the Congregation referred to the following letter as a single allegation, but in fact it contained two separate complaints.

7.163In an anonymous note to the Minister for Education, a boy had written:

The treatment we receive out here in Artane is unbearable specially from Br Verrill if you say a Vulgar word and he hears about it he takes you out of bed … gives you a shocking treatment, there has been proof of this in some boys faces during the last month.

[The Boy]

Yours sincerely

PS Do what you can Sir

7.164This letter was sent to the Resident Manager together with a letter from Mr Ó Síochfhradha, Inspector, Department of Education. He advised the Superior that a boy’s father had called to the office that morning, complaining that his son had been ill-treated by Br Verrill. He wrote:

He alleges that Brother Verrill took the boy out of bed and beat him and that the boy, when on a visit home last Sunday, “had the remains of a black eye”. He also stated that the boy appeared to be going deaf as a result of the treatment he received.

In this connection I am to enclose an anonymous letter received in this Office some time ago.

7.165He enclosed the handwritten note quoted above. Mr Ó Síochfhradha asked the Resident Manager for his observations on the parent’s allegations.

7.166The Resident Manager replied that, having investigated the matter, he was convinced that there was no truth in the allegations. The boy concerned had advised him that he had given backchat to a member of staff in front of other boys. The member of staff concerned did not punish him at that point. He was told to report the incident to the Disciplinarian, who was directly in charge of the conduct of the boys in the School. The Resident Manager went on:

The boy says that he went off to bed quickly that night immediately after tea without having reported this matter and that when Br Verrill sent for him he got up again. He was told that his offence was rather serious especially on account of the bad example he had given to the other boys [The boy] himself has told me that the only punishment he got was a few slaps. He is definitely sure that he was not ill-treated in any way and that at no time was he struck on any part of the head or face. He is also sure that he never had a black eye or ear injury.

The boy says that he had forgotten all about this business until he went on a visit home on the 17^th ult. On account of what his father said to him, he believes that whoever took the story to his father must have told lies as his father seemed to have a very wrong impression about the whole affair.

7.167The child concerned prepared a statement at the time. It read:

In about the middle of October I gave back chat to [a Brother] and I also took up a bottle and let on I was going to hit him with it. I was told to report to Br Verrill about this. I did not report it. When I was in bed at about 8.30 Br Verrill called me and he gave me some slaps but he did not hit me on the face or ears, or eyes. I had everything forgotten till I got out for the day on the 17^th of Nov.

7.168There was no Department of Education pupil file available for this boy. There was no further correspondence from the Department in the Congregation’s discovery.

7.169Notwithstanding these complaints, Br Verrill was later commended in a Visitation Report for his work as a Disciplinarian:

Tribute was paid by many to the success of Br. Verrill as Disciplinarian. The elimination of the tougher element has resulted in a much more manageable type prevailing. The strict rigidity of previous years has disappeared. The boys appear quite orderly and are obviously friendly towards the Brothers.

7.170Br Verrill was singled out for positive comment in another letter, written to complain about three of his colleagues, in which the writer stated that her grandson had no difficulties under Br Verrill’s care.

7.171A number of complainants gave evidence in relation to Br Verrill. A resident in Artane in the 1950s said, “I don’t know what he didn’t like about me but he used to beat me … I told my mother about it … and she said I must have been up to no good”. He alleged he would beat him for not concentrating in school. He said that he had his trousers pulled down in front of the boys and was walloped with a black leather on his buttocks. He added:

He had his hand on my back when he hit me with the leather he put the leather down and had his hands on my testicles, squeezed me, took his hands away and got the leather and walloped me again …

Verrill used to wallop me across the face sometimes. Verrill was the worst, I was scared of the man, I was absolutely scared of him. Anytime I seen him I used to run away or walk away, I was so frightened of the man.

7.172He alleged the Brother would call him names such as ‘soiler’ and ‘slasher’ for wetting the bed. He also called him a dunce in school.

7.173Another resident in Artane, for seven years during the 1950s, complained that Br Verrill caught four boys smoking and beat them with a leather strap and cane. He then put the boys up in front of the whole school and they had to apologise. He said that his little finger was split as a result. He went to the infirmary and his finger was bandaged.

7.174A resident there for five years in the 1950s said of Br Verrill, ‘… if he happened to be in bad humour or if you were passing by him, he would hit you a clatter … I had boils on the back of my neck and he hit me on the back of my neck’. This was with the strap and he would do this to other boys. When asked whether he complained about this, he said he didn’t know to whom he would have complained.

7.175— The cases cited above are an example of the consequences of a failure by the authorities to stop abusive behaviour by a Brother. Complaints were not investigated and breaches of the rules were overlooked. The dismissal of written complaints supports the assertions of ex-pupils that they could not complain about their treatment to anyone in Artane.

Directions to limit corporal punishment

7.176A Visitation Report in the late 1950s criticised two Brothers for excessive use of corporal punishment. It wrote the following about one Brother:

Br Vailant³¹ was reported to be rather severe on certain boys, troublesome ones, and to be exceeding the permitted limits of punishment. I spoke to him about this and he promised to be more careful in future. He has excellent control and should not have to resort to corporal punishment at all.

7.177It then made the following criticism about Br Deon:³²

It was also stated that Br. Deon was too severe. When I spoke to him about it he said his attention had never been called to it and that he would amend.

7.178One complainant claimed he had been struck by Br Vailant so hard that he had to be treated in hospital as an in-patient in 1959. The blow was known as an ‘electric jowler’, struck downwards across the face. The Brother who attended the oral hearing was asked if he was familiar with this phrase, and replied, ‘Yes, they called it a jowler … it was being struck on the face like, I suppose, like getting an electric shock‘.

7.179He admitted that ‘instead of using a leather I actually, on a number of occasions, struck boys with my hand on the face. I would say that that was … not correct, that was being severe’.

7.180He was asked if he had been consulted by the Congregation when it was preparing its statements in response to individual complaints. He replied:

I remember discussing with … the Provincial at the time and … I said to him, yes, that there was an element of truth in the allegations that were being made, but we didn’t go into details as I remember it.

7.181The Brother who prepared the Congregation’s response simply stated:

Brother Vailant was the disciplinarian in Artane for part of my stay there. He was a strict disciplinarian. It is possible that there was some folklore about him and the manner in which he used to punish the boys. However I never saw him giving any boy an electric jowler. The leadership team have confirmed to me that save for the complaints furnished to the Commission there are no records of complaints of abuse of any type made against Br Vailant during the relevant period.

7.182There was no mention in this response that the Brother had previously admitted that there was an element of truth in the allegations.

7.183Br Vailant, who had two spells in Artane in the 1950s and early 1960s, stated that he felt the boys were angry against the State that committed them, against their parents who did not care, and angry against the Brothers as the ones who were keeping them there. ‘In their eyes’, he explained, ‘we were seen as types of jailers’. He admitted he used the leather strap for misbehaviour and then added:

… I think I would have to put my hand up and say that I also used it for failure in lessons, even though I knew that that was discouraged. If you ask me why I would use it for failure in lessons I would say to encourage people to get on and to learn something.

7.184Br Vailant was asked about the reference to him in the Visitation Report quoted above, which noted that he was ‘exceeding the permitted limits of punishment’. When asked if could remember the rebuke, he replied:

I think I could say that I was never aware that that was written about me in a Visitation Report … I don’t actually remember that [the Visitor speaking to me]. He said that I was too severe. Well, I would say now that I probably was, or at least that I was too strict, or maybe too demanding.

7.185He was asked if he exceeded his own standards and regretted it. He replied:

I would say yes … I would say instead of using a leather I actually, on a number of occasions, struck boys with my hand on the face. I would say that was, you know, not correct, that that was being severe and that maybe is what the Provincial was referring to …

7.186Under questioning, he added:

… I became aware that I was doing things that were not strictly right or not strictly necessary … Like using the leather too frequently, or using it for failure in lessons, or in work. Also, using my hand instead of what was recognised as a way of punishing.

7.187— The Visitor should have dealt effectively with Br Vailant’s severity when it came to his attention. The failure of a proper system for monitoring punishments administered by Brothers has left a number of ex-staff members of Artane with feelings of guilt and remorse for what occurred there.

7.188Shortly before this Visitation, the Provincial wrote a letter to all Brothers to express his concern about levels of corporal punishment. He wrote:

In a Circular issued in January 1957 I asked the Brothers of the Province to avoid as much as possible the use of corporal punishment in the schools. For some time after the issuing of that Circular there appeared to be good reason to believe that the request was being carried out. More recently, however, the leather has come back into frequent use in at least some schools. This is a matter for sincere regret. As I have already stated frequent recourse to the use of the leather indicates a bad tone in the classroom. It may make the lives of the children unhappy and nullifies much of the benefit of their Education. It is to be hoped that, in time, wiser counsels will prevail and that the use of the leather will be reserved for cases in which it is really necessary for the purpose of correction.

7.189He did not say how he knew ‘the leather had come back into frequent use in at least some schools’, but the Visitation Reports and the complaints referred to above may have played a part in informing him. What is clear is that, by the standards of this senior Christian Brother, the leather was being used too often and in circumstances where it was not really necessary.

A letter from a concerned grandmother

7.190A boy’s grandmother wrote to the Superior General in late 1962 complaining about the way her grandson was treated during his time in the Institution. The original letter of complaint is no longer extant, but the content is evident from an internal letter from the Christian Brothers’ Provincial Council to the Superior General:

The Council here has considered the letter you handed into us from a Mrs McCarthy³³ making a number of accusations against certain Brothers in Artane and an attack on Artane in general. We consider Mrs McCarthy a very dangerous woman and one who could do a lot of harm.

We think she should get a reply stating that the matter will be looked into as soon as possible; That the Superior of Artane is away at present and will not be back until the end of September. You however will be able to give her the best answer to satisfy her and cool her down. With the Superior of Artane absent at present it would be difficult to get accurate information at present concerning all the statements Mrs McCarthy makes.

7.191The Superior General replied to the grandmother’s letter in November 1962. His letter discussed efforts made concerning the boy’s care after he left Artane. He also stated that the School Superior offered the boy a free place in the secondary school, which he declined. He went on to respond to the grandmother’s complaint:

As to his troubles at school, he evidently received punishment, but it was not in the manner or in the spirit which you seem to suggest. In this he may have exaggerated things to you, and your affection for the boy may have caused you to see them in a more serious way. As far as we could discover there was no unkind feeling towards him, as all felt that his make-up was not that of the ordinary boy …

7.192In February 1963, Mrs McCarthy brought her grandson to Artane to discuss with the Superior his difficulty in keeping jobs and to see if he could help in finding employment. What happened in the course of this meeting is in dispute. The grandmother gave her version of what happened in a letter written later that month (26^th February) to the Minister for Education:

I could not believe my eyes, without word or warning the Superior, closed his fist + struck the boy a most brutal blow on the side of the jaw, saying to him why wont you work. He then said in the most deliberate tone to him, you are mental the boy said I am not. He said you are suffering from a mental dicease, this he repeated about five times; every drop of blood had left the boys face from the blow, which had sent him staggering to the other side of the Office, all the unfortunate boy could say was wh… and his voice went. I was so shocked and dazed from the scene. I was not much better than the boy. I could not think straight. However Bro Colbert³⁴ happened to come in just then and the Superior said look who we have here. He then left the Office. I followed him outside the door and told him it was the yrs of ill treatment of that Kind had the boy the way he was, and told him to get the boy medical and mental treatment … He was removed to St Brendan’s on The Sat evg 9th February.

7.193The grandmother turned to a clergyman named Canon O’Neill for assistance with her complaint. He wrote to Monsignor Barry,³⁵ who passed on Canon O’Neill’s letter to the Superior General. After meeting with the Superior in Artane, the Superior General, Br Mulholland, wrote to Monsignor Barry on 26^th February 1963:

Further to my note of 23^rd February I have now made full enquiries into the allegations in Mrs McCarthy’s letter. I have ascertained that she is a mental case with a strong antipathy against Artane School and that she is given to exaggeration in all matters she speaks or writes about. It is easy to note that she is a very dangerous type of woman …

Now just to give you an example of her powers of exaggeration I asked the Superior of Artane about the blow he was alleged to have given the boy on the 7^th of February. He said he was talking to [the boy] in presence of Mrs McCarthy about the number of jobs he was in and of his leaving each of them without cause. To impress matters on [the boy] he gave him a tip of his hand and that is what is described as a staggering blow. ³⁶ That will give us some idea of what to believe of the allegations made in the rest of the letter. As far as I could ascertain there is no truth in the accusation that boys are taken out of bed at 10p.m. and beaten “for any minor fault”. It must be only hearsay on Mrs McCarthy’s part. We all know how boys are inclined to exaggerate the slightest happening.

7.194On the same day, the grandmother wrote a long letter of complaint to the Minister for Education, which will be discussed presently.

7.195Monsignor Barry replied, accepting the ‘unreliability and untrustworthiness of her complaints’ and continued:

I am sorry that you have been put to so much trouble but unfortunately, these sort of people give us all a lot of trouble and their complaints have to be nailed. I am happy to be in a position to reassure Canon O’Neill that the story as he got it was completely without foundation.

7.196On 1^st March 1963, the grandmother met the Superior General by appointment. At the meeting, that lasted two hours, she discussed her grievances concerning Artane. On the same evening, the Superior General and the Provincial decided that the matter should be handed over to a solicitor if she persisted. The Provincial informed the Superior of Artane and commented:

The Superior General had great patience with her and he thought by listening to her and getting her to unburden herself she would be pacified but no she left him thundering against the Brothers and against Artane and saying she was going to make certain that such things would not happen again. The Superior General was very beaten up on Friday evening and today.

It is amazing the trouble which one strange woman can make but the Superior General has come to the conclusion that she is an able dealer …

7.197In her long letter to the Minister, the grandmother made many complaints of severe beatings of the boy by different named Christian Brothers in Artane. She also protested about his poor standard of education when he left the Institution. In addition, she described the incident that occurred when she and the boy met the Superior at Artane.

7.198Officials of the Department of Education carried out an investigation and rejected the complaints. In the course of their inquiry, the officials interviewed the boy and his grandmother, and they received written statements from each of the Brothers involved, furnished to them by the Superior of Artane. Mrs McCarthy was unhappy with the way that she and her grandson were questioned. The officials’ investigation was hampered by the grandmother’s refusal to give the names of boys said to have witnessed the events involving her grandson and, in addition, they failed to obtain information from the chaplain, Fr Moore, who had some knowledge of the matter and was unhappy that he had not been approached directly but through the Superior of Artane. More importantly, he feared that his bond of confidentiality with the boys in Artane might be prejudiced. A genuine misunderstanding might have caused the failure to get information from the chaplain. In the circumstances, it would be unfair to criticise the inspectors on this ground. Whatever impediments there may have been to the inquiry, it nevertheless seems unsatisfactory that the officials did not question the Brothers involved. The report of the investigation did not, however, equivocate:

From an examination of the evidence obtained through interviews, enquiries made by phone and the reports furnished by the Brothers concerned, in association with the grandmother’s refusal to give the names of the boys who witnessed [the boy’s] being taken from his bed at night for punishment, it is clear that the charges of brutality and sadism made by Mrs. McCarthy are without foundation. The fact that she is content to leave her other grandson in the care of the Brothers in Artane lend support to this opinion. Br Ourson³⁷ did give [the boy] a shaking … but considering the boy’s infuriating failures to remain in employment, he showed remarkable restraint. Outside this occurrence, nothing emerged from the enquiry to justify the charges of ill-treatment …

7.199The more senior official in the Department of the two who investigated decided that the grandmother should not receive a written reply to her complaint, because she had not co-operated by naming witnesses among the boys.

7.200Br Reynolds was examined in relation to this in Phase I of the Investigation Committee’s inquiry. Referring to the view of the Brothers that the grandmother was dangerous, he said:

I think in that particular case they had reasonably good foundation for the conclusions that they came to. I don’t particularly want to talk about the good lady in question, but I think if you examine the documentation in relation to that case it is quite clearly shown that Number one, an investigation was carried out and the considered opinion of the Resident Manager was that the incident she was complaining about didn’t actually take place. Nonetheless, they did issue a letter, not just to Artane, to all our industrial schools saying if punishments of this nature, if it should happen that they did take place it should cease if that is the custom or if it has happened. I am not sure why that happened.

It would appear to me that that was their action to it first of all in relation to giving instruction to the various institutions and may well have said to the mother or the grandmother who was complaining, “we have done this. We don’t accept your complaint, but we have done this in relation to that complaint”. I haven’t documentary evidence in relation to that but I can’t see why else they would send that out to all industrial schools if there wasn’t some reason of that nature for it.

7.201Br Reynolds was referring to a circular sent by the Superior General to the Christian Brothers’ industrial schools prohibiting the Brothers from taking boys out of bed at night to administer corporal punishment.

7.202The letter, dated 4^th March 1963, was a ‘Direction to all our Residential Schools’ and it stated:

Should it be a custom that Brothers, Teachers or Night Watchmen take boys out of bed at night time and beat them that custom is to cease. I am now forbidding it. The Br. Superior is to call the attention of the Br. Disciplinarian, Brothers, Teachers and Watchmen who may have to supervise boys in the dormitory to this prohibition.

Such a custom, if ever it existed, could only bring serious trouble and shame on our management.

The Regulations regarding corporal punishment in our Rules and Acts of Chapter are to be adhered to.

7.203In conclusion:

• A serious complaint was inadequately investigated and was dismissed on insufficient grounds by both the Department of Education and the Superior.
• The Superior did not deny that ‘to impress matters on the boy he gave him a tip of his hand’. The severity of the blow was subsequently disputed, but it is accepted that the boy was physically chastised in the presence of the grandmother. Neither the Brothers nor the Department of Education criticised the Superior for hitting the boy in this way.
• The correspondence reveals a lack of respect for the grandmother and her complaints. She is seen as a dangerous troublemaker whose complaints ‘have to be nailed’. The decision by the senior official in the Department of Education not to reply to the grandmother’s letter itself revealed a contempt for her complaint.
• The Department’s inspectors accepted written statements from the Brothers and did not question them directly, thereby affording them a preferential credibility.
• Although the grandmother’s complaint was totally rejected, the Superior still sent out a letter prohibiting a method of giving punishment that the establishment claimed had never happened. This odd fact suggests there was an apprehension that there was some truth in what had been alleged.
• Many witnesses before the Investigation Committee testified that they were taken out of bed and punished, thereby supporting this part of the grandmother’s complaint.

Br Lionel³⁸

7.204A case of documented abuse was summarised in the Opening Statement by the Congregation. It involved a boy who received treatment in the infirmary following a beating by a Brother:

In 1964 a Brother gave a beating to a boy, apparently for misconduct with other boys. The nature of the misconduct is unclear. There is reference to this incident in the infirmary diary for June of 1965 (sic), from which it is clear that the boy was beaten on the back and legs. There is no indication that the matter was investigated or that any action was taken against the Brother.

7.205The 1964 infirmary diary contained an entry regarding a boy who complained of a sore back and legs. The entry simply stated: ‘got beating by Br Lionel for bad conduct with other boys. Resting’.

7.206In evidence, Br Lionel denied that this had happened. The Brother said that he was never reprimanded for this incident and said that he had no recollection of the particular boy named in the diary. He went on to say that he had indeed severely punished another named boy for sexually interfering with three younger boys. He described the beating as follows:

I had to deal with just one incident of [peer abuse] … I literally gave the person responsible when he had admitted doing it – he admitted openly to having done this to three children and I gave him literally a hiding. I mean a hiding … I would have slapped him on the hands, I would have slapped him on the backside. It was literally – it was something to deter him from ever doing this again … It stands out in my mind, it was the toughest thing I ever had to deal with.

7.207A workman witnessed this beating and reported it to the Superior, Br Ourson. According to Br Lionel, the boy was brought before the Superior, where he recounted what he had done in the presence of the Brother and the workman. The Brother then claimed the workman said, after hearing what the boy had done, ‘if I was dealing with him I would have killed him’.

7.208The Brother was unable to describe to the Committee the nature of conduct which in his view merited this severe punishment. All he could say was that the three young boys had come to him reporting ‘badness’ being done to them by the offender.

7.209The Brother admitted he had beaten another boy in the manner described, but not the boy named in the diary, which leaves the entry in the infirmary diary unexplained. If the entry is correct, a second boy must have received a beating that was so severe he required treatment in the infirmary.

7.210It was obvious from the worker’s reaction that the beating he had seen was one of extreme brutality. In evidence, however, the Brother remained unapologetic about the incident. He viewed the offending behaviour as sufficiently serious to warrant this extreme punishment, and invoked the workman’s later comment as support of his claim. Given the obvious severity of the beating, the matter should have been fully investigated and reported on by the Superior, irrespective of the offending behaviour of the boy.

Beating by an employee

7.211In their Opening Statement, the Christian Brothers referred to an incident in the mid-1960s when an employee injured a boy:

The Manager’s diary contains an entry … which states that two boys, who were brothers, were sent unaccompanied to the Mater Hospital and did not return. This note is followed by the word “readmitted” which seems to indicate that the boys did eventually come back to Artane. It appears that one of the boys was injured, his brother accompanied him to the hospital and both absconded. Two lines below the original entry there is another entry as follows: “The injury received was caused by an employee of the School, who was the object of a jeering attack by the injured boy and others”. It is obvious from the handwriting that the two notes were not written by the same person. It is not clear whether the two notes refer to the same boy, nor is there any indication what the nature of the injury was.

7.212The Brothers maintained that it was ‘not possible to come to any logical conclusion on the matter’. What is clear is that an employee injured a boy. The source of the information that the employee punished the boys for jeering at him most likely came from the employee concerned, who presumably was questioned in relation to the assault. There is no record that he was reprimanded. If it was not acceptable behaviour, then some record of the reprimand should surely have been made. There is no other record of this incident.

Newspaper article

7.213An article about discipline in church-run schools in Ireland appeared in a newspaper report in the late 1960s. In it, the journalist wrote about a pupil from Artane Industrial School, who had recently become emotionally disturbed and had been kept under sedation in the School infirmary. Despite this fact, he was punched in the stomach by a Brother as he came out of the toilets that morning. The boy also said the nun in the infirmary kept a cane there. The journalist went to the School to confront the Brother Superior about the matter. The journalist wrote this account of the meeting:

“Brother, is it true that Delmar³⁹ punched Michael⁴⁰ in the stomach last week?”

Brother Gilles⁴¹ moves the papers about on his desk, nibbles a biscuit.

“Sure, I asked Brother Delmar about it this morning. He says he can’t recollect punching Michael at all.”

“Could that be because he punches so many boys that he can’t recollect this particular instance?”

Brother Gilles looks sideways at me and giggles, leans back in his chair, twiddles his thumbs and does not reply.

“Is it true, what Michael says, that the nun keeps a cane in the infirmary?”

“I couldn’t say,’ says Brother Gilles. ‘It’s news to me.”

“But you’re in charge here, aren’t you? Surely you must know what goes on?”

“I really couldn’t say.”

7.214The Superior wrote to the Assistant Secretary in the Department of Education. He had been asked for a statement in response to the article. In it, he protested that he had not given an appointment to the journalist who had accompanied a Mr O’Neill,⁴² who had requested an interview. He explained:

Mr O’Neill asked for the interview because Michael used to visit his home in Blackrock on the second and last Sundays of each month. On [a particular Sunday] Michael was out in Mr O’Neill’s house when he complained of a pain in his stomach which, he stated, was the result of a punch he received from one of the Brothers that morning. Mr O’Neill brought the boy back here that night and put him into our Infirmary. The Matron took charge of him and put him to bed. In a matter of minutes Michael was sitting up viewing the television programme. The following morning he was examined by the school doctor who didn’t discover any marks on his stomach: in fact he told the boy to get up and go to school. Michael got up but stayed in the Infirmary that day and attended school as usual the following morning. He was never under sedation tablets here …

7.215The letter continued:

Articles like this have done much harm to Industrial Schools and they are most embarrassing to the staff and the hundreds of past pupils who are upright and honest citizens of the state. It is also to be regretted that a semi-state controlled organization like R.T.E. should invite [this journalist] to appear on a programme to cause more annoyance to the teaching authorities.

[… a television journalist …] interviewed a former pupil of Artane School. This boy gave a completely false picture of the school as it is to-day and many people, who knew the conditions here, telephoned to ask why some Brother wasn’t in the studio to state the facts. On the same programme when false allegations were made about the Gardaí, a Garda was present to give his side of the story, the true story; but we were not asked by the R.T.E. authorities to state our case.

It is hard to blame [the journalist in question] and other members of the journalistic profession from across the water for launching their unjust attacks on Irish schools since there is much unfair and unjust criticism from so-called responsible sources here in Ireland. Not a voice is raised in defence of those who have dedicated their lives to this difficult task.

7.216The Assistant Secretary replied as follows:

Dear Br Gilles,

Thank you for your letter … concerning [the journalist’s] visit to Artane and [the] subsequent article … I hasten to assure you that my verbal request to you through Mr. Wade for your version of [the] visit was entirely for the record and was not intended to imply that the Department was testing the veracity of [the] account.

It was obvious that [the] account was biased, tendentious and in parts highly improbable. However I had to compile a record of all the cases mentioned in the article and a note from you was necessary to complete that record.

It is highly regrettable that the Reformatory and Industrial School system should be the subject of so much ill-informed and malicious attack. The difficulty in dealing with the problem is that it is not always possible to identify those responsible or to be sure of the motivation which inspires the attack.

The ignorant and the malicious, like the poor, we have always with us.

7.217The main interest of this article is that it made an allegation that a Brother in whose care the boy had been placed punched the boy in the stomach. Mr O’Neill had found the boy retching, brought him to the infirmary when he returned the boy to the School, and made an appointment with the Resident Manager. The man was clearly very concerned. While a doctor was called and he found no marks on the boy’s stomach, the key allegation, that a Brother had punched him, was not investigated. The overwhelming concern in the correspondence was for the reputation of the Institution and the insult sustained by Br Gilles. The Department dismissed the complaint in the article out of hand, and merely sought the Manager’s response ‘to complete the record’.

Evidence from individual respondents

7.218A total of 26 Brothers who had served in Artane gave evidence to the Investigation Committee. From their testimony, certain facts emerged about which there was no disagreement. These included:

• All the Brothers were issued with a leather strap when they arrived at the School and most of them carried it with them.
• All of them were allowed to administer corporal punishment for minor offences, yet nowhere was it set out in clear, unequivocal terms what a minor offence was. They all said that punishment was left to their judgment.
• A combination of immaturity, overwork, long hours, isolation and lack of proper supervision led to severe strain and exhaustion.

7.219The following points emerged in their evidence.

7.220Br Fontaine,⁴³ who was on the staff of Artane from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, said that he never witnessed Brothers losing control or punishing boys excessively and that he himself had never done so. However, he did say:

At times you would hear the boys talking and you got the impression that somebody had gone overboard and you would have a feeling that something had happened that shouldn’t have happened. But it would be from listening to the boys themselves. The Brothers themselves would not talk about something like that.

7.221Br Davet⁴⁴ was in Artane in the early to mid-1960s and regarded the use of corporal punishment as a symptom of the stress the Brothers were under. He said, ‘if situations arose and you were supervising quite a large number of boys a situation could arise where you would use corporal punishment then … it was part of the stress that was put on the men supervising …’.

7.222He also acknowledged that there were ‘some Brothers that were regarded as being tough and could possibly use the leather excessively …’.

7.223Br Yves,⁴⁵ who was in Artane for two years in the 1960s, agreed that he punished boys to excess, and now regretted it:

That’s a fair comment. When I went there I was twenty years of age, I was just out of first year training college. It was for me a baptism of fire to go into that kind of situation. I had no experience much as a teacher … If I was severe, and I was severe, it was my way of coping, and, you know, to those boys that I punished severely, I am exceedingly sorry.

7.224He remembered being reprimanded by the principal of the School for beating a boy too harshly, and toned down his severity accordingly.

7.225Br Burcet,⁴⁶ who had two spells in Artane, in the mid 1950s and then throughout the 1960s, told the Investigation Committee how one witness had moved him to recall an incident. The former resident gave evidence that the first time he received the strap was from Br Burcet when he was one of the youngest boys in Artane, aged eight or nine:

The first experience I have with a strap or a leather as they are called, it was from Br. Burcet. again there is a lot after that but because it was the first one it stuck with me … I remember retracting my hand … and then receiving … the strap around that area (indicating) and then on the buttocks area. That was for retracting my hand … All I remember, and that’s why it stuck with me, was the stings, the stings in the actual body areas. It was more than two or three [strokes].

7.226Although Br Burcet had denied beating the boy in his statement written in 2002, when he simply wrote, ‘I did not abuse [the complainant]’, he changed his evidence. He said:

When I heard him describing it in evidence I was very taken and I was very conscious of how credible it was … When he was giving his evidence and as he described it, it made a very, very big impact on me … to hear it in his own words as he described that …

7.227Br Burcet was singled out for praise by some of his colleagues, and many of the boys listed him among the more kind and fair Brothers. He described to the Committee how the experience of Artane had affected him:

In my last year in Artane I was Disciplinarian. I didn’t like the job, I didn’t want the job … and I wouldn’t say I was very good at it. But during that period there was a fire and part of the building was burnt down … I was in charge then and that had a huge effect on me … I became paranoid about where kids were … if I found boys in places where they shouldn’t be … I punished them more severely than would have been necessary.

7.228He then described punishing some boys on the backside:

… when some boys were interfering with other boys, they would be punished and one of the punishments they would get would be on the backside with the leather. I wasn’t too keen on doing it, I had a certain reluctance about it …

7.229In relation to one particular incident of peer abuse brought to his attention by Br Gaspard⁴⁷, he said:

I just brought [the boy concerned] to the boot room … He had his nightshirt on him, he bent down, I gave him three or four smacks of the leather on the – not on the bare backside and he ran out the door and I was glad to see him go.

7.230When Br Burcet was asked if he punished more in Artane than in other schools, he replied:

Yes, I did punish more. I would say that it was more true of when I went there first than when I started to find my feet there … In the latter part I probably punished less, until I was made disciplinarian … it did change me, because when I left Artane … I didn’t use corporal punishment at all.

7.231Br Burcet later taught in Letterfrack and Salthill.

Congregational response

7.232There is a marked contrast between the Congregation’s response to the evidence of physical abuse and that of individual respondents. The Congregation took up a very defensive position, but the individual respondents were, for the most part, more open and concessionary, with the result that areas of disagreement between respondents and complainants diminished, and some areas of agreement emerged. Individual respondents were able to recall and admit cases of excessive punishment or cruelty, but they were reluctant to see policy implications in such episodes. The Brothers were, however, less forthcoming in regard to physical abuse than some Brothers had been when they spoke to Mr Dunleavy when he was preparing his report on Artane for the Congregation. He described what he discovered in his interviews:

In the course of interviewing members of the Christian Brothers who worked previously at Artane Industrial School a picture of a particularly brutal form of discipline emerged. It seemed that many of the Brothers who came to Artane to teach, did so as relatively young Brothers, often indeed Artane was their first mission. As such they seem to have been both equally enthusiastic and inexperienced and were highly influenced by the views of the School expressed to them by Brothers who had been there longer than themselves. Nearly all of the Brothers that I interviewed told me that it had been explained to them by senior Brothers at Artane Industrial School that the boys would not respect a Brother who did not discipline them extremely severely, and that a Brother who would not deal out such punishment would soon become know to the boys as a “Silly Brother” – it was not clear whether there was any sexual connotation in such a nickname. One Brother related an incident where his fellow Brothers had burst into applause when he entered a room where they were, as it had been learned that he had punished one of his pupils by punching him in the face – previously he had not dealt out such harsh punishment. Another Brother recalled holding a colleague’s soutane while he beat a pupil with his fists round a handball alley – the location having been chosen so that the only path of escape for the boy was past the Brother who was meeting out the punishment. It is my conclusion that unofficially at least, a system existed in Artane Industrial School of inflicting unusually brutal punishment on pupils, that such a system was tacitly sanctioned by the more senior Brothers at the School, and that this unofficial code of discipline made it inevitable that the physical abuse of pupils at Artane Industrial School would occur. Several Brothers relayed stories of occasions on which fellow Brothers had “snapped” and had punished a pupil excessively. The actions of the subjects of these stories were always termed as being entirely out of character. It seems to me however that the level of ordinary punishment in the school was so extreme, that when Brothers punished their pupils in an excessive manner, such punishment was inevitably of the most brutal kind. The reluctance of the school to properly investigate and deal with any allegations of physical abuse, or even to report the injury of pupils to parents or the Dept. of Education, ensured that such a system would persist.

Fr Moore

7.233Fr Henry Moore was the chaplain of Artane from 1960 to 1967. In 1962 he was asked by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr McQuaid, to give him a report on Artane, which he delivered on 7^th July 1962. The report is discussed later in this chapter. He gave evidence about his report and generally in relation to conditions in Artane.

7.234Fr Moore’s report stated:

The administration of punishment is in charge of a disciplinarian, but in practice is not confined to him. There seems to be no proportion between punishment and the offence. In my presence a boy was severely beaten on the face for an insignificant misdemeanour. Recently, a boy was punished so excessively and for so long a period that he broke away from the Brother and came to my house a mile away for assistance. The time was 10.45 p.m., almost two hours after the boys retired to bed. For coming to me in those circumstances he was again punished with equal severity. Some time ago, a hurley stick was used to inflict punishment on a small boy. The offence was negligible.

Constant resource to physical punishment breeds undue fear and anxiety. The personality of the boy is inevitably repressed, maladjusted, and in some cases, abnormal.

7.235Br Reynolds at Phase I said the Brothers were not challenging Fr Moore’s eye-witness account and commented:

… we are saying that if anything like that happened it shouldn’t have happened and it was wrong. The thing that surprises me about it was that he didn’t bring it to the attention of the Resident Manager.

7.236Fr Moore gave evidence to the Investigation Committee of the difficulties he had in bringing complaints to the Resident Manager.

7.237He said that the overall atmosphere in the School was:

very oppressive and it seemed to me to engender a great fear, an atmosphere of fear in the boys, generally, either in anticipation of punishment or actually experiencing punishment. In a word I would have described it as excessive and out of proportion.

7.238He described incidents he had witnessed, including one in his report to the Archbishop in which he referred to a boy being severely beaten on the face for an insignificant misdemeanour in the playground.

7.239He expressed a particular concern about the levels of corporal punishment used by Br Videl⁴⁸, who was in the School in the early 1960s and about whom he heard consistent reports of his excessive disciplinary actions and beatings.

7.240He recalled an occasion when Br Videl punished a boy who had snatched a comic from a younger boy in the playground. The Brother took the older boy to one of the classrooms:

I was concerned at that stage about the evidence that I had been hearing about his severity, so I decided I would follow myself after him and I would stand outside the classroom door … When I did that I counted the number of slaps he was giving the boy and my attention was distracted somehow after 19 slaps … I would have considered that grossly excessive for the demeanour or misdemeanour, which in my view was tawdry.

7.241He did not think the system in Artane was conducive to boys making complaints. He said:

… as far as I could see the boys were afraid to make a complaint. I was in a sort of invidious position because I had been instructed by Br Ourson, the Superior, that the boys were not to make complaints to me, that if they had complaints they should go to him.

7.242While he went to Br Ourson with complaints of sexual abuse, he said that he was reluctant to do so in respect of physical abuse. Other Brothers advised him informally that this was not his function. For this reason, he directed boys who came to him with such complaints to go directly to Br Ourson. He does not know whether they in fact did so. He had not gone to Br Ourson about the Brother for this reason. He went instead to the Brother Provincial, but he did not know what the outcome was or whether the Brother was reprimanded.

7.243Fr Moore’s evidence is important on the extent of corporal punishment in Artane and the difficulty for staff and boys in making complaints. In an environment where the victim is afraid to report it to the authorities, abuse will flourish. This and other evidence indicates that boys did not report abuse to the authorities because they would have been punished for doing so.

Dr Paul McQuaid

7.244Dr Paul McQuaid returned to Ireland in 1965 after four years of postgraduate training in England and Scotland, and took up the position of Assistant Psychiatrist in charge of the Child Guidance Clinic in the Mater Hospital. In or about 1967 or 1968, he began to visit Artane on a weekly basis and he had free access to the Institution.

7.245Dr McQuaid said that his general impression was that it was a daunting institution. The abiding impression he had was that of silence during school hours, notwithstanding the large number of boys in the place:

The silence. So you had all these children, young boys, and virtually not a sound.

7.246The boys’ unease was noticeable:

It was a forbidding place, no question about it. There was a sense of just something about the way that the kids presented. You got a sense that they were intimidated, but again it was 40/50 years ago, times were different. They were there because they were within a juvenile controlled system and how do you control large numbers of kids.

7.247He recalled an incident which happened one day when he visited the School unannounced:

I walked in one day and as I said there was this silence, I was on my own and I don’t think I was expected in that sense.

As I walked down the corridor I heard this (slapped hands together) like that (indicated), just as I walked down, the door opened and a boy walked out and his face was coming out and he had a black eye developing. I stopped him and he was very upset. He was trying not to cry. Anyway I said, you know, “What happened?” He said – I can’t remember what he said, but what transpired was that he had been hit by the Brother in charge, that’s what he said. I had no reason to disbelieve him.

7.248Dr McQuaid returned to the issues of punishment and fear in Artane later in his evidence. He drew a distinction between national schools and other institutions:

We know that particularly in institutions corporal punishment was used in a way somewhat beyond what it was used for in national schools in that it was an instrument of control.

7.249Dr McQuaid said that there would have been a degree of difference in terms of the extent of the punishment in Artane as opposed to the schools that he attended. In his school days, corporal punishment was administered by a dean of discipline, as distinct from individual teachers in the classroom, but he confessed that he would not really have known what was happening in Artane if he had been asked. However, he did repeat that his impression of Artane ‘was one of an intimidatory type of silence and control’. He was asked whether it was his perception at the time that there was a problem in Artane with regard to corporal punishment or excessive corporal punishment, and he replied that:

… we were given to understand that the issue of control was a matter for the individual Brother. So how an individual Brother might deal with a recusant child or class, as I understood it then and since, was that it was a matter for the individual Brother.

7.250The difference in the system of government in a school where punishment was administered by a designated person, as compared with Artane and other Christian Brothers’ institutions, should not have existed, because the statutory Rules and Regulations for industrial schools provided that corporal punishment could only be inflicted by the Manager or in his presence. If the rule had been observed, the regime would have been more ordered, and cases of excessive or capricious violence less common. A Brother would have to justify to the Manager why a boy should be punished and would not be permitted to react spontaneously to a situation. Consistency, another feature of ordered regimes, would be maintained.

1962 inspection

7.251An allegation of excessive corporal punishment was referred to in one of the reports of a special inspection carried out by three officials⁴⁹ of the Department of Education in December 1962. This inspection followed the appearance by Fr Henry Moore, the chaplain to Artane, before an Inter-Departmental Committee where he expressed his concerns about the way Artane was run. In particular, he commented on the excessive discipline and overuse of corporal punishment. It was in this context that the reference to discipline appeared in the principal report of the group, which was written by Mr MacUaid. The relevant part stated:

Complaints about the treatment of children in industrial schools are not infrequent but from experience I would say that the majority are exaggerated and some even untrue. For example, you will recall the case where a mother brought her child to the hall and alleged that he had been beaten on the head and on the buttocks by a Br Javier⁵⁰ in Artane. Fortunately, Dr McCabe was in the office the same day and on uncovering the bandaged head she diagnosed the “injury” as ringworm. The child had bruises on his body but in the subsequent investigation Br Javier claimed that they had been made in a rough and tumble fight with other boys and the balance of the evidence favoured the Brother’s case. Because Br Javier is the Dean of Discipline in Artane he was interviewed specially, away from the Superior and Bursar, on his duties Br Javier is a vigorous young man in his late twenties with six years teaching experience. His duties as Disciplinarian do not allow him to teach at present but he hopes to be relieved of his appointment this summer and re-assigned to the classroom. His policy of deprivation of privileges because of misconduct and acquainting the culprit of the reason is basically sound but he explained that successful application of this policy was not always possible owing to the ages of the boys, some of whom did not care if, say, the privilege of watching television or going home for a few hours on Sunday was withdrawn. He felt that, having withdrawn privileges and still being faced with insubordination, he had no alternative but to punish moderately with the leather on the hands in certain cases. He stated that he probably used the leather about twice a week. Br Javier is Dean of Discipline for 400 odd boys and, I believe, fills this demanding position with sincerity and firmness but without harshness. The only criticism offered is that he is too young for an exacting job that requires maturity and had little experience of the city type prior to his appointment as Disciplinarian. In a subsequent discussion, the Superior whole-heartedly supported the work of Br Javier. In response to the suggestion that a course in psychology in U.C.D. would help in an office of this important nature, he replied that the question had never been examined by the Order but that Br Javier would probably return to teaching next September.

7.252The general disposition of the Department of Education was defensive. The official’s example of an unfounded allegation is questionable. If the boy who presented to Dr McCabe had bruises on his body, that in itself was a serious matter, calling for a thorough investigation.

7.253The report said that ‘the balance of the evidence favoured the Brother’s case’, but a report on such a specific matter should have set out the evidence considered.

7.254The key role of Dean of Discipline was given to a Brother ‘too young for an exacting job that requires maturity’. He also had little experience of the type of boy in Artane.

7.255The report admitted that ‘complaints about the treatment of children in industrial schools are not infrequent’, but then relied on the ‘experience’ of the writer to ‘say that the majority are exaggerated and some even untrue’.

7.256A Disciplinarian who was judged to be firm, but without harshness, nevertheless had to use the leather on boys ‘twice a week’.

Evidence given by complainants

7.257The Investigation Committee heard a total of 48 former residents. They tended not to complain about punishments that were justified, even if they were severe. As one witness said, ‘I didn’t mind being beaten if I deserved it’. Many witnesses often qualified their accounts by saying they had deserved the chastisement. One Disciplinarian was consistently described as a very strict but very fair man, because he did not punish unjustly.

7.258The former residents did complain, however, about unjust punishments. Unfair, capricious punishments created a climate of fear because they were administered for little or no reason, and therefore could not be avoided. Examples include failure at lessons, writing with the left hand and bed-wetting.

7.259They complained about punishments so severe they breached the accepted standards of the time. In particular, the punishments given to absconders were cited as excessive and cruel.

7.260Another major cause of complaint was the method by which punishment was administered. One or more complainants before the Investigation Committee recounted the following kinds of punishment, which were often idiosyncratic to certain members of staff, and included:

• Being beaten with a hurley, fan belt, pram tyre, and sticks of various kinds. A deceased Brother admitted in a Garda interview that he used a fan belt to strike boys.
• Being beaten on the bare buttocks or other parts of the body.
• Being hit by the open hand or fist on the face or other parts of the body.
• Being kicked on various parts of the body.
• Being lifted by sideburns or the hair at the temples.
• The use of various methods to make the punishment more painful.

7.261Many complaints were about the timing and circumstances of the punishment. For example, boys were taken out of their beds to be punished, or the punishment would be deliberately delayed to cause anguish about what was to come.

Examples of unfair punishment

7.262The Investigation Committee was struck by the number of witnesses who cited one particular long-serving Disciplinarian, Br Cretien, as being strict but fair. As Disciplinarian, he had to administer corporal punishment frequently, but the witnesses were almost unanimous in saying he used it only when it was deserved and it was never excessively severe.

7.263In contrast, there were many complaints about Brothers who used corporal punishment unfairly. One witness, who was in Artane in the 1940s, was accused of stealing when in fact he had just performed an act of kindness. The complainant used to deliver potatoes to the wife of a staff member, and she would give him a piece of bread and jam as a reward. On one of those occasions he was subjected to a beating by a number of Brothers who had become suspicious of his having the bread and jam. He said that was taken into Number 6 classroom and beaten. He told the Committee:

I guarantee you if you were lifted by the locks enough times you will say you done everything. It doesn’t matter whether you done it or not, you will own up to everything. I owned up to everything bar eating the bread and jam. I didn’t realise that that’s what I was getting bet for. I never owned up to eating the bread and jam. I was lifted up and beat. I got no tea that day.

7.264He said that every Brother who was there punched him:

The old men were teaching the young men which was worse still when I think about it now. The old men that should have sense teaching the young men how to effect punishment.

7.265Later, he said that he was positive that the Disciplinarian was the man who showed the other Brothers how to beat him. The strap was also used on this occasion:

At that time I don’t think I should have been beat. That’s why I am so much hard against that. I don’t think that them men should have hit me that day for nothing at all.

7.266He could not forgive them for it. He was visibly upset when talking about this incident, and said that this resentment about the injustice of it all had hurt him all his life. Recalling another incident when he was sent to town and went to a shop without permission, he drew the distinction between deserved and undeserved punishment:

I don’t forgive them men because I really do not forgive them because I really think that they beat me unnecessarily. Doing a good turn and they come and bash you … I don’t think I should have been bashed up. I could have been bashed up for taking children to the bus and I might have been accepting it because I didn’t go in a straight line, I didn’t go from Artane back, I went to Woolworth’s instead. I know I was wrong there. I should have been bashed up for that. But I don’t accept being bashed up for the bread and jam.

7.267Another witness, at the School from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s, said:

You don’t seem to understand, the place was built on terror, regular beatings were just accepted. What you’re hearing about is the bad ones, but we accepted as normal run of the mill from the minute you got up, that some time in that day you would get beaten. The last two out of the washroom got beaten. The last two out of the boot room got beaten. The last two down to the piss pots got beaten. Everything was timed and everyone that was last got beaten. We accepted that. We didn’t even regard that as cruelty. That was the way the regime was run.

7.268Another witness, at Artane from the late 1940s to the early 1950s, was punished for trying to stop a Brother hitting his younger brother. He described the incident:

[My younger brother] knew nothing, he was only 7, as you know, and I cannot exactly remember what he chastised him for but he started hitting him anyways so I said “leave him off, he is only a boy”. I was only a boy myself. He just laid off and he laid into me then. I just remember vaguely, that was my first impression of that particular Brother, you know.

7.269Another former resident described how he was hit for bed-wetting:

I used to wet the bed and try and hide it, try and make my bed dead quick. Then after a few days they used to come around the dorm and pull it back, probably because of the smell of piss. Then when they caught you, you just got a whack around the head, you know. You were told … to take your sheets and put them up in the corner and when you came back at night you would pick them up.

7.270A witness who was there a decade earlier insisted that, in his day, the bed-wetters were given the strap:

They were called out of their beds, yes, while everybody was in their beds doing the things they were doing, reading. The sound box wasn’t on every night but it seems on these nights it would be off and he would call out, the teacher would call out the bed-wetters and they would have to line up and they had a strap, I seemed to think that the strap was about 14 to 15 inches long. It was about two inches wide and it was about half an inch to three quarters of an inch … They had to hold their hand out and they would have to pull their sleeve up so there is no chance of the sleeve taking some of the pressure, so you would have to pull your sleeve up and you would have to hold your hand out and the rule was you didn’t pull your hand across, you didn’t pull your hand away … If you pulled your hand away and the Brother got it on the knee, he would just hit you anywhere, the strap would land and you would have to roll yourself up into a ball to try and minimise the areas where this bloke could hit you. You would have it on the head and you would have it on your hands because your hands would be on your head. And used to have it on – he would wallop you on the back. Many times they would go into a bit of a frenzy while doing that. So you had to find the courage of not pulling your hand back and it did take a lot of courage to leave your hand there.

The second rule was that you weren’t allowed to cry. They did not like boys crying. So when the strap landed on your arm, just about halfway up your arm, it would leave a mark on your arm and your hand would go numb. It was only when you got into bed that you could feel the life going back into your arm. It was difficult to be brave on those occasions.

7.271A man described the beatings he received in the 1940s for writing with his left hand:

I was born left-handed, and I learned to write at school left-handed and I was told that the devil was in me that’s why I was left-handed and they decided to stop me. They would come from behind, I wouldn’t know and they would come down with the side of a ruler or a cane on my hand to stop me using my left hand. They beat the devil out of me, that was the saying. I had to use my right hand to write. To this day I couldn’t cut a piece of bread with my right hand, I still do it with my left hand. I butter my bread with my left hand I can’t do it with my right hand. But I write with my right hand.

7.272A resident in Artane, from the late 1940s to the early 1950s, said one Brother punished for ‘minor things’:

Not getting your different letters crossed right when you are writing and just general things that happened in class, like, you know. Not singing properly or not answering when you should answer or not knowing something that he thought you should have known. Things like that, just general sort of stuff.

7.273Another witness, at Artane in the mid-1960s, described being hit after being accused wrongly of tearing a blanket:

We heard [Br Lionel] saying “who tore this blanket?” … I answered him and I says “we don’t know” you know. He didn’t seem to take the answer too well, you know, and he called me down … he asked me again … So I gave him the same answer I gave him the first time, we didn’t know who tore the blanket. He didn’t seem to take that so the next of all he gave me a blow across the head there … with his fists. He had a bunch of keys in his hand. The mark is there on my head if you wish to feel it or if any of your friends. The mark is there, yes. My head bled. I fell to the floor that day and going down I walloped my head off one of the bed legs there. There was rows of beds like in the other dormitory. I hurt my head as well falling to the floor because I wasn’t a very strong boy in them days … I got hearing trouble through the blow afterwards, as life went on.

7.274An ex-resident from the 1960s described the punishments that ensued every Thursday, following the inspection of underpants for soiling:

… when they were to be collected every Thursday night, and you were issued with a clean pair, you would stand by your bed with the underpants in your hand and the Brother would instruct another boy to go around and see who had soiled their underpants. If you came across somebody whose underpants were soiled he would raise his hand and you would go up to top of the dormitory and get a hiding.

7.275He said that it happened more in dormitory number one, because that is where the younger boys were. When asked how the boys were punished, he replied:

The punishment always started with facing the wall, because you faced the wall at the top of dormitory. Then when it came to your turn you put out your hands and you would get slapped.

7.276The number of slaps depended on whatever Brother was in charge. He said that the same Brother wouldn’t be in charge seven nights of the week and it wouldn’t necessarily be the same Brother every Thursday.

7.277Two Brothers confirmed that this degrading underpants inspection and punishment of boys did take place. One of them conceded: ‘If [he] says I put him facing the wall I will admit that. If [he] says I slapped him on the hands I would also admit that’. Although the Brother claimed that the reason for these inspections was because of complaints from the laundry staff about soiled underwear, there was no evidence from complainants that they were required to wash out their underpants if they were soiled, which would have addressed the problem. The Brother also accepted that boys who soiled their underwear did not do so on purpose, and added, ‘I do not think they deserved to be punished’.

Examples of excessive punishments

7.278Many former residents complained of punishments that were excessively severe and violent. One witness, at Artane from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s, described seeing a classmate being beaten. John⁵¹ was a very slow learner, but the Brother teaching Irish was not aware of this. He kept asking him questions, and persisted until he got the right answers, even though the boy had no idea what the questions meant:

We started tittering laughing. I think Br Laurent⁵² thought we were laughing at him. He asked him again. Poor John kept guessing and always getting the wrong one. Eventually Br Laurent just blew his top. He hit that lad and got his head and smashed it … on the bench. The ink wells went up, he was covered in ink, snots, blood, everything. He spent the entire half an hour, three quarters of an hour beating this lad until John eventually had a run of luck and picked this out three times in a row. With that when the bell went or the whistle, Br Laurent just slumped down exhausted from beating this lad. While we were, in the beginning, tittering, some of the lads were crying, we were frightened that he was going to kill him. We made way for him at the door. It was ghastly. The Brother at the other end, one class faced that way and the other faced that way, never intervened once to come down. That wasn’t like Br Laurent but he just lost it that day. He battered this poor lad, he was in bits. So don’t tell me there it was isolated cases, that Brother at the other end should have done something about it but he didn’t.

7.279One witness, at Artane in the 1960s, had reported a Brother for sexual abuse, and he described the purging of ‘badness’, the Artane term for sexual activity, that ensued following his reporting the matter:

After that happened, the next day I was brought out of class and I was questioned about who I was committing badness with … Because I didn’t name names at that particular time, but because of the beating I was getting, I was giving names of other boys who I had committed badness with and those other boys were taken out of class and they were beaten until they gave names. It was just one vicious circle that kept going on for two – for three days. I had been taken out because other boys started giving my name back again. It was even said to me, but who said it I don’t know, “you should have kept your mouth shut and none of this would have happened”..

But for three days I was systematically abused, both outside the classroom, in the dormitory, anywhere where I went within those environments. I was taken to a music room just off the corridor to the right of where the classes are and I had been beaten so much that I went to the toilet in a bin and another boy seen me and told a Brother that I had done that and I was taken back out and flogged again because I had done that. We weren’t allowed to go to the toilet; we were being punished for something that I had started.

7.280Another witness described an occasion when a Brother struck him on the genitals in the course of a beating, and the boy protected himself with his hand but the Brother took his hand away:

“What’s the matter with you? Those are no good to you anyway”… With that, he had me against the wall … He put his fist between my legs and pushed me upwards while I was leaning back against the wall. He had his other hand on my chest to make sure I would fall forward and then he took his hand away.

7.281A former resident who was there in the 1960s described the punishment given to boys whose shoes were ‘cast’. He explained:

what cast means is they were cast out, thrown away because they were absolutely gone beyond repair. Depending on the state of your shoes … would depend on the severity of the clattering you would get.

7.282He then described the punishment:

If your shoes were cast you knew you were going to the wall. You would go and face the wall until they finished the inspection on all the children and then you would receive slaps. With Br Karel⁵³ he could use a hurl, he could use a leather. Br Raoul⁵⁴ the same, leather, hurl … At times a hurl, at times a leather. At times an open palm. At times, as far as I was concerned a closed fist, pulling of the sideburns, being lifted by your sideburns. The particular instant that would frighten me and still does today was … The chap in front of me at the time was a guy called David.⁵⁵ When we were going up to get the boots examined you could see that … there was no sole left in the boot and when he got up in front of him, he turned up the boot and I know now I didn’t know then that … Br Raoul was just being totally sarcastic and he said “They’ll do you another week …” and David – it was a relief, he was too young to understand, so was I to what was going on, but when David turned to walk away with his boots, thinking that’s great, he suddenly got a belt of a hurl on the back of – the back, then he was beat up and down the dormitory with a hurl.

Other forms of punishment

7.283Some punishments were peculiar to Artane. Several witnesses described the practice of putting boys ‘on a charge’.

7.284A former resident of the 1940s described what was involved:

Artane, people don’t realise, it was a prison in itself. You were surrounded by gates and you were surrounded by big buildings. If you done something wrong in my time there was a 30 foot wall. I don’t know how anyone was going to get over a building. But you got a little patch to mind and you had to stand minding that wall.

7.285The boys were left there until ‘Whenever they’d feel like coming back for you’.

7.286Another resident who was there between the mid-1940s and mid-1950s said:

I was fairly regularly on a charge in Artane. You were put in charge of a building or a gate and you walked up and down. Br Armande⁵⁶ would go from gate to gate often passed us and he said to me, “You seem to be in a lot of trouble”.

7.287He explained further:

by the church there was the wicker gate, you were on a charge, it meant you stood by that, you didn’t let anyone out. Then there was another chap on the main gate. Then there was somebody on the building, which was usually me in the last few months. You had to parade up and down there, you couldn’t play … Br Cretien always had a stick up his sleeve. He always beat you with a stick and then you got the charge.

7.288In addition to the strap, some Brothers had idiosyncratic implements, such as a fan belt or a pram tyre. Boys could be struck on the palm of the hand, the arm, the face, the stomach, the legs and the backside. Another implement used was a hurley. Sometimes, boys were punched and kicked. Lay teachers, said one resident who was there in 1940s, did not have a leather. He explained:

there was a bit of social distinction. The lay teachers tended to carry sticks, quite often broken off hurley handles that had been filed and the sharp edges removed leaving a manageable sized club.

7.289Common physical punishments were ‘the clatter’ and lifting boys by the hair at the temples or sideburns. Br Burcet said, ‘My interpretation of clattering would be to give a fellow a thump or a clip behind the ear’. These punishments were often used either as a rapid chastisement or as an immediately available alternative to the strap.

7.290Two Brothers admitted using a dowel. One Brother said, ‘I might have used a dowel … I think they would have come from the carpenter’s shop’.

7.291Br Burcet was more precise. He said:

I recall once using a dowel, yes … I became paranoid about where people were. Now, I was under a lot of pressure and I was often frustrated and so on when boys went missing because I had this fear that we could have another fire. On one occasion, when a boy was missing and we had to spend a lot of time looking for him, the dowel was – a baby’s cot, you know the little thing? I hadn’t a leather that happened to be handy, and I slapped the boy on the hand with that. The thing broke and that was it.

7.292One witness described a punishment chosen to fit the crime. The witness was in Artane from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s, and he described one incident:

I was given my own suit, as I say. The very first Sunday I was there, that was the first time I wore it because that was when we wore our best suits. During the Mass I had terrible runs. I ran down the passageway to the door and Br Cretien blocked my way. He said “You can’t go. The host is exposed”. I had to wait until the Host was put away and then I made a beeline. The latrines were a good 100 yards from where the chapel was. I never made it and I soiled my pants. In those days, in 1945, they didn’t have flush lavatories. It was a box with a bucket underneath. The paper was newspapers cut up. I done my best to clean my pants. We didn’t have underpants in those days, we had lined trousers. I did my best to clean myself and wipe it but I stunk. After breakfast when I went to the dormitory I had to report to Br Boyce he was in charge of dormitory five then … Everybody was busy doing their scrubbing and he told me to take my clothes off. They never had hot water in Artane, the cold tap was put on, I stood in it naked and he got the lads who had the big long scrubbers to scrub me. They weren’t very strong and he didn’t think they were doing a bloody good job anyway. He got the hand scrubber and he said, “I will show you”. (Indicating) He scrubbed all my buttocks and legs down. I was red raw after it. He threw me out. I had to dress there and then. No drying off or anything. That was my only experience with Br Boyce.

Delayed punishment

7.293Witnesses described having to wait before the corporal punishment was administered. Some were taken out of their beds at night to be punished. Boys sent to the Disciplinarian had to wait facing the wall until he was ready to deal with them, which led to an increase in anxiety about what was to come.

7.294Bed-wetters were often the victims of delayed punishment. A boy who was there in the 1950s described the procedure:

[If you wet the bed] the next day you might have to – it depends on what Brother would be on – strip down your bed. You would try and hide it but if you couldn’t hide it then the next night you would have to face the wall up in the dormitory.

7.295Facing the wall meant having to stand in the dormitory, wearing only a nightshirt, when the other boys had gone to bed. Boys remained facing the wall for one or two hours before being allowed to get into bed.

Techniques that increased pain

7.296Some complainants described how the pain of corporal punishment could be intensified through techniques of delivering the blow, or simply through failure to take account of the physical condition of the boy. A resident in the 1940s complained:

When beatings were applied, whether by a leather or strap, no account was taken of whether you had chilblains or you didn’t. You just got it and you took it and who were you to complain to, there was no one to complain to.

7.297A former resident from the same period explained:

Another Brother, if you are talking or doing other things in the dormitory that you weren’t supposed to be doing, he would make you go in to the washroom and put your hand into very cold water, because there was no hot water in Artane, and he would make you put your hand in the cold water for about ten [minutes] to quarter of an hour. Then he would call you out and while your hands were still wet, he used to make you put your hand, palm upwards, on the iron bedstead and he had a foot ruler and he used to slice the top of your fingers. It was only afterwards when the blood returned to your hand that you actually got the pain that was involved. Speaking here, it doesn’t seem to imply that being hit at the top of your fingers was a great punishment but it certainly was. The pain afterwards was more than the actual striking of the fingers.

7.298Another technique was to get the boy to hold his hand over a hard object; the same witness explained the procedure:

There was one teacher, and if he needed to smack you with the strap, would make you hold your hand possibly about an inch or two away from the desk and then he would smack you with this strap … and when they walloped you on the front of the hand, your hand came down on the desk, so you got it on the front and the back of the hand.

7.299Another witness, there in the 1950s, described a similar procedure. He said, ‘You would put your hands out and if he missed he would make you put your hands on the wall … so you couldn’t pull your hand back’.

7.300A resident from the late 1940s described how a teacher would punish boys who got something wrong:

If you didn’t get something right in class, if he asked me a question or whatever it was and I can’t remember what it was, if I didn’t get it right, he would come along and he would take your ear. He said “this part of your ear is no good, it won’t do any harm”. He pierced the side of my ear with his nail and dragged you to the board to write the correct answer on the board whatever it was that you got wrong. He would escort you back the same way. You would have to pray that you didn’t get something wrong the next day because although your ear was sore with a scab on it he would still do the same thing with the same ear.

7.301He then added, ‘Outside of that he never used the cane. I never saw him raise the cane to anyone’.

7.302One of the functions of the rules and regulations for corporal punishment was to ensure that chastisement was carried out only for serious offences, so that the punisher knew how and when to punish and the wrongdoer knew what to expect. One effect of these other forms of punishment was to remove predictability about physical punishment. Uncertainty about what was going to happen next contributed to the climate of fear described by many of the complainants.

Punishment leading to injury

7.303Some witnesses complained that the punishments they received sometimes resulted in serious injury. A former resident from the 1940s described an incident on the playing fields:

[The Brother] was, I would say in his time, a great hurler. He always carried a hurley with him no matter where he went. When I was on the hurling team, when I was fighting to get on it, I was put in goal and I was dropped and he then said, “I will teach you to be a good goalkeeper”. He beat – he hit balls at me, I am not sure you know how hard a hurley ball is. He hit hurley balls at me one after the other. One of them hit me on the eye and my eye came up (indicating) really, really large. He apologised. The other balls that hit me on the body and head quite badly. He was the one in actual fact who hit me on the knees … with the hurley. A day later my knees came up like balloons …

It was deliberate because I wasn’t doing what he wanted me to do. I wasn’t being a good enough goalkeeper. I wasn’t stopping enough balls properly … The next day my knees came up like balloons. I couldn’t walk and I was taken down to the infirmary. There was a lady looked after me. I never saw a doctor all the time I was there. I don’t know how long I was there, I can’t remember to be honest with you, he came to visit me when I was there … I was in a while but I can’t remember how long.

7.304In their Opening Statement given before the public hearing, the Christian Brothers outlined the rules, regulations and guidelines that governed the use of corporal punishment in industrial and in national schools. They also give an outline gleaned from internal documents of the policy of the Congregation in relation to corporal punishment. A more detailed analysis of the rules, regulations and policy documents of the Congregation are discussed in the Christian Brother General Chapter.

7.305These regulations setting the acceptable standards of the day were often broken. Moreover, the Brothers often broke the two main provisions about corporal punishment in the Christian Brothers Acts of Chapter, namely that proper comportment, gravity and propriety should be observed in administering corporal punishment, and that the only form of corporal punishment authorised should be a leather strap on the palm of the hand.

7.306Most of the witnesses did not complain of being punished if they had done wrong and deserved chastisement. Their main objections were to unjust, capricious punishments or excessive punishments that were administered without ‘proper comportment, gravity and propriety’, or where the experience was either cruel or humiliating.

Ability to complain

7.307In the course of his interviews on behalf of the congregation, Mr Dunleavy discussed the ability of Brothers to complain to their superiors about incidents or deficiencies in Artane:

No Brothers interviewed recalled any means by which they could make a complaint on any matter concerning the School. Several Brothers expressed feelings of disquiet about things they had seen during their time at Artane but maintained there existed no process by which they could make their feelings of unease unknown. The absence of any proper complaints procedure for staff was mirrored in a total absence of such a procedure for pupils. If a pupil had a complaint relating to any matter within the School or concerning any Christian Brother in the School he would have to make that complaint to another Brother. Apart from the inadequacy of such a system, Brothers being interviewed recognised that such a complaints procedure was unlikely to be invoked by a pupil because of the fear of his complaint being relayed back to the Brother concerned.

7.308Mr Dunleavy reviewed 11 cases of alleged physical abuse and found that they shared certain features:

(a)In no case of an allegation of physical abuse did the School notify the Dept. of Education of the allegation.

(b)In no case where the Dept. of Education became aware of an allegation of physical abuse did it insist on carrying out its own investigation, or insist that an independent investigation be carried out.

(c)In all cases involving allegations of physical abuse of which the Dept. of Education became aware, the Dept. were content on each occasion for the School authorities to investigate themselves.

(d)In no case involving an allegation of physical abuse could I find any evidence that either the School or the Dept. of Education dismissed or disciplined the individual involved.

(e)In no case involving an allegation of physical abuse does it appear that the experience of the incident led the School to establish any safety measures or any appropriate code of practice or even a simple regulation governing the maximum force to be used against a boy, to ensure that such incidents did not recur.

(f)In no case of an allegation of physical abuse, where it was clear that the Dept. of Education’s own guidelines concerning the proper procedures for the notification of an injury to a boy had not been followed, did the Dept. of Education insist on carrying out its own investigation, or insist that an independent investigation be carried out.

7.309The documentary evidence, the recollections of independent witnesses, the evidence heard by the Committee between September and December 2005, and the report of Mr Dunleavy that was commissioned by the Congregation all described a regime of punishment and physical abuse in Artane.

7.310It is an inadequate response to the allegations of physical abuse to attempt to refute them by forensic analysis. The Congregation failed to address central issues about Artane. There is a body of information showing the prevalence of excessive use of corporal punishment in cases that are documented and others that are acknowledged. The evidence of complainants confirms what is beyond dispute. There was an absence of an ordered system of management and governance of the institution that had inevitable consequences.

Conclusions on physical abuse

7.3111.Artane used frequent and severe corporal punishment to impose and enforce a regime of militaristic discipline.

2.Corporal punishment was systemic and pervasive. Management did nothing to prevent excessive and inappropriate punishment and boys and Brothers learnt to accept a high level of physical punishment as the norm.

3.Brothers used a variety of weapons and devised methods of increasing suffering when inflicting punishment, and in some cases they were cruel and even sadistic.

4.Brothers did not intervene to stop excessive punishment by colleagues, and there was a code of conduct between Brothers that prevented criticism of each other’s behaviour, even in cases where it was clearly extreme or excessive. All Brothers, therefore, became implicated in excesses.

5.Even where a child behaved and kept to the rules, he could still be beaten.

6.The result of arbitrary and excessive punishment was a climate of fear.

7.Artane did not operate within the Rules and Regulations for industrial schools and the precepts of the Christian Brothers concerning corporal punishment.

8.The absence of a punishment book in Artane was a disregard for a specific legal requirement intended for the protection of children. The Punishment Book was not maintained in Artane because the Christian Brothers chose not to maintain it.

9.The Department was also at fault in failing to ensure that the statutory punishment book was properly maintained and reviewed at every inspection.

10.The Department of Education failed in its supervisory role by maintaining a defensive and protective attitude towards the management and staff. Even when it conducted an investigation, the Department simply accepted Brothers’ explanations uncritically.

Sexual abuse

The Congregation’s approach to sexual abuse in Artane

7.312The Christian Brothers’ Opening Statement on the issue of sexual abuse commented on six Brothers who were guilty of sexual abuse while they were in Artane. It then discussed five more Brothers who sexually abused boys in other institutions after their time in Artane ‘because of a possible retrospective connection to Artane’. The Statement finally dealt with two cases in the 1930s, in each of which a Brother was assigned to the staff of Artane with knowledge that he had previously been guilty of child sexual abuse.

7.313Following its review of the cases of these 13 Brothers, the Congregation concluded that there was no systemic sexual abuse of boys in Artane. With regard to Brothers who abused, the Statement accepted that they did ‘betray the trust given them causing serious damage to boys in their care’, and it contrasted this with ‘the great number of Brothers who honoured this trust and devoted themselves to the education and welfare of the boys in their care’, to whom it said the offending Brothers caused pain. The Brothers accepted that the approach to instances of sexual abuse was ‘very inadequate by present day standards’ and then went on to propose arguments which were intended to exonerate the Congregation at the time:

• There was no cover up of the issue.
• When personnel became aware of the issue, they reported it to the Congregation authorities.
• Structures in Artane made it possible for boys to bring such issues to the attention of the Resident Manager or other personnel, and this in fact happened.
• The Congregation removed the abusers from the Institution and, in most cases, from the Congregation.
• The Congregation Visitor was attentive to the dangers of sex abuse.
• Guidelines and recommendations were issued to assist with child protection.

7.314The Congregation does not accept any blame as a Congregation for sexual abuse in Artane. It contends that the Brothers who dealt with cases of sexual abuse did so in a proper manner by the standards and procedures of that time. It acknowledged that these procedures would not meet present-day standards. It repeated the apology that it issued to people who suffered abuse in its institutions.

7.315The Congregation contended that Brothers who committed sexual abuse were dealt with severely. A guilty Brother was either given a warning or he was dismissed. Repeat offenders were dismissed. A Brother who had not taken permanent vows was usually dismissed. Of the cases recorded in the archives, 11 Brothers were finally professed and two were of temporary profession. Dealing first with the 11 Brothers in the former category, six Brothers were permitted to apply for and were granted dispensation from their vows, three were given Canonical Warnings, and no sanctions were applied to the remaining two Brothers. One of the two Brothers of temporary profession was dismissed, and the other did not renew his vows at the end of the year.

7.316These details show that the only actual dismissal was in the case of a Brother of temporary profession. The most common sanction was to permit the Brother to apply for a dispensation from his vows, a procedure which required the endorsement of a Bishop. Taking this course spared the Congregation the trouble of proceeding with a formal Canonical trial and it was of immense advantage to the abuser. He was able to leave the Congregation of his own volition, to all appearances in good standing. He was in the same position as a person who had lost his vocation to be a Brother and who had been permitted to rejoin the outside lay world. The records acknowledged this sharp distinction, and detailed comments made by the Congregation also recognised it. For example, in relation to one case, information was given that the Brother:

applied to the Apostolic Visitor who advised him to seek a Dispensation from Vows. His application was granted and he left the Congregation …

7.317In another case, a decision was made that the Brother ‘should be dismissed from the Congregation but he was given the opportunity to apply for a Dispensation from Vows’. In a subsequent general comment on the six cases of Brothers recorded as having been guilty of sexual abuse in Artane, the Opening Statement confusingly appeared to equate these two quite different means of exiting the Community of the Christian Brothers:

The sanction applied was either dismissal or a canonical warning. In cases where it was decided to dismiss a Brother, the normal procedure was to instruct him to apply for a dispensation from vows.

7.318The records indicate that the authorities were very well aware of the distinction between dismissal and a grant of dispensation from vows, which was a considerable benefit offered to an abuser otherwise facing expulsion. Dismissal means removal from office, not permission to resign. The Brothers’ Statement offered no explanation as to why this facility was offered to offenders.

7.319The Opening Statement made a cursory reference to the question why abuse was not reported to the Gardaí:

It would appear that the abuse was not reported to the civil authorities. However, reporting of allegations and/or instances of child sex abuse may not have been common practice in the general population at the time.

7.320The implication is that sex abuse against children was not normally reported to the Gardaí by ‘the general population at the time’ and that this furnished mitigation or explanation of the failure by the Brothers. The introduction of ‘allegations’ is not relevant in a section dealing with recorded cases of undisputed sexual abuse committed by Christian Brothers. Moreover, what may or may not have been common practice in the general population cannot be the rule for providers of childcare who should be setting standards. And, as a later account will show, the practice of the Brothers differed according to the case: when laymen were suspected of sexual abuse, the Christian Brothers reported them to the Gardaí.

7.321Dealing with the two cases where Brothers known to be guilty of sexual abuse elsewhere were assigned to Artane, the Christian Brothers observed that this was unacceptable by current-day standards, but the implication is that it was acceptable by the standards of the time. The Christian Brothers in their submission to the Investigation Committee stated that the ‘fact that it happened in the past is indicative of the lack of understanding of the recidivistic nature of child abuse’. The Statement does not indicate on whose part there was the lack of understanding, but a helpful pointer is found in the introductory remarks to this section. Here, it is stated that the long-term psychological damage caused by sexual abuse was not understood by society at the time ‘nor was the recidivist nature of child sexual abuse’. These failures of understanding are attributed to society at the time, and the ‘response of the Congregation to instances of sexual abuse was conditioned by this inadequate understanding of the issue’.

7.322In its Opening Statement, the Congregation did not accept any responsibility at Congregational level for the undeniable, recorded abuse that took place in Artane. They blamed society for its inadequate understanding of the long-term psychological effects of such abuse and its recidivist nature. They claimed that the Brothers behaved appropriately for the time, although they did concede that these past methods would not now be considered proper. The Christian Brothers had long experience dealing with sexual abuse, and were better informed than others about its dangers and prevalence. They could not, therefore, attribute their failure to respond to a ‘lack of understanding’.

Documented cases of sexual abuse

Br Platt⁵⁷

7.323The earliest record of a Brother sexually abusing a boy in Artane dated from the early 1930s. It was specifically furnished by the Christian Brothers as an illustration of how expeditiously these cases were dealt with by the Congregation.

7.324Br Platt, who was in charge of the infirmary in Artane, voluntarily confessed to the Superior that he had ‘abused a boy and acted immodestly with him’. The Superior referred the matter to the Provincial Council, and the case was considered by both the Provincial Council and the General Council. The Superior General wrote to the Provincial, saying that he had interviewed the offending Brother in August 1932 and ‘told him of the risk we ran in retaining him in the Congregation’. He was given one day to consider applying for a dispensation from perpetual vows or stand trial within the Congregation. The following day, Br Platt appeared before the General Council and informed it of his decision not to apply for a dispensation. His expulsion was then considered and a vote was taken on the issue. The Council unanimously voted in favour of his retention in the Congregation rather than expulsion. He was given a Canonical Warning and the daily recital of the Miserere as a penance and was ‘sent back to Baldoyle’. The Council noted that he was very repentant.

7.325It appears that there was reluctance at a high level within the Congregation to expel this Brother, despite their awareness of the danger he posed. The Superior General was very worried about the situation, because he wrote in a letter to the Provincial on 19^th August 1932 that he considered him to be ‘a great danger to us’ and also considered it a ‘risk’ to retain him in the Congregation. He even cited cases where two Brothers had been hanged in Canada for ‘murder of their victims after such offence’:

He is a great danger to us. Two Brothers were hanged in Canada within the past two years for murder of their victims after such offence. A Brother of a community in charge of an Industrial school in Rome awaits his trial for the murder of a boy in the school who told of his offence to his Superior. The school is closed and the community disbanded.

7.326No consideration was given to the child who had been abused. In fact, the Brother could not even recall his exact name. There was no record of the boy being spoken to.

7.327Notwithstanding the concern of the Provincialate, this Brother was assigned to Glin Industrial School in the late 1930s and remained there for seven years.

7.328This Brother refused to seek a dispensation from his vows and the Congregation unanimously agreed not to take action. This case shows that the Congregation knew, as early as 1932, of the recidivist nature of these offenders. His description as a ‘danger’ and a ‘risk’ to the Congregation illustrates a clear understanding of this man’s propensity to re-offend, but it is noteworthy that the ‘great danger’ was to the Congregation and not to the boys.

Br Herve⁵⁸

7.329The second recorded account of sexual abuse by a Brother who served in Artane concerns Br Herve, who was sent there in the late 1930s with a history of sexual abuse in a previous school in the south of the country, and who worked there on administrative duties until his retirement some seven years later. He came to Artane following a short stay in an institution to which he had been moved as a matter of urgency. In the school in which he was a teacher, Br Herve was accused of having ‘kissed, fondled, embraced and meddled with boys in his class’ and he admitted that the charges were ‘substantially true’. Br Herve’s Superior was aware of his activities for at least four years. The Superior was not alone in his knowledge, because, as the correspondence discloses, boys in the School, some parents, the Dean of the diocese, local clergy and even visiting priests conducting Missions were aware of the Brother’s behaviour, in addition to some members of the public.

7.330The problem presented by Br Herve’s conduct in his school came to a head in early 1938, when the Superior expelled two boys for immorality, following an investigation that he said he carried out reluctantly. ‘Why I moved in the case of the boys … at all was because two mothers – Doctors’ wives asked me to investigate certain bad conduct and of course language going on in a certain class’.

7.331One mother, whose boy was expelled, tried to get him reinstated and consulted a local solicitor, who was unsympathetic and called to see the Superior and told him that what he did ‘was quite right and that he would not touch the case’.

7.332The boy’s mother had more success in enlisting the support of the Dean of the Parish than with the solicitor. In February 1938, the Dean called on the Superior of the School and asked that Br Herve be ‘removed at once on grounds of immorality’. The Dean stated that Br Herve ‘kisses, fondles, embraces and indeed fiddles or meddles with the boys’ and that this ‘has been going on for the past five years’. The Dean said that Br Herve’s activities had been brought up at the last Mission in the parish, when a number of parents asked the Missioner for advice as to what to do. He had recommended that they report the matter to the Superior of the College, but the parents refused, ‘not wishing to get the Brother concerned into trouble’. The Dean was reluctant to get involved; indeed, he specifically asked the Superior not to ‘drag him into it’ but was just asking him to transfer Br Herve from the School.

7.333The Superior had known about Br Herve for years, as he informed the Provincial:

During the past few years I spoke to Br Herve about these matters, while last September I called him into the Office and abused him and rated him roundly for his kissing of the boys and his fondling of them. On that occasion he promised to give it up for good.

7.334The Superior did not tell the Dean that Br Herve had a history of misconduct with boys: ‘In speaking to the Dean I did not pretend to know such a thing existed at all’.

7.335The Superior told the Provincial that in his view the matter had come to light out of ‘a woman’s revenge’, but he accepted that ‘Quite apart from this it appears that Br Herve is guilty’. He suggested that, if the Provincial investigated the matter, he should do so discreetly and not come to the School during school hours. The Provincial dispatched one of his Consultors who stayed in a hotel so that ‘the investigation could be carried out quietly’. This Brother recorded that Br Herve:

admitted that the charges were substantially true. He did kiss and fondle boys, but always (a) openly, (b) when others were present, and never in a gross manner. It was not alleged by anyone that there was gross immorality at any time.

7.336Because he had admitted his guilt, the Br Consultor did not feel that it was necessary to investigate the matter further, which saved him the ‘disagreeable duty’ of seeing those who had made the charges, and saved Br Herve and the School ’from talk that would arise if an investigation were to be made by me’. He recommended Br Herve’s immediate removal because:

His actions are a constant source of talk and criticism among the boys and their parents. It may be taken for granted that he is much talked of [in the area] and being one who is loose in morals, and one who should not have charge of boys.

7.337The Provincial took immediate action and ordered that Br Herve be transferred. He wrote to Br Herve notifying him and also referring to the impact of his abusive activities on the Congregation and on the boys who were abused:

By indulging in such improprieties you have scandalised your pupils, given rise to a good deal of unsavoury gossip among them and their parents, done grave injury to the reputation of the College, brought discredit on yourself, and, I greatly fear lowered the Brothers in the estimation of a big section of the public. May God grant that the consequences are not worse.

Every Christian Brother is bound by his Rule as well as by the laws of charity and justice to do all in his power to safeguard the virtue of his pupils and to assist them as far as he can to preserve their innocence if they have not already lost it. You[r] conduct was well calculated to rob them of this precious treasure of innocence. What greater wrong could you do them? You cannot reasonably make the plea that you did not realise the gravity of your offence.

7.338The Provincial gave Br Herve a Canonical Warning pursuant to Constitution 218 and a ‘serious warning that a repetition of any of the faults with which you are now charged will render you liable to expulsion from the Congregation’. He told Br Herve to make a determined effort to combat his ‘immoderate tendency to softness in dealing with your pupils and to think seriously over the grave spiritual harm your actions inflict on both them and yourself’. He also stated that, ‘May God grant that the consequences are not worse’. He transferred Br Herve as soon as possible pursuant to the rules of the Congregation.

7.339On the same day that he wrote to Br Herve, the Provincial also wrote to the Superior of the School sympathising in ‘the amount of worry and humiliation that has been inflicted on you by the deplorable conduct’ of Br Herve. He stated that:

The unfortunate man is really more to be pitied than to be censured, but to make him realise the gravity of his offence I am giving him the canonical warning provided for in the Constitution, and in doing so I think I am adopting the most charitable course that can be pursued in a case of this kind.

7.340The Superior replied, thanking the Provincial for his comments and agreeing that Br Herve was more to be pitied than to be censured and concluding ‘He just has no control over his hands …’.

7.341The Superior reinstated the expelled boy in the School. His mother had threatened to inform the Bishop and to ‘bring this case further and further’. As he told the Provincial, the Superior had to ‘capitulate with the best grace I could’.

7.342The crisis was resolved with the boy’s return to the School and Br Herve’s transfer. The Superior was more than a little relieved:

For the past four years I always feared that when the inevitable would come in his case that it would be much more serious.

7.343Similarly, the Superior noted that the complaining parent was not sure whether Br Herve had ‘meddled with the boys in their privy parts’ but thought not. He then commented. ‘Knowing Br Herve as we do I thank God he did not do worse’.

7.344During the Phase III hearing into Artane, Br Reynolds, referring to the nature of Br Herve’s meddling, commented as follows:

But I mean, what the Provincial believed or didn’t believe I am not sure is of any consequence. What I was saying in the submission is that the lady thought it didn’t happen, the Dean thought it did. And, obviously, that’s the view that I am taking, that if the Dean thought it did well then it did happen.

7.345It was put to Br Reynolds that this comment showed clearly that the Congregation was aware of the recidivistic nature of abuse as far back as 1938. Br Reynolds did not agree:

I would come back to say that this letter, in my view, does not point out that the recidivistic nature of child abuse was known to whoever wrote it. What he is saying is that this individual person, certainly he believed, abused but he wasn’t in a position to take any action on it until he had sufficient proof.

7.346This observation is scarcely correct, as the correspondence shows that the Superior had brought Br Herve into his office in September 1937 ‘and abused him and rated him roundly for his kissing of the boys and his fondling of them. On that occasion he promised to give it up for good’. However, Br Reynolds persisted in his view that they had no evidence prior to 1938.

7.347Br Reynolds was also reluctant to accept that the reference to ‘May God grant that the consequences are not worse’ referred to the involvement of the Gardaí or other authorities:

That’s your interpretation is all I am saying … Off the top of my head that would not have been my interpretation of that. But I am not saying that you are not correct in that.

7.348The Superior did not incur criticism although, in his correspondence to the Provincial, he admitted that he was aware of Br Herve’s activities for years but did not even report to his own authorities until events forced his hand. Instead, the Provincial sympathised with him.

7.349The letter from the Provincial to Br Herve shows awareness of some of the damage that sexual abuse could inflict on a child.

7.350In conclusion:

• The School was driven to take action only when there was a threat to expose the behaviour of Br Herve.
• The Provincial expressed sympathy for, rather than criticism of, the Superior.
• The offending Brother was considered to be an unfortunate man who was ‘more to be pitied than censured’.
• There was relief that worse did not happen, having regard to the known habits of Br Herve.
• The Congregation was aware of the harm Br Herve was inflicting on children in his care, but did nothing to alleviate it or to ascertain the full extent of the damage.
• Sending a Brother with this history to a residential school for boys was reckless and dangerous, and showed a disregard for the safety of children in care.

Br Gustav⁵⁹

7.351Br Gustav began teaching in the O’Brien Institute in the 1920s. Three boys made written statements in which they alleged that ‘they had been immodestly handled’ by him on a number of occasions. These written statements no longer exist. The matter was considered so serious that it was referred to the General Council for consideration. At his trial before the General Council, the Brother ‘admitted immodesty in each case stated but not as gross as specified’.

7.352The General Council issued a Canonical Warning to Br Gustav and imposed as a penance the daily recital of the Miserere for six months. A further condition was his transfer out of Dublin, with the injunction that he was not to return without the leave of the General Council. It was conceded in the minutes of the General Council meeting that this Brother had been dealt with very leniently:

This lenient treatment of [Br Gustav] is largely due to the man’s age and, although it was not told him, to his very low condition of health.

7.353After these events, the Brother was transferred frequently from school to school in the north of Ireland, spending on average two years in each, before being assigned to Artane for a short period prior to his retirement to Baldoyle. No allegations were made against him in Artane.

7.354No dispensation or expulsion was sought in respect of Br Gustav. Although ill-health was suggested as the reason for leniency, he remained a Christian Brother until his death some 19 years after the charges were brought.

Allegations of sexual abuse against four Brothers resident in Artane in 1944

7.355Br Leroi⁶⁰ was accused of sexually abusing boys in Artane in 1944. His personal card retained by the Congregation stated, ‘Evidence of immoral relations with boys in Artane came to light’. This Brother sought a dispensation from his vows and left the Congregation in 1944, and the Department of Education service history records Artane as his last teaching post.

7.356Br Laurent, who gave evidence to the Investigation Committee, said:

… he came to Artane the same year as I was there. We arrived at the same time. The outgoing [Superior] said to Br Leroi ‘you are not welcome here’. Probably some accusation had been made about Br Leroi and because of that then he was sent to Artane.

7.357The second case involved Br Tristan⁶¹ who worked in the kitchen. He was found to have sexually abused a number of boys following complaints made by the boys themselves. He was tried by the General Council in 1944 and was unanimously adjudged guilty. When the charges were laid against him, he:

denied “some” of the matter of each charge, admitted “jostling” or “wrestling”, said he had “no bad intention” and “never lay on any boy” in the back-store so often referred to by boys. He admitted “tricking” with several boys, denied “touching” a boy’s face or body.

7.358The minutes recorded that the abuse had occurred frequently over a long period of time. The boys had given detailed written statements, which indicated long, continuous and frequent wrong-doing on the part of this Brother.

7.359These statements were not discovered to the Committee and would appear not to have survived in the records of the Congregation. The General Council voted unanimously to expel him. He appealed the decision to the Apostolic Visitor, who advised him to seek a dispensation from his vows, which he duly did. The dispensation was granted and he left the Congregation in 1944.

7.360Br Tristan had arrived in Artane in the early 1940s under a cloud of suspicion from Carriglea Park Industrial School, where he had served on the staff for a year. From the records, it appears that he had been given a Canonical Warning because of ‘an incident’ that arose during his time in Carriglea before he was sent to Artane. No details are provided as to the exact nature of this incident. It also appears that he was transferred to Carriglea from a training college under suspicious circumstances. Again, no details are given of his time in this college, where he was stationed during the 1930s, or what warranted his removal. The minutes of the meeting of the General Council, where the details of this Brother’s trial in the Artane case are recorded, stated that he:

… was also reminded of the causes of his removal from [the training college] and Carriglea – a Canonical Warning had been given him re Carriglea incident.

7.361Br Julien,⁶² the third Brother who was found guilty of sexually abusing boys, was a non-teaching Brother who had served two terms in Artane and had spent seven years in Salthill in the 1930s. His personal card stated: ‘Clear evidence came to light of serious, long-continued misconduct with boys in Artane’.

7.362Br Julien applied for dispensation from his vows, which was granted and he left the Congregation. The documents did not give any details of the nature of the abuse that this Brother had engaged in with the boys, and there were no documents concerning how the allegations came to light or what investigation was carried out.

7.363Br Edgard,⁶³ the fourth Brother who was dismissed from Artane in 1944, was a teaching Brother who was not yet a fully professed member of the Congregation. In this case, the statements of six boys who complained of sexual abuse by the Brother were furnished in discovery. The boys ranged in age from 11 to 14 years. The case of this Brother was the only one that provided any information as to the nature of the sexual abuse that was alleged. The allegations were of fondling of their private parts, tickling their bodies, and embracing them. The incidents occurred in the classroom, in the Brother’s own room and in the boys’ dormitory. Br Edgard was transferred to a Dublin day school and was shortly thereafter refused permission to take final vows and left the Congregation. The Department of Education service history recorded the Dublin day school as his last teaching post.

7.364The Visitation Report dated 30^th October 1944 referred to the dismissal of these Brothers who were ‘accused of irregularities’. No direct reference was made to the fact that they had sexually abused boys in the School, it merely referred to ‘irregularities’ being ‘discovered some weeks ago in the Institution’. The Visitor who wrote this report took the view that ‘there was nothing to be alarmed at’ and went on to state that:

In our Institutions it should be considered a very grave offence for a Br. to take a boy to his room on any pretext, or to be seen alone with a boy on any occasion.

7.365He went on to state that this rule was breached in Artane:

Unfortunately the Rule forbidding such was not observed in Artane. Boys were also taken out of the shops and off the parade by Brothers for various reasons. These have now been prohibited.

7.366The Visitation Report, having acknowledged inappropriate conduct on the part of four Brothers, made a number of recommendations to prevent such events in the future. These recommendations provide some clue as to circumstances of the discovery of the abuse. One recommendation made by the Visitor was that:

Brothers should not prevent or discourage boys to come to the Superior even with complaints. Boys should have free access to the Superior at all times. If that were the practice the disturbing conduct experienced lately would have been avoided.

7.367Another recommendation was:

No Brother – young or old – is to allow a boy to enter his bedroom, nor is any Brother allowed to take a boy from the school, shops, or parade. No Brother is to be alone with a boy anywhere. Any Br. who sees this Rule violated is to report it immediately to the Br. Superior.

7.368It was also recommended that glass panels should be inserted in the doors of locked rooms near the kitchen and store-rooms, and that the ‘Superior should have access to all rooms and stores in the Institution at all reasonable times and keys should be provided to enable him to have such access’. A subsequent Visitor considered this unnecessary and the glass panels were not inserted.

7.369A letter written to the Superior General by the Visitor in October 1944 stated:

I have spent a week in the above Institution, and have come to the conclusion that there is very fine work being done here. The boys are very open and intelligent and now that the rotten bricks have been removed the structure will be more than safe for the future.

The Brothers who were outside the circle were quite unaware of what was going on and knew nothing about it until all was over. Thank God the disease was discovered in time, and that such a drastic remedy was applied. I don’t think there will be any more “Dry rot” for many a long year.

7.370One ex-staff member, Br Saber,⁶⁴ spoke of the importance of the boys’ sodality introduced by the Resident Manager which met once a week:

During my ten years there, there was no case against – of sexual abuse brought against a Brother. I would say due to, I suppose, the group that were there and due to the sodality and that the boss was conscious of it and that he would keep an eye out for it and ask the lads. He was an active man, he would come there, he would walk the dormitories at night, he would be around. He had his ear to the ground. Br Dennet was the same. There were Brothers there who knew more about institutes than I did, the younger Brothers. All we thought of was keeping them occupied, taking them out to games, taking them to circuses, you know.

7.371The sodality gave an opportunity for boys to talk informally to the Resident Manager and this led to the discovery of sexual abuse.

7.372Some years later, in a letter dated 19^th November 1958 to the Superior following a Visitation, the author strongly recommended the establishment of a sodality or the introduction of the Legion of Mary for the boys:

I understand there was a sodality in the past but that it was abused in some way. Therefore in introducing such a sodality again it would have to be done with discretion and I think it would be better for a member of the staff to introduce and look after it rather than the Superior.

7.373It is possible that the level of sexual abuse in Artane in 1944 was an aberration, but it is also possible that discontinuing the informal contact between the Superior and the boys resulted in such behaviour going undetected in subsequent years.

Br Lancelin⁶⁵

7.374Br Lancelin came under suspicion of sexual involvement with boys while he was in Artane in 1944 and was transferred to Carriglea. His personal card stated:

Suspicion had been aroused by a tendency to particular friendship with a boy in Artane.

7.375In Carriglea, sexual abuse was disclosed and several boys furnished written statements accusing Br Lancelin of ‘immoral conduct’. (These allegations are dealt with in more detail in the Carriglea chapter.) The complaints were investigated by the Brother Provincial, who referred the matter to the General Council. When the case came to trial before the General Council, Br Lancelin admitted to the offences and pleaded guilty. The personal card made reference to one of the offences committed saying, ‘One offence occurred on Xmas. day 1944, though he made vows on Xmas. morning’.

7.376The General Council voted unanimously to dismiss him from the Congregation in 1945. Again, this Brother was not a finally professed member but rather a temporarily professed Brother and so dispensation from vows was not an issue.

7.377Br Laurent said that he recalled Br Lancelin leaving Artane, but he did not know the reason for his transfer and had not heard his name mentioned in connection with child abuse. The Department of Education records indicated that Carriglea was this Brother’s last teaching post.

Br Gaillard⁶⁶

7.378In the early 1950s, a complaint of sexual abuse was made against Br Gaillard, who was then teaching in a north Dublin primary school. This Brother had taught in Artane in the mid-1940s. There is no documentary evidence of complaints against this Brother in Artane, although he did apply for a transfer from there due to ‘conscientious reasons’.

7.379The complaint was made by the father of a boy who reported to the Superior that this Brother was abusing his son and up to 12 other boys in the primary school. The abuse took place in the Brother’s private room, where he sat the boys on his lap and fondled their private parts. Br Gaillard received a Canonical Warning and was transferred to another Christian Brothers’ primary school, where he remained for three years. In the mid-1950s, he wrote to the Superior General, voluntarily seeking a dispensation from his vows on the basis that he was unable to prevent himself from interfering with boys. In this letter he wrote:

I received a Canonical Warning for interfering with boys. I cannot overcome it. I have tried it for three years and it is worse I am getting. I just find it impossible to stand in front of a class as a Christian Brother.

7.380Br Gaillard was granted a dispensation a month later, and shortly thereafter took up a teaching post at another school, where he stayed for two and a half years.

7.381In the late 1950s, the Provincial of the Christian Brothers wrote to the manager of another school in the west of Ireland who had sought a reference in respect of Mr Gaillard. The Provincial was frank about his history of sexual abuse. He referred to his ‘interference (morally) with boys’ and felt that he could not write a reference for him. Notwithstanding this setback, Mr Gaillard was still able to continue teaching until his retirement in the mid-1980s. He did two short periods of teaching in rural schools, both of which commenced and ended in the middle of school terms, which is unusual and which might imply removal for misconduct. Br Laurent, who was on the staff of Artane at the time, told the Investigation Committee that he knew Br Gaillard, but had never heard of him having any involvement with abuse in Artane.

7.382In conclusion:

• Br Gaillard was transferred within the Congregation, notwithstanding a history of abuse.
• His letter seeking dispensation could not be clearer in underlining the danger he posed to children.
• By being granted a dispensation from vows, he left the Congregation apparently in good standing.
• He was able to move into a teaching job immediately on leaving the Congregation.
• The Provincial, when asked directly for a reference, was not afraid to identify him as a danger to children, but there is no evidence that he took steps to notify other schools or the Department of Education.
• Despite the employment pattern of this man prior to 1960, there are no known complaints about his later career.

Br Fremont⁶⁷

7.383Br Fremont taught in Artane in the early 1950s, and was later found to have sexually abused boys in a Christian Brothers’ school in the Midlands. In the late 1950s, the mother of a boy in the School made a complaint about Br Fremont to the Superior of the School. From a report written by the Superior to the Provincial Council, it appears that Br Fremont got boys to expose their private parts and he also exposed himself to them. The Superior questioned him about these incidents, and he admitted that they were true.

7.384The Superior referred the matter to the Provincial Council of St Mary’s Province. A member of the Provincial Council then interviewed Br Fremont. In the course of this interview, the Brother, when questioned about whether he had abused boys in Artane, admitted that he had once interfered with a boy in Artane, and that in another school where he had been teaching there had also been an incident. He further admitted that the sexual abuse in the Midlands school had taken place. This case was considered so bad that the unanimous decision of the Council was to dismiss him, but he was given the option of voluntarily seeking a dispensation from his vows, which he exercised. The dispensation was accordingly granted.

7.385The Department of Education records indicate that he ceased teaching within the State system at that time.

Br Ricard⁶⁸

7.386Br Ricard, who taught in Artane in the mid-1950s, sexually abused boys in a Christian Brothers’ school in Waterford in the late 1950s. There is no documentary evidence of complaints about him during his time in Artane. His earlier abuse came to light when one of the boys abused in Waterford became a pupil at a private secondary school run by another Religious Community. Br Ricard wrote a ‘sordid and immoral letter’ to the boy which was intercepted by the Superior of the College, who informed a member of the Christian Brothers Provincial Council. The Brother’s personal card states that he ‘admitted accusations of having interfered immodestly with at least one 12 year old pupil’.

7.387A meeting of the General Council was held, at which he admitted the charges. Both the Provincial and General Councils at the time considered his case to be the worst of its kind that they had ever come across and voted unanimously for his immediate dismissal. Nevertheless, he was given leave to apply for a dispensation from his vows, which he did. His departure was immediate and was obviously considered very serious, as he was put on a boat and sent to England.

7.388A letter sent the following day to the Brother Procurator General, regarding the dispensation from perpetual vows of Br Ricard, reveals the anxiety felt by the Brothers about this case:

This is one of the worst cases we have had in my experience. It is so bad that we have voted unanimously in both Provincial and General Councils that he be granted a dispensation …

7.389The letter discloses how the abuse was detected:

For a whole year he had been “interfering” in a homosexual way with two or three very respectable pupils at [a private secondary college]. One of these came to [a college run by another Order] last August and it was through a letter censored by the [Superiors at that college] that the whole matter came to light. The Brother admitted everything the boy … had stated.

7.390The letter goes on to say:

We fear that the evil ways into which he had fallen may be of some years duration. He leaves immediately for England (on leave of absence). Were he to remain in Ireland and were the parents of the boys to get to know of his behaviour at [the Christian Brothers College] there would be a great danger of a public prosecution.

The case is, as I have stated, one of the worst we have had. Do everything you can to secure an immediate Dispensation and forward same as expeditiously as you can.

7.391Br Ricard sought a reference, but was not provided with one as it was felt that ‘there is no knowing what use he might make of it’. According to a letter written by the Provincial Assistant to the Superior General, he was informed that he could not continue teaching and would not be given a reference. However, it appears from records furnished by the Department of Education and Science that the ex-Brother came back to Ireland less than a year later and took up a senior position in a school in Co Kildare and remained there for some years. He was then appointed an assistant teacher at a school in Dublin where he worked for a few years, before moving to a Dublin secondary school where he worked until the late 1980s.

7.392

• The Congregation facilitated this man’s immediate departure for England so as to avoid a ‘great danger of a public prosecution’.
• The Brothers did not inform the parents about the abuse of the boy who had been abused.
• It is clear, by inference from the correspondence, that the boy’s College authorities behaved similarly towards the parents of their pupil.
• The man was able to return to Ireland and obtain a senior teaching position after a year’s absence.
• The Congregation put self-interest in avoiding adverse publicity before their duty to the boys in their care and to their parents.

Br Karel

7.393Br Karel, who was removed from Artane following allegations of sexual abuse in the 1960s, spoke about the allegations, which he denied in full, and the events leading to his leaving Artane. Br Karel said that, in the early 1960s, he was approached by the Manager of the School, who told him that two boys had signed a joint statement in which they alleged that ‘I put my hand under the bedclothes and touched them in the genital area’. A third boy also made a similar allegation but he did not sign the joint statement. The boys made these written allegations after speaking with the chaplain, Fr Henry Moore. Fr Moore recalled speaking to the Superior in Artane, Br Ourson, about an allegation of sexual abuse that had been reported to him by a pupil. He could not recall the name of the Brother in question, but he could confirm that the Brother was removed shortly after the complaint had been communicated.

7.394The Resident Manager informed Br Karel of the allegations and that the Provincial Superior would have to be informed. Within days, he was summoned to the Provincial’s office in Marino, where he was asked about the allegations:

I explained as best I could that I didn’t do it, that there was a mistake somewhere, what could I do, what else could I say? I didn’t do it and that was as honest as I could be in saying that.

7.395Br Karel was not shown the written statement signed by the boys, neither was he given an opportunity to question the boys himself. He was asked if the allegations were true, and he denied them. As far as he was aware, no further investigation of the matter took place. He returned to his normal duties in Artane for a year, before being transferred to a day school outside of Dublin. Some ten years after leaving Artane, he was transferred to Letterfrack, where he worked for less than two years.

7.396When this Brother applied for a dispensation from his vows many years after these allegations, a report was prepared by a senior Christian Brother, which stated:

While Br Karel was in Artane an accusation was made against him that he had interfered sexually with some of the boys. The Provincialate files are incomplete on this and contain simply a joint statement of three boys. However, the Provincial at the time … on the basis of the case as presented, transferred Br Karel out of Artane … There is no record of any similar accusation against him in succeeding years.

7.397Whether Br Karel was transferred soon after the complaints or at a later stage remains unclear, but the question of his guilt or innocence was not resolved. The Provincial was satisfied to let the matter rest and to use Br Karel’s desire for a transfer as part of the reason for moving him. The authorities appear to have thought that the allegations were true but they did not investigate the matter. The result was that there were two possible situations: either the School had a child abuser on the staff, or three pupils had made serious, untrue charges against the Brother.

7.398Br Karel maintained that his transfer from Artane was made almost a year after these allegations were made, and a Visitation Report would appear to bear that out. He said that he had already requested a transfer within a year of being sent to Artane, and that the Provincial had also suggested that it would be ‘the wisest thing’ in light of the allegations. In any event, he was not transferred immediately after the allegations were made.

7.399The Brother received no advice or warning following his interview with the Provincial and, indeed, when he applied for dispensation from his vows some 20 years later, he was asked to undergo counselling with a view to saving his vocation.

7.400Br Davet, who spoke to the Committee, recalled Br Karel’s departure from Artane as being unusual because it occurred in the middle of the school year. He said that he had no idea why he left and had heard nothing about a complaint signed by three boys. He also said that he knew nothing about any inquiry carried out by the Superior or the Provincial.

7.401Leaving the situation unresolved was expedient, but it was unfair and unsatisfactory for the Brother and potentially dangerous for the boys.

Br Lamar⁶⁹

7.402Br Lamar, who had taught in Artane in the early 1960s, applied for dispensation from vows in the early 1970s, stating that he was unable to keep his vow of chastity and that his record in relation to chastity had not been good. A document relating to the application, signed by the Provincial, stated: ‘He is known to have interfered with boys in his class’. It does not specifically state what class or what school this was in. Although there is no document indicating that he abused boys in Artane, at the time of his departure from Artane the Provincial wrote to the Superior General and referred to Br Lamar as someone ‘who did not turn out too well in Artane’.

7.403Witnesses recalled the sudden departure of Br Lamar, one of whom, Br Davet, said:

All I remember was that at prayers one morning he just got up and stormed out, and that was it. I thought he had some sort of a nervous breakdown or something …

7.404Br Davet said that he did not ask any questions about this departure, believing that the man was not well.

Br Adrien⁷⁰

7.405Br Adrien, who worked in Artane in the early 1960s, was removed as a result of a complaint that was made to the chaplain, Fr Henry Moore, and passed on by him to the Superior and to the Provincial.

7.406Prior to serving in Artane, Br Adrien had served in Letterfrack, and was acknowledged as being a danger to boys there. The Resident Manager of Letterfrack wrote of this Brother in 1959:

I hope you will forgive my candour in saying that I would prefer to have no one at all for the boys’ kitchen than to have the constant strain of watching and worrying about him.

It is impossible to keep one’s eye on him. Every time he gets my back turned he is in the kitchen and goodness knows, there are enough difficulties and worries to contend with, without having to think of him every minute and hour of the day.

The position regarding the Monastery kitchen is regrettable but unfortunately he has not got proper control in the boys’ department either. In my opinion he is not suitable at all to handle young boys and it is positively dangerous, especially in these times, to have him looking after them. A weakness in discipline in this important department will have a very detrimental effect on the boys’ behaviour and will add to everyone’s difficulties and will seriously affect the tone of the school.

Taking the above considerations into account and also your own personal knowledge of Br Adrien I ask you seriously to reflect on the harmful effect his staying here is bound to have, and I entreat you to permit the transfer to go through as originally arranged.

7.407The Superior’s request was granted, but it was scarcely a satisfactory solution to move Br Adrien to St Joseph’s School for Deaf Boys in Cabra. He remained there for two years until he went to Artane and, despite the concerns expressed in the above letter, he was put in charge of the boys’ kitchen.

7.408Some two years later, a letter to the Resident Manager following a Visitation referred to Br Adrien as follows:

I am sorry about Br Adrien and I only hope that we will hear no more about such cases. Rather there will be no such case to hear about.

7.409No further information was provided, and it is unclear what type of ‘case’ was being referred to. The Visitation Report does not give any clearer indication as to what was being alluded to in respect of this Brother and, in fact, the Visitor commended him on his excellent cooking and his improvement of the food for the boys.

7.410The Committee heard evidence from one complainant who made allegations of sexual abuse against Br Adrien. His evidence was unusual in that it was corroborated by the chaplain, Fr Moore. The complainant in this case was 11 or 12 when he went to work in the refectory of Artane. Within a short while, a grooming process was commenced by Br Adrien:

[He] used to take me into his confidence and give me sweets and an apple or an orange or whatever. He used to show me a bit of affection. Obviously, not getting any affection that I used to have from my grandmother, it was lovely to have. I used to look forward to the treats that I used to get—and after a period of time, slowly but surely—not realising what was happening, I was being given sweets and all of a sudden my hand was taken and it was placed on – what we called at the time, we committed badness, but my hand was taken and put on his penis. Being an innocent child, I didn’t realise what was happening, or whatever. I was being shown what to do with my hand and this, that and the other and I was being given sweets.

7.411This went on for a period of time and became more frequent. Br Adrien would often make a point of beating him in the refectory in front of all the boys if he committed any slight infraction: ‘I was being shown who was in charge here, “you do what I tell you to do”’.

7.412Br Adrien had an office at the back of the refectory and, when the complainant was brought there, the same pattern of behaviour continued. The door was locked and he was made to masturbate the Brother in return for sweets and treats. He also alleged that, on one occasion, Br Adrien anally raped him. The second time he tried to do this, the boy resisted by kicking out. In return, he was badly beaten and had no escape from the locked room.

7.413The complainant went to Confession on a Friday in the mid-1960s and told the chaplain, Fr Moore, what had been happening with Br Adrien. He was shocked and asked the boy to repeat what he said outside of the confessional. The boy did so and then the priest reported the matter to the Superior, Br Ourson.

7.414The following Monday, Br Ourson and a large number of the teaching Brothers came out to the pre-school assembly in the yard, and the complainant was summoned to Br Ourson’s office. There, he was asked to repeat exactly what he had told the chaplain. When asked what Br Ourson’s reaction was, he said, ‘I can’t say what his reaction was. All I know is that within 24 hours Br Adrien was gone out of Artane’.

7.415The matter did not rest there. According to the witness, he was taken out of class the next day and was questioned about boys he had been ‘committing badness with’. He was beaten in the course of this questioning until he named boys. Those boys were in turn taken out of class and beaten until they gave names. He was taken out again over two or three days, and was beaten because of being named by other boys:

It was just one vicious circle that kept going on for two – for three days. I had been taken out because other boys started giving my name back again. It was even said to me, but who said it I don’t know, “you should have kept your mouth shut and none of this would have happened”.

7.416He went on to say that for three days he was systematically beaten:

both outside classroom, in the dormitory, anywhere where I went within those environments. I was taken to a music room just off the corridor to the right of where the classes are and I had been beaten so much that I went to the toilet in a bin and another boy seen me and told a Brother that I had done that and I was taken back out and flogged again because I had done that. We weren’t allowed to go to the toilet, we were being punished for something that I had started.

7.417He said that six Brothers punished him during that period:

I was beaten by so many of them at that particular time I can’t say if all done it because I was systematically just taken out and being accused of this and accused of that and there was no let up whatsoever … it was like it was a punishment over me going and reporting.

7.418He recalled being badly bruised and swollen after these events but said that nobody intervened on his behalf:

Brothers didn’t go against Brothers, they all stuck together. I think the whole school knew that I had reported Br Adrien, the whole lot of the Christian Brothers and everything, so there was no sympathy shown for anything that I may have done on my behalf.

7.419From that time on, life for the complainant settled down in Artane, and he was not subjected to any further sexual or physical abuse.

7.420Fr Henry Moore confirmed what this witness said about making the complaint to Br Ourson. He knew he had been an altar boy, and what was being alleged when the boy spoke of ‘badness’. He recalled the boy was very upset and nervous when telling him.

7.421Fr Moore suggested that he should tell the Superior, but the boy’s first reaction to that suggestion was that he was too afraid. It would be taken that he was ‘squealing’, as he put it, on Br Adrien. The boy was relieved when Fr Moore said he would speak with Br Ourson. Fr Moore also reported the allegation to the Provincial Superior in Marino, Br Mulholland, to reinforce his concern about the matter. Fr Moore recalled Br Adrien being removed within a matter of days.

7.422Complainants testified that a campaign of physical punishment directed against sexual activity between boys followed Br Adrien’s removal, but this was denied by the Congregation. Fr Moore remembered complaints being made to him by boys about the activities of a Brother who was going from class to class inquiring in a frightening manner about sexual activity among the boys, although he could not recall if this coincided with the Br Adrien incident:

But I do remember a group, some two, three or four, coming to me and being almost in a state of panic about this. I asked them about what was troubling them and they told me that there was something going on in the school, in the school rooms. Br Videl was going from class to class and calling out boys and inquiring about their sexual activity and getting – and then beating them in the corridor outside of class and getting them to inform on other boys and beating them. This was continuing all throughout a day, a particular day. They were very, very fearful of this. As I say, it seemed to me in a state of panic.

So I decided then that I would have to confront Br Videl myself and relate to him what the boys had said and how distressed they were. He told me that there was a problem of pretty widespread sexual activity among the boys.

7.423Another complainant spoke of a sudden increase at this time in the Brothers’ interest in detecting sexual abuse in the Institution. This Complainant spoke of a particular campaign against sexual behaviour between boys when Brothers used to check on boys in toilet cubicles. He said that the school was assembled and the Brother in charge spoke to the boys and told them of the high number of boys found misbehaving in this way, and told the boys that it had to stop. He himself was never caught by the Brothers, and he said he was not aware what happened to the boys who were detected, although he could recall them being brought into a classroom.

7.424A number of respondent witnesses who were in Artane during this time stated that they recalled Br Adrien being in the kitchen, but they had no recollection of him leaving. Fr Moore said that such an assertion would surprise him very much indeed, as he had certainly noticed his departure and had discussed it with at least one Brother.

7.425The statement in response to the allegation about Br Adrien filed by the Congregation was signed by a Brother who was in Artane for a period which overlapped for one year with the complainant’s stay. The Brother stated that, for the purpose of making his statement, he relied on his own knowledge and personal experience of Artane Industrial School. The statement addressed the issue of sexual abuse in Artane generally, in the same way as all statements signed by representatives of the Congregation.

7.426The statement went on to deal with the specific allegations made by this complainant. It said, in relation to the particular campaign of physical abuse following Br Adrien’s departure, that ‘Whilst there was corporal punishment in Artane at that time, I do not believe that it amounted to the type of violent behaviour that is alleged by the complainant’. In support of this contention, the Congregation quoted the Visitation Report filed by the Congregation after a 1962 visit to the Institution. The Visitor stated:

The discipline generally is good and the Superior as well as the Brothers in general are pleased with it. It is not harsh or severe by any means, but effective nevertheless.

7.427The statement then dealt with the particular allegation that the complainant was taken out of his bed by a number of Brothers and beaten over a number of days as a result of having made the complaint to Fr Moore. It stated:

I can state that I never saw boys being beaten in the manner alleged. I myself never witnessed such beatings, nor did I ever hear allegations of beating of this wide-ranging nature while I was in Artane. The only punishment authorised was with a leather strap and this could only be administered on the hand. I find it difficult to accept that such a large number of brothers would gang up in the manner alleged and cause such disturbance in the school without being detected. The Brothers who are still alive may make their own response to these allegations. Each of these allegations against each of these respondents is not admitted by the Congregation.

7.428It was not alleged by the complainant that this wide-ranging punishment took place during this Brother’s time in Artane. The complainant specified the year in which this event took place, and this was after the departure of this Brother from Artane. There are Christian Brothers in the Congregation who were in Artane during that time and who would have been in a position to speak with more authority on this matter, but they were not selected to make the statement on behalf of the Christian Brothers in this case.

7.429In relation to the allegations of sexual abuse by Br Adrien, the Christian Brothers stated: ‘[Br Adrien] will make his own response to these allegations. They are not admitted by the Congregation. The Congregation denies that sexual abuse was tolerated, accepted or prevalent in Artane’.

7.430Br Adrien was removed from Artane and sent to a day school in Dublin. In the late 1960s, he was returned to Letterfrack for a number of months, following which he went to a Dublin school for 10 years. He later spent 10 years on missionary work. There is no reference in his personal card to his ever receiving any sanction or warning in relation to his abuse.

7.431Sexual abuse by Brothers was a serious issue in Artane, but many Brothers said that they had absolutely no awareness of this problem and no knowledge of any Brother leaving under a cloud.

7.432

• This Brother in the 1960s was in a position to perpetrate serious and repeated sexual abuse of a boy over an 18-month period.
• The boy was, by his own evidence and by the evidence of Fr Moore, too afraid to report it himself to the Superior, which contradicts the Congregation’s assertion that there was no difficulty about boys who were sexually abused going to the authorities in Artane with complaints.
• Br Adrien was removed from Letterfrack, where it was ‘positively dangerous’ to have him looking after boys. The implication is clear that he sexually abused boys there.
• Transferring him to a residential school for deaf boys knowingly endangered a large new group of children.
• His behaviour in Artane could not have come as a surprise to the authorities.
• This case demonstrates indifference by the Congregation to the protection of children from a sexual predator. It is evidence of a policy of avoiding the disclosure of abuse rather than dealing with it.

Other cases

Br Dennis⁷¹

7.433Br Dennis served in Artane in the late 1960s. He was questioned by the Gardaí in the early 1990s in relation to allegations of interfering with boys, in a school in the north-east of the country, on two occasions between the late 1980s and early 1990s. He denied the allegations at the time, but when questioned about them again almost 10 years later he admitted to a limited level of sexual abuse involving these boys. He also admitted to getting sexual gratification from young boys. Br Dennis told the Gardaí that in the mid-1990s his Superiors sent him to the Granada Institute, a centre for the treatment of sex offenders in Shankhill County Dublin which was operated by the St John of God Order.

7.434Br Dennis also admitted the allegations which had been made by former residents of Artane, insofar as they described inappropriate external touching and fondling. Although these individuals alleged masturbation and anal rape, he did not admit to those more serious charges:

… I wish to say that I accept some of the allegations as being true, insofar as they describe inappropriate external touching and fondling. I deny however any of the allegations that refer to masturbation and buggery.

7.435Only one man who had made a statement to the Gardaí about Br Dennis gave evidence to the Investigation Committee. He alleged that Br Dennis told him to clean his room and, while he was doing so, the Brother took out his penis and then ‘he brought my head down onto his penis which was erect and he rubbed it against my lips’. On another occasion when he was sent to clean the room, Br Dennis ‘started fondling me and played with my penis. He pressed himself against me and ejaculated’. The witness described a third incident that he said took place, in a derelict area near the playing fields, at holiday time when most of the boys had gone home for holidays. He said that this time the Brother had his penis out and attempted penetration, but gave up when the boy screamed with pain.

7.436Br Dennis attended an oral hearing of the Investigation Committee. He admitted to a limited degree of sexual activity with nine- to 12-year-old boys in Artane. He was asked how he began to abuse. He said:

I don’t know how it came about really. At the time I probably deluded myself into thinking that I was being kind to them and using it as a way of encouraging them and making them – I mean, I don’t subscribe to it now, but that’s how I was able to justify it to myself at the time.

7.437Br Dennis had no recollection of the first time he had abused, but was able to confirm that it had occurred in the classroom:

If somebody was having difficulty with a particular problem, mathematics perhaps, I might bring him up and put my arm around his waist or something, and kind of draw him towards me.

7.438He conceded that he had no idea how many boys were involved. He said that the activity had commenced within six months of his arriving in Artane and continued until he had left two years later. He said that it continued ‘fairly regular’ for an 18-month period.

7.439He said he only stopped sexually abusing some 20 years later, when he was detected.

7.440Br Dennis said the urge to interfere with boys had not been present before his appointment to Artane, but had started during his teaching time there:

I was convincing myself that I wasn’t doing anything wrong, that I was kind of giving encouragement or making up for some lack in their lives. I mean I was deluding myself really. But that’s the way I looked on it at the time. I was justifying it for myself in that way.

7.441He said that, although he engaged in this behaviour at the top of the classroom of some 22 to 23 boys, he did not think that they would have been aware of what was going on. Indeed, he said that he believed the boy himself would not have been aware of what was happening. He said that it was totally secret and that he did not discuss it with anyone and that ‘Probably deep down I probably did know it was wrong, yes’.

7.442He admitted that there would have been a selection process:

There would have been. But I am not sure in what way; whether it was the ones that were weaker at a particular subject or something. That’s the way I justified it, that I was giving them encouragement and explaining how to do something. But again, I can’t really say … Well, in order to justify it I had to feel that I was doing him a service in some way, it kind of made it right for me at the time.

7.443Br Dennis was never challenged or confronted about his behaviour in Artane, and he went on to abuse in the next school he was posted to. There, a boy complained to the authorities in the mid-1980s that he had touched him inappropriately. Br Dennis stated:

[The boy] had a pain in his stomach on a particular day and I massaged his stomach. He claims, and he could well be right, that while I was massaging his stomach my elbow was touching his penis at the same time … I was investigated by the Garda … I was fairly sure at the time that I had done nothing inappropriate, but it was investigated by a Garda … I was told that I had no case to answer … For that reason I continued on in the school.

7.444He continued teaching after that investigation until the early 1990s, when a former pupil of Artane made an allegation about sexual abuse. Br Dennis said that he had stopped his misbehaviour after the previous investigation and had not interfered with any boys in his latest teaching post. However, he was removed once the Artane allegation came to the attention of the authorities in the Congregation:

Once our headquarters got to hear of that they said that once, it could have been all right once perhaps, the first allegation, but when a second allegation came they decided that they would have to take action. So I was taken out of teaching at that stage.

7.445Br Dennis confirmed to the Committee that he had continued his activities, in the same pattern which did not change, from his first posting to Artane in the late 1960s until he was reported some 20 years later. Speaking about the investigation that occurred following the 1980s allegation, he said:

The parents of the boy came and accused me of behaving badly with the son and that he was going to go further with it. So the next thing a Garda came up to the school and our own headquarters had been notified at that stage and I … was summoned to headquarters anyway. I was asked various questions. At the time I denied everything to them because I had more or less convinced myself that these things hadn’t happened … Yeah, but the fact that the Garda could find no substance either, that was the main reason why I was left[in the school] at that time.

7.446Br Dennis continued teaching in the School for a further five years, after which he was transferred as teaching Principal to another Christian Brothers’ school in the west of Ireland. After about six months there, he received a phone call from an individual who claimed to have been abused by him and demanded money. The Brother met this individual and another man, and gave them some £800. However, the allegation was brought to the attention of the Superior by the individual or someone on his behalf:

The Brother Superior at the time, he rang headquarters and I was summoned to headquarters the following day and when I went there they said that … the fact that it was a second time they said that it called for more serious action. I was asked to take sick leave because, I mean I was very traumatised at the time anyway. So I went back and met the Board of Management, this is some time later now. I went off on sick leave for a period.

7.447Br Dennis said that the Provincialate did not know at that stage that he had paid money, and they asked him if the allegations were true:

They did and again I more or less denied them. This time they decided, the fact that it was a completely different case, that there was a danger that there was some grounds for the allegations.

7.448Br Dennis’s ‘more or less’ denial obviously rang alarm bells:

A short time after that they advised me to go for professional help, so I went to the St John of God, Granada Institute … I was going there for a period of time and it took quite a while for me to admit, even to myself, that what I had done was wrong. As part of the therapy there I began to come to terms with it more and eventually was able to make a clean statement to them. I spent quite a long time there, in individual treatment and in group therapy … At first I found it very difficult, but with time I began to open up more to the group because I saw that they were able to be open, and I kind of felt that I was lagging behind. So eventually, something happened anyway and there was a kind of breakthrough for me that I was able to admit it. From that period on I seemed to come to terms with the whole situation and to realise – well, I probably realised – I did realise before, the gravity of the situation I suppose, but it really only came home to me because as part of the therapy we were getting reports from people who had been sexually abused and it began to come home to me then the enormity of the thing.

7.449He did not admit his abusive activities all at once:

In dribs and drabs at the start. I think it was actually the Artane investigation that – I was called to Clontarf, I think that was the deciding factor that really opened me up to the whole – I was able to – I got great support from the group at that time and I decided that I had to put all my faith in the group. Before that I was very hesitant, because I am by nature shy and not having much confidence in myself, but when I saw how much support I was getting from them it made me open up completely to the group and to the therapists.

7.450It was a long process:

Well, I still spent a lot of time in Granada to fully come to terms with it. Some of the group there, they would suggest that they felt that they were ready for the world again but I was very slow to suggest that, I kind of waited until I was told by the therapists in Granada that as far as they were concerned I was in a position to leave therapy, but that I should have no contact with, no direct contact with children, as far as was possible.

7.451Br Dennis said that, prior to his actions in Artane, he had not felt drawn to young boys. While he eventually admitted he had acted for sexual gratification, he had begun by deceiving himself that he was comforting the boy. He said that he found it very difficult to pinpoint any one thing that started it for him:

Well, I suppose, I was under pressure. Under pressure, having very little free time, I suppose, in Artane … I was young and I didn’t seem to feel that pressure, but it probably was there in spite of me, I don’t know.

7.452He went on to say that he was sexually naïve and shy, and he tended to select boys who were weaker and needed more help: ‘Maybe I was looking for a shy boy trying to give them confidence. That might be my justification, I couldn’t really say’.

7.453Part of his therapy in the Granada Institute was to accept responsibility for what he had done, which also involved telling his Superiors the whole story:

I told them eventually, yes, but it took some time for that to happen as well … Well, they were invited to – they would have meetings over in Granada with the therapists and the Leadership Team and myself. The first session yielded nothing at all, but after about four months I suppose, I gradually began to open up to the Leadership Team, as well as to the group members.

7.454Br Dennis said that he had lied, when he was first accused, out of fear: ‘I don’t know what kind of fear it was, but it was out of some kind of fear and a sense of shame; that I didn’t want to reveal that I was a failure or something like that’.

7.455He said that, in the Granada Institute, he had also come to an awareness of the impact of the abuse on the boys:

Probably the effects that it had on them in later life, where it could have led to marriage break-up and to suicidal tendencies. That their whole life really was all messed up … It was traumatic for me, but even though I didn’t look on it in that way, at that time I was thinking more of the victims at that particular time. But it was very traumatic for me as well. I found it very hard. There was one – I was advised to have at least one Brother that I could talk to, so I chose a Brother that I could talk to about all my misgivings and upset, and I found that that was a help to me all right, that that helped me greatly.

7.456The Christian Brothers’ statement responding to the complainant who made allegations to the Investigation Committee stated that the allegations were not in keeping with the character of the Brother. The complainant’s allegations were expressly not admitted. The statement did not say that Br Dennis had been sent to the Granada Institute by the Congregational Superiors in the mid-1990s in respect of his activities in Artane.

7.457Br Dennis filed two separate statements of response to the complainant’s allegations. The first was a long statement that dealt in detail with the complainant’s allegations, which were denied in full. It commenced by stating that he did not remember him or the incidents that were alleged to have occurred and ‘that the Complainant is both inaccurate and mistaken in much of his recollection’. It did not make any admission and, in the final paragraph, he said ‘I deny any allegations of abuse made against me contained in [the complainant’s] statement which is not directly or indirectly denied or referred to in this response statement’. He did not refer to the admissions that were made to the Gardaí, or to the fact that he had been sent by the Superiors of the Congregation to the Granada Institute in the mid-1990s in respect of his activity in Artane.

7.458His second statement to the Commission was dated a few weeks after the first statement and was the standard denial of abuse, with a legalistic paragraph which stated that he was required to prove a negative in respect of events alleged to have occurred on unspecified dates over 30 years ago.

7.459The significance of the approach taken by the Congregation and by Br Dennis is twofold:

• The Congregational response in this instance did not tell the whole story. It was seriously misleading because it did not reflect the Congregation’s actual knowledge of Br Dennis: the Superiors in the Congregation sent him to the Granada Institute in 1996 because of allegations from Artane. It is inconceivable that they did not also know about the previous allegations. In the course of his treatment in Granada, Br Dennis had meetings with the leadership team of the Christian Brothers and his therapists, at which he eventually opened up about his abuse. None of this is reflected in the Congregational response in which they attested to his good character.
• Br Dennis’s statements of response to the Commission cannot be trusted on face value. They contain assertions that he knew to be untrue and which contradicted the import of his earlier statement to the Gardaí and the Granada Institute.

7.460The complainant confined his allegations of sexual abuse to two Brothers and spoke positively about others.

7.461This complainant’s allegations are, at least in part, confirmed by Br Dennis’s admissions to the Gardaí. The Investigation Committee had the benefit of being able to hear the Brother’s evidence at an oral hearing but, at the time when the complaint was heard, Br Dennis had not yet given evidence and the complainant was subjected to a rigorous cross-examination by the Christian Brothers, without any reference to the information they had. If Br Dennis had not been able to attend and give evidence, valuable information would have been lost to the Inquiry.

Br Etienne⁷²

7.462A complainant resident in Artane during the late 1960s alleged sexual abuse by Br Etienne, which he said took place in the classroom and in the attic. He described an occasion when Br Etienne told him to stay behind in the classroom when the other boys left to go to the yard. The Brother closed the door and locked it. He went on to describe what happened:

An item of furniture, to me it was either a cupboard with books or a piano or some sort of wooden structure was pulled from the wall, Br Etienne started kissing the back of my neck and …

My memories are just, well being put down, lying on my stomach; Br Etienne lying on top of me with my face sideways, kissing my neck, kissing the side of my face. I remember pain in my buttocks area, it was the pain of, like, somebody trying to enter. It ended with hot splashes on my back area, my bottom area. Then I was allowed to join the other boys in the yard.

7.463The witness went on to say that his trousers were pulled down and his shirt lifted during this encounter. He said that Br Etienne was dressed in the usual long cassock and cummerbund and that, during the assault, he had his cassock open and his trousers down. He said that this happened a number of times in the classroom.

7.464The complainant said that the sexual abuse also occurred in the attic of Artane:

I remember being led up a stairs, it seemed to me an isolated stairs but as part of the building, the school area and the dorm area. I remember gas masks around and the attic was to me, enormous, it just seemed to go on forever. I remember a mattress and it was the same routine, but this time on a mattress.

7.465The complainant said that this had occurred on more than one occasion. As to other memories of Br Etienne, he said:

he was kind, I don’t ever remember being hit by him in class or anything like that … He was my teacher. I don’t ever remember being actually physically smacked by him.

7.466The witness remembered Br Etienne making contact with him when he was leaving Artane at nine years of age:

I remember there was ten boys, about ten, could be more could be less, waiting in a waiting room for a minibus that was going to take us to [another Industrial School]. I remember him being sat in the waiting room and I remember him giving me a white prayer book which I took at the time, but eventually found out that on the inside it said ‘always keep our secret’.

7.467When asked if he had any further contact with the Brother he said:

I believe I had a letter from him about a year after or maybe even less, after I was in [Industrial School to which transferred], which asked me how I was getting on. The letter was actually read to me by one of the nuns, asking me how I was getting on, hope the nuns were looking after me and a p.s. again saying, ‘always keep our secret’.

7.468The statement of the Congregation and a statement delivered by Br Etienne to the Investigation Committee denied that the complainant had been abused.

7.469In a letter to Br Gibson dated October 2003, Br Etienne admitted to certain acts of sexual abuse of the complainant but denied that this happened in the classroom or in the attic. The admission by Br Etienne was sent to Br Gibson in the context of the complainant’s application to the Residential Institutions Redress Board. It was forwarded to the Commission by Br Gibson when he received it.

7.470The letter stated:

I can verify that he was sexually abused by me in Artane in the sixties. I also wish to state categorically that he is lying when he describes how he was abused. What he accuses me of never happened either in the classroom or in the attic nor anywhere else in the school. I never had a key to the attic and never attempted to bugger him.

7.471The Brother gave no further information and, although he denied the details of the abuse as outlined by the complainant, he did not give details about the sexual abuse he was admitting to or how it had occurred.

7.472Counsel for the Christian Brothers said that the Congregation did not consider it appropriate to test the credibility of a complainant in circumstances where the fact of abuse had been admitted. The Investigation Committee noted that the Christian Brothers made a statement some months before Br Etienne’s letter, saying:

The Complainant makes allegations of abuse of a sexual nature on a number of occasions against [Br Etienne] … For my own part I find the allegations difficult to accept. In particular where the Complainant alleges that on one occasion the abuse allegedly occurred in a classroom. The classrooms were very public places and I cannot accept that abuse of this nature was conducted in such a location.

7.473This case again raises the issue of the value to the Inquiry of denials by the Congregation in circumstances where it did not make any proper enquiries of the alleged perpetrator. The Congregation’s position was unchanged until the hearing. In the subsequent submission prepared by the Congregation in response to the oral hearings, this case is included in the category of cases not specifically dealt with by the submission:

The Congregation’s decision not to refer specifically to such allegations is not to be taken as an admission on its part that such allegations are true or accurate.

7.474Counsel reiterated that a decision was made by the Congregation to send Brothers accused of criminal offences to their own solicitors to be separately represented, that the Congregation did not question these Brothers in relation to the allegations, and that they did not have access to Br Etienne’s statement as prepared through his own solicitors, when the Congregational statement was being prepared. It was a policy decision to have a dividing line in respect of those Brothers who were subject to the possibility of criminal prosecution.

7.475Counsel for the complainant submitted that the approach taken by the Christian Brothers was unhelpful:

it seems to have been a case where the approach adopted is: “Prove it. We are not going to go and ask the people who were there what it was like and try and put together our picture of it. We will deny everything; you prove it and we will cross-examine everybody on the minutiae of everything”.

7.476In the circumstances that arose in this and the previous case, the Congregation found itself in an embarrassing position when its rejection of allegations was contradicted by admissions of abuse. This arose because of the view that allegations of abuse against individual Brothers impacted adversely on the Congregation’s charism and that it was therefore appropriate to adopt a position on specific factual issues independent of that of the Brother.

7.477A policy of keeping the individual accused Brother at arm’s length, while at the same time filing a statement of denial in respect of allegations against him, was bound to lead to confusion, misunderstanding and embarrassment for the Congregation, particularly as amending statements were not furnished when new information came to light. Furthermore, the complainant was given the impression that the Congregation would challenge his evidence and he was caused unnecessary anxiety in this regard.

Three cases involving laymen

7.478Two complainants gave evidence of sexual abuse by laymen who were not staff members of Artane. The incidents were not disputed by the Congregation and were used in their Phase III Submissions to illustrate the willingness of the Congregation to deal with issues of sexual abuse.

7.479The first incident happened in the 1960s and involved a man who was himself a former resident of Artane. He approached the complainant returning from Croke Park and offered him a cigarette. They were sitting on the grass chatting when the man put his hand up the boy’s shorts. The man said to him: ‘do you want me to tell the Brother you were smoking or are you going to let me play with you?’ The witness said that he was more frightened of the Brothers than this man, so he let him touch him. In the end, he remembers jumping up and running the rest of the way back to the School, crying. When asked why he was crying by the Brother on yard duty, he said that his team had lost the match.

7.480The next Sunday, a Brother told the boy that a visitor wanted to take him out for the day but, when the boy saw that it was the same man, he refused to go. The Brother called him into his office and asked him why he didn’t want to go. The complainant said he broke down and told the Brother everything. ‘Before I was finished the conversation, the police were outside and took the man away’.

7.481In their responding statement, the Christian Brothers refer to this incident briefly:

The Complainant refers to an incident of abuse by a former resident whilst he was returning from a trip to Croke Park … I cannot comment on the allegation of sexual abuse committed by the outsider other than to say that boys were closely supervised at all times to try to ensure that something like this did not happen. It is noteworthy that the Complainant was in a position to complain about the alleged abuse by the former resident and that the authorities in Artane took appropriate action.

7.482At the Phase III hearing, the implications of this case were discussed with reference to the point that this lay person had been handed over to the Gardaí, whereas the same had not occurred with offending Brothers. It emerged then for the first time that there appeared to be some dispute as to the circumstances of the case, in that Br Reynolds, the Christian Brothers’ spokesman, suggested that the case was not reported as an instance of sexual abuse but rather as one of absconding, and that it involved two boys who failed to return from a trip to Croke Park and were seen going into the man’s house. He said that it subsequently emerged that they had been sexually abused. Such an alternative case does not appear to be based on any evidence available to the Committee, and so it is treated as an accepted instance of sexual abuse known to the Artane authorities. In those circumstances, the difference in the handling of this complaint against a layman as compared with offending Brothers is indeed striking.

7.483This point was made even more clearly in the following case, which was raised at an oral hearing of the Investigation Committee. In this second case of abuse by a layman, another complainant described an incident with a man who was a friend of the Brothers, and he took the witness and two other boys on a weekend trip to Northern Ireland. They all slept in the same room, which had four beds. When they were in bed, the boys would not stop giggling and the man ordered the witness to get into his (the man’s) bed. The man ‘started to rub me and put his hand on my genitals. He got me to put my hand on his genitals and I was feeling really scared, I didn’t know what to do’. He did not know whether the other two boys could see what was going on but he presumed they could. He said that he masturbated the man and that he felt disgusted afterwards. The following morning he had a shower and recalled trying to ‘scrub the skin off my body’.

7.484When the complainant got back to Artane, he told his older brother who was also a pupil there what had happened. He thinks that his brother said it to someone else, because he was brought in front of a senior Brother in the School. He recalled two men coming in to the Brother’s office and was told they were Gardaí. He told the full story of the abuse he had experienced to the Gardaí.

7.485When he left the office and was making his way over to the dormitory, he got ‘an awful hiding’. He said that this beating was administered by another Brother who had been present during his interview with the Gardaí. He never saw the man around Artane after that.

7.486In their response, the Congregation confirmed that a lay person who had been accused by some boys of sexual abuse was told to stay away from the School and the matter was reported to the Gardaí. The statement went on to say:

However, this incident does demonstrate that the Congregation took any complaints of sexual abuse very seriously indeed, reported them to the Gardaí and took all necessary steps to prevent the alleged perpetrator from having any contact with the boys in the future.

7.487Two Christian Brothers recalled this incident, one of whom said that it had been his idea to allow the man into the School. He said that the man had offered to help out by driving the boys on outings. He admitted that it was a bad decision on his part to allow this. He believed that the Resident Manager had called in the Gardaí when the allegation was reported to him.

7.488One of the Brothers remembered another incident. He said that two boys came to him to talk it over when the matter was being investigated by the Gardaí. The older boy came to him first, and told him that he was one of the boys who had been abused by the man. He then told him that he himself was abusing the younger boys but that had now stopped. The Brother told the Investigation Committee that this came as a big shock to him, as he had thought him to be a very decent boy. He said that that was the only incident he encountered in Artane of boys abusing other boys. He did not believe the boy was making a complaint as such. He believed that he just wanted to talk to somebody about it. The Brother did not do anything further in the matter and did not think that the boy should be punished.

7.489This Brother recalled a further incident, where he believed a man was behaving inappropriately with the boys. He said that this particular man used to visit the School and talk with the boys. He had the nickname of ‘Dirty Hairy Sixpence’. He would put a sixpence into his trousers pocket and invite the boys to retrieve it, which involved them in inappropriate touching of the man. The Brother said that he had received no complaints about this man during his time in Artane, and that it was only now, because of an allegation in which another Brother was referred to as ‘Sixpence’, that he realised what the man had been doing.

7.490This Brother confirmed that ‘Sixpence’ used to come freely into the School and talk with the boys. When asked whether this was a regular occurrence, he said that ‘Well, he did’. When asked whether it struck him as odd that a man could be allowed to enter the School freely, he said, ‘No, it never crossed my mind it just—no, I didn’t no’.

7.491At the Phase III hearings, Br Reynolds was not able to explain why the Gardaí had been called in the case of a layman, but had not been called in relation to sexual abuse by Brothers. He said that the reluctance to involve the Gardaí was ‘common practice right across society’.

7.492These cases undermine the position adopted by the Congregation in relation to sexual abuse, namely that it was seen as a moral failing rather than criminal behaviour on the part of the Brother and was dealt with as such. No ambiguity existed in the case of lay offenders. To assert, as the Congregation has done, that it was ignorant of the full implications of sexual abuse of children is not consistent with its response to these lay offenders. The Congregation was aware of the criminal nature of this conduct and took swift and effective action, which makes its failure to do so in the case of its own brethren all the more difficult to excuse.

Other complainant evidence

7.493This part deals with evidence of complainant witnesses that has not been cited in the examination of documented and confirmed cases. It includes extra information from witnesses who were cited above and data from witnesses not previously discussed. This material is uncorroborated evidence from credible and reliable witnesses.

7.494Complainants described the different kinds of abuse that they experienced.

7.495One witness recalled how he was warned to avoid certain Brothers when he first went to Artane:

There was always talk amongst the boys who to keep away from. When I went in there first, being naïve you don’t know anybody and you have boys coming to you and telling you “you watch Brother so and so, and watch Brother so and so. Don’t let him come near you or don’t let him get you into a place on your own”, things like that, like. But it only happened to me by one particular Brother, where sexual abuse took place, the rest was physical and mental abuse.

7.496Another witness described how abuse by Br Bruce⁷³ became progressively more severe, culminating in an attempt to commit anal rape. The witness was detained in Artane during the 1940s:

… at first it was just, he used to just take me trousers down and just stand there and make me masturbate him and things like that. But then it got a bit deeper and deeper where he would ask me to do things, which I couldn’t understand at the time. But like, he would ask me to – oral sex and things like that. Then he started bringing me, just, it is only 50 yards down into the shower rooms and in there he would bring me down, usually down the left-hand side into one of the curtain rooms at the bottom there and then on a couple of occasion he actually tried to rape me, but he never did succeed. He used to be very upset himself even afterwards, you know, what he was doing.

7.497A witness from the 1940s described how Br Armande progressed from talking about sex to physical contact and then to masturbation:

He liked to talk dirty … So over a period of time he used to ask me “have you ever popped or ejaculated”’ and things like that. No, “I can’t”. I knew other boys could. I forget how the conversation – but the subject of circumcising came up and he said “probably that’s your problem. I will show you some time”. Over a period of time – he would press into you, he invariably wore a cloak so anybody looking from the sides couldn’t see what was going on.

One incident, as I say, in the theatre, when we used to file in the theatre, at the end of every, maybe, third row was left vacant so that a Brother would sit there presumably to keep an eye on us. I happened to be in this seat and Br Armande – the seat was vacant, so I didn’t know what Brother it was going to be. I think he was either a projectionist or assisting the projectionist. Once the film started he came and sat beside me. I always remember he gave me a sweet and he started touching and petting and one thing and the other. I got to admit I was aroused. He kind of got my hand and done the same, messing.

7.498The same witness described another occasion when sexual activity was aborted because of the arrival of another person in the dormitory:

The other incident with Br Armande was the morning I was expelled from the band … I was expelled from the band and I was told to report to the dormitory. He told me to go over to the far corner of the dormitory where the Brother’s sleeping room was. He said “lie on the bed there and take your trousers down”. He disappeared and went off down to the long hall, I suppose, to check. There I was in the bed waiting for him to come. I got to admit I was quite excited about it because I had never ejaculated and he was going to show me … I was just coming up to 16, 15 and a half. I had heard other boys saying they had. Whatever happened, somebody must have came. The next thing I knew the door was open and he hollered “anybody in here, get out now”. I jumped up, put on my trousers, ran down and joined everybody else at the parade. That was the incident.

7.499This witness described how a sympathetic approach by the Manager led to his divulging information about abuse:

He put a friendly arm around me, drew me close to him and he said, “Tell me, what’s troubling you?” I started to cry and I blurted out all the things that happened to me and why I hated God, I hated my own parents for being weak and dying, I hated religion. “Tell me”.. So I told him about what Olivier had done and I told him about Br Armande . I told him the specific incident, general as well, but mainly what Br Olivier had done to me. I told him about the Br Armande. I would never have had the courage to go and complain to anybody because I would be terrified I would get another hiding, they wouldn’t believe me. On that occasion he was so kind that he got my confidence, he spoke to me like a father. I blurted out and told him everything.

7.500The witness described another experience that was commonly mentioned by former residents of boys’ industrial schools. When boys were in bed, Brothers sometimes went through the dormitories checking to see whether boys had wet their beds. That was the ostensible reason why Brothers put their hands under the bedclothes but there was unease among boys at the time.

7.501A number of complainants spoke of the requirement to sleep with their arms crossed and above the blanket, which was a rule of the Congregation. Some supervising Brothers were more diligent about enforcing this rule than others, but the object was to ensure that boys were not committing ‘badness’ during the night. One Christian Brother confirmed that he enforced the rule of sleeping with arms above the blankets but claimed that he did not know why he was doing so. He stated that he was not aware that it had any purpose of preventing self-abuse by boys.

7.502A complainant described getting a slap on his private parts by the Brother in charge when he was not lying in the correct position.

7.503Another described how Br Gaspard questioned him about where his hands were:

He pulled the covers down slightly and got my hands like that (indicating). That is how they told us to fall asleep in bed. Then he got down on one knee, might have been two knees, and just slid his hand across my lower abdomen. Didn’t touch anything, just straight across. That was it … There was something odd about it, obviously. It wasn’t the sort of thing you done. It’s always sort of remained with me.

7.504A complainant resident in the 1950s alleged that, when supervising the showers, Br Verrill used to require the boys to bend over, to make sure that they were clean. He said that, on a few occasions while doing this, he used to put his hands on the boys’ testicles and say ‘did you like that?’. The complainant said that he got so used to being humiliated that he accepted it and did not regard it as unusual at the time.

Sexualised relationships

7.505Relationships between Brothers and boys were unlikely to be the subject of complaint in the same way as violent or forced incidents of abuse.

7.506One witness who was in Artane in the 1940s described a sexual relationship with a Brother that he said was different from what happened with other Brothers. This relationship was a sexual affair with affection and reciprocity. It is scarcely necessary to add that it was a case of serious sexual abuse:

… I had sexual relations with him. That is the way I look at it. I will say the others abused me, but with him I would be kinder with the words because the man did look after he me, but I did do things with him that today people would stand up and scream about. But he was kind. He was probably the only person in my life up to that time. Probably the only person in my life up to that time that would give me a hug, look after me. Anyone, nobody could get to me. You know, he kept the others away. Monitors never reported me because they knew I would report them. Simple. He looked after me, I looked after him. As simple as that … sexual abuse did take place. But at that time that was mine, I now know that it was wrong. But at the time, if he had asked me to eat his head, I would have eaten his head, as simple as that.

7.507When it was suggested to him that this relationship appeared to form a large part of his memories of Artane, he replied:

It does, actually, because as I said, he was probably was the one person I loved at that point. I did love the man, you know. I know he done that, but I loved him. I have very fond memories of the man. But now I am 68.

7.508In contrast, he named four other Brothers as having been sexually abusive of him. This complainant said that, at the same time that he was being sexually abused, the Brothers were emphasising the evils of sex:

They screamed about the dangers of badness and yet they were practising it on us.

7.509Another complainant spoke about a lay teacher’s behaviour that he saw as coming into a different category from other sexual experiences in Artane:

He used have his cloth over him and he kind of took my hand and placed it on top with the cloth covering it in case anybody came in. I touched him like that … He carried on … and then sent me back to my place. That’s all [he] ever done, he was a fondler more than anything. He didn’t ask you to undress or anything like that.

7.510He confirmed the statement that he had made to the Commission:

All boys liked [him] because he was a gentle kind of man.

7.511He said that the teacher looked after the boys and that they put up with him for that reason. He said:

We weren’t idiots. Boys at that age were aware, I was anyway, that some of the teachers and some people were like that.

7.512He continued:

he was good to us … He wasn’t cruel like some of the Brothers. I personally found him very nice and also he always brought a newspaper in every morning. When he was finished the lads would get it. Some of us were avid readers. In that way he was a man’s man, if you like. I know he was a groper but he was a decent man in every other way.

7.513A number of witnesses, who did not themselves claim to have been sexually abused, stated that they believed that other boys were sexually abused in Artane. Almost all of these witnesses acknowledged that they had not actually seen sexual activity taking place, so their evidence and recollections were based on mixtures of surmise, hearsay and deduction. One witness explained:

The way I reckoned it was that when I was being abused, I know other boys were going through the same doors, going through the same classroom doors, going the long hall … I saw them. I saw boys going through the doors … I mean down to classrooms. I saw them going into classrooms when they shouldn’t have been in the classrooms.

7.514He added:

The reason why I think it odd was because the classrooms, any time I ever went into one when I shouldn’t have been there, it was for that reason. That is the only places they could take you. So I reckoned that if it was happening to me in there and Brothers were taking them in there, that it was happening to them. I had seen many Brothers go in there with children, and then I would hear children crying when I was in the dormitories. I knew what they were crying for, because I had done a bit of it myself. I knew boys, that when I was keeping – watching Brothers on the Parade, and I was hiding from them and seeing them hiding from them, I knew what they were hiding from.

7.515Other witnesses testified that they had seen boys going into Brothers’ rooms at night in the period after bedtime and before the night watchman came on duty.

Respondents’ awareness of sexual activity in Artane

7.516Respondent witnesses gave evidence as to their awareness of sexual activity in Artane. Four Brothers testified that, during their training for the Christian Brothers, they had been instructed about the possibility of inappropriate sexual activity between Brothers and boys.

7.517Br Saber stated that:

I would say the best instruction we ever got was before we left the training college. Before we left the training college, we got a talk from our Superior on sexual abuse, right. The attraction of a kid – of a Brother to a young fellow, right. He would be very clear and very specific minded, be careful of it, avoid it … Some other Brothers would say to me that it didn’t mean much to them because they never encountered it. Right? It did, it meant something to me, I can honestly say that. To most people it did. There was an outbreak in Artane previously seemingly of some Brothers being accused.

7.518Br Gaspard stated that there was a general rule that Brothers should not be alone with boys. One of the reasons for this rule was that it provided a defence for Brothers if accused of abuse. However, he stated that this rule was not rigidly enforced. He informed the Committee that he was always conscious of the rule:

I mean that I went out of my way to make sure that I never gave any, never did anything that would be sexually incorrect in my dealings with the boys in Artane.

7.519The third and fourth Brothers were less forthcoming. One acknowledged that Brothers were given specific instructions about sexual abuse, but that it was not a priority. He said he remembered it being discussed but it was not an issue.

7.520The four Brothers testified to having heard rumours of colleagues being asked to leave because of sexual abuse in the School. Br Michel described the rumours as follows:

There was a rumour as regards sexual matters, that some years previous to our time, there were one or two men dismissed from the Congregation. Now I didn’t know them. I cannot even name them because it was so long ago, but that rumour was about, that a few men were in trouble with boys and they were actually dismissed.

7.521Br Gaspard stated:

The rumours were about … there were a few Brothers who sexually abused boys and they were dismissed from the Congregation because of that.

Sexual activity between boys

A documented case

7.522A case in the early 1960s, that is documented in the records of the Department of Education, illustrated knowledge by the management of Artane about sexual activity among boys.

7.523A former Artane boy, who was still under the supervision of the Resident Manager of Artane, was on remand in Marlborough House on a charge of indecent assault of a young girl. He had a frank conversation with the officer in charge about his sexual history and proclivities. He went on to say that he had engaged in sexual activity with three other boys on several occasions during his time in Artane.

7.524The Superintendent notified the authorities in Artane, and the Resident Manager visited Marlborough House with a senior Brother to interview the boy. In a subsequent letter to the Department of Education, the Superintendent reported that the boy ‘admitted what he had done and gave the names of the other boys whom he committed offences with in Artane’.

7.525An internal memorandum in the Department expressed:

very grave concern and particularly so in the case of the underprivileged children who were sent to Artane by the Courts. It is also suggested that Dr McCabe enquire from the Resident Manager whether he has traced the extent of this practice in the school and what are his proposals for dealing with the situation.

7.526The following month, Dr McCabe reported her interview with the Resident Manager of Artane. She first inquired about the boy who had at that stage been dealt with by the District Court, and she went on to ask about the three boys who had been implicated in sexual activity in Artane. She was told that ‘they have now left the school’. Dr McCabe then asked about the extent of the problem and what proposals the Resident Manager had for dealing with it. She noted:

I then inquired about the supervision carried out and as far as is reasonably sensible it appears to be well done – but as the Brother intimated to me when boys are so inclined if opportunity arises and temptation is there it is very difficult to be always on the qui vive. In fact the Superior said that to have a complete supervisory system the Brothers detailed for such work would need to have no other duties but as it is now the Superior is having to teach and perform various tasks. However, he is quite well alive to such moral dangers and as far as it is possible for him will see that strict supervision is enforced. He also reminded me that there are retreats at stated intervals each year and that the Chaplain is very interested in these boys and also the Superior gives a little talk in the Chapel at prayer time.

7.527The proceedings in the District Court were described by the Superintendent of Marlborough House in his letter to the Department:

Rev Brother Leon⁷⁴ was requested by Dist. Justice Price, B.L. to attend [the] Dist. Court … and the Justice directed him, as being the legal guardian; to have arrangements made to have the boy committed to Grangegorman Mental Hospital, so that he could be subsequently transferred to Portrane Mental Hospital for treatment and the Justice further remanded [the boy] to Marlborough House until … he was to appear at [another] Court …

… the boy again appeared before Dist. Justice Price [at the other] Court. Brother Leon again attended the Court and stated that no arrangements were made to have [the boy] committed to a mental hospital; so the Justice let the boy out on his own bail of £10 and made an Order that he was to be of good behaviour for 12 months; when he was discharged. The mother of the boy was not in Court at any time.

7.528The Resident Manager was inconsistent in what he told the Department of Education.

7.529The Manager first told Dr McCabe that the three boys had left the School. On a visit to the Department, the Resident Manager ‘stated that he did not know the identity of the boys as Bro. Leon who had handled the matter had since died but that he would find out and reply later’. It is not easy to understand how the Manager could have given that information to the Department because he was, after all, present at the interview with the boy in Marlborough House when the names of the boys were given. Furthermore, the manager had previously told Dr McCabe that the three boys had left the Institution, so at that point he must have known the names. Finally, the Manager wrote in response to a formal request sent two months earlier and gave two names, adding that one of them was still in the School and that the other had been discharged the previous year.

7.530In conclusion:

• The Department expressed concern about the revelation of sexual activity between boys in Artane, and asked Dr McCabe to inquire into the extent of the problem and the proposals for dealing with it. The Manager undertook to do no more than was already in place, which, by his own admission, was inadequate. The Department did not pursue the matter.
• The Resident Manager was inconsistent in the information he gave to the Department, indicating a lack of respect for the Government officials who raised the matter with him.
• This case indicated that there was a higher level of sexual activity in Artane than the authorities there were capable of dealing with.
• It is a matter of concern that no documentation relating to this matter survived in the records furnished by the Christian Brothers.

Another investigation

7.531Br Romain⁷⁵ spoke about an investigation into sexual activity among boys that occurred during his time in Artane, during the late 1960s. He said that up to a dozen boys, who were all in the same domestic economy class, had complained of being sexually abused by older boys in the School. Br Jeoffroi,⁷⁶ who was a young Brother in Artane at the time, instituted an investigation. The witness said that ‘everybody knew about it’, when asked whether the pupils and staff generally knew of this investigation. Br Jeoffroi interviewed all the boys but the witness was not in a position to give further information. He did not know if boys had been punished or not – he only remembered the fact of the investigation.

Complainants’ evidence

7.532Sexual activity between boys in Artane appears to have been a common feature during all of the relevant period. Part of this activity consisted of sexual abuse by older boys with younger boys, in this report referred to as ‘peer abuse’. Many complainant witnesses, however, were reluctant to discuss sex between boys generally, and particularly the question of peer abuse. Nevertheless, the Committee was satisfied on sufficient evidence and reasonable inference that both these features of sex between boys were present at all relevant times.

7.533A witness spoke about an unwelcome approach:

I was working in the tinsmiths and this boy attacked me and threw me on the floor and lay on top of me. At the time it was a sex act. I didn’t know it was a sex act at the time. Like I said, I never even saw my aunty’s ankles. Of course I didn’t know that, that’s what it was. That’s what he was doing. It was reported. When Br Cretien asked me, “yes, I was attacked”. He still gave me six, right on the hand, not anywhere else, directly on the hand. He said he had to punish both of us. That boy never came near me again. I believe he was punished again for other acts which he did to other boys.

7.534Another witness explained the reason for fearing becoming known as a sexually active boy:

You know, there was two things that you never did in Artane. One was you never touched another boy in a sexual area. Me personally never did anyway. Another thing is that you never told of it if it ever happened to you because then you’re open, you’re open season then. If you are open season that means the boys get you. So you don’t tell anybody, you keep your mouth shut and that’s it … Nobody, except a priest. I told nobody. I am sure it happened to other boys and they told nobody either because you didn’t tell. You know, I mean, you were a soft touch then.

7.535A further witness was embarrassed about his sexual activity, even though it was by consent:

Well, it is probably a bit embarrassing, but to be honest with you I was actually involved in that myself. It was just sort of playing around basically … No, it wasn’t very frequent but it happened every now and then. But it was very common in Artane, it was very common that boys would be playing around with each other … Most of the time, 99% of the time it would be a case of just two boys messing about.

7.536He went on to comment on the Brothers’ awareness, and on the prevalence of one particular form of common sexual activity:

… you have got to appreciate in places like Artane, well it wasn’t very, very common but quite a lot of times boys would be masturbating each other. If another boy that wasn’t, you know, doing that would find out they would say it was badness.

7.537Another witness recalled an admonitory talk by a Brother:

… and the Brother who was giving the speech, God knows who he was, turned around and says “right, we know what you boys are doing, you have got to stop it”. This Brother in particular said, “We found over 300 children playing with each other”. Now there was only about 450 in the school. We were all standing there listening and that and, I don’t know whether they ever stopped or not.

7.538A witness spoke of the enormous interest of the Brothers in ‘badness’ and the sin of impurity:

Badness was the sin of impurity. They had the sixth commandment. I remember Br Jules used to say there is more people in hell because of the sixth commandment, the sin of impurity. They were absolutely bonkers on this. When we were growing up, young lads, 14, 15, you are getting feelings, you are getting wet dreams and things like that …

As I say, they must have thought that must be one of the reasons of so called badness. It meant boys messing with one another, thought, word or deed or whatever. They regularly wanted to know if you spoke, swore, told bad jokes. They had a mania for this sort of thing.

Congregation’s approach to peer abuse

7.539The Congregation in its Opening Statement said that it was aware of the possibility of sexual abuse among the boys themselves. Precautionary measures were taken to ensure that such abuse did not occur, including careful supervision of the boys at all times but particularly in the dormitories. The Statement referred to a 1946 Visitation Report which expressed concern about the danger of a lack of proper control in the infirmary, on the grounds that failure to ‘exercise proper control over the boys who are confined there when convalescing … may be a source of serious danger to their morals’. The Statement said that, although Brothers who worked in Artane confirmed that such abuse occurred, there was no documentary evidence available to the Congregation concerning individual cases of peer abuse. The only documented case of peer abuse appeared in records disclosed by the Department of Education and Science.

Brothers’ awareness of peer abuse

7.540Brothers testified to their awareness of peer abuse, but their accounts differ as regards its prevalence, the Brothers’ obligation to look out for it, and the punishments meted out.

7.541One Brother, Br Saber, who was in Artane for 10 years in the mid-1940s and 1950s, spoke about his awareness of sexual abuse both involving boys with boys and Brothers with boys. However, he stated that there was no sexual activity during his time in the School, which he attributed to Br Tyce,⁷⁷ the Resident Manager, and to the sodality.

7.542Br Boyce, who was in the Institution at around the same time, said that he was aware of the possibility of peer abuse, or ‘badness’ as it was known, but that he never came across it, and his knowledge of the subject came not from the Brothers but from overhearing boys’ conversations. He confirmed that he ordered the boys to sleep with their hands crossed, but said that it was nothing to do with masturbation, it was just the custom.

7.543A Brother who was in Artane during the 1950s stated that he never heard of any type of untoward sexual activity, either amongst boys or staff, the possibility of boys masturbating was never mentioned and he never punished for it.

7.544Br Laramie,⁷⁸ who was also there in the 1950s, stated that he was aware of the term ‘badness’, which was code for sexual activity. He said that the boys and various religious magazines used the term. Although the Brothers were aware of the issue, he could not recall any specific incidents involving boys.

7.545Another Brother who was there throughout the 1950s said that he remembered the term ‘badness’ as referring to peer abuse and that all staff would have been aware of the term. Despite this, he said that he never encountered any incident of badness nor had to punish a boy for it. However, he was contradicted by a colleague who remembered having to punish a boy who had been referred to him by this Brother who insisted that punishment was necessary:

I was in charge and he reported to me that [the boy] was interfering with other boys and he kind of said to me you will have to do something about it. As I understood it then that when some boys were interfering with other boys, they would be punished and one of the punishments they would get would be on the backside with the leather. I wasn’t too keen on doing it, I had a certain reluctance about it. I didn’t do anything for a while. Then Br Gaspard came back to me again and told me that this was going on and that I had to do something about it. I just brought him to the boot room. My memory now, I am working from memory now and it is a long time ago, my memory is that he had his nightshirt on him, he bent down, I gave him three or four smacks of the leather on the – not on the bare backside and he ran out the door and I was glad to see him go.

7.546Despite having to mete out this punishment, his recollection was that sexual activity between boys ‘wasn’t a major crime’, although Brothers were told to be vigilant.

7.547A Brother who was in Artane in the 1950s stated:

We were always being alerted to be on the look out, to be a presence in places where the boys would be, and I think we did that to the best of our ability. But we would be aware that things happened and there were normal healthy young fellas at that time so we tried to be as protective as we could be in that area by being a presence around the place.

We would have been alerted to be on the lookout, to be there, to be careful and to make sure that people are not injured in a situation like that, or that damage is done to them. So, that we would be there as a protection. It would have been—we would be, I suppose, on the alert and keep moving around and wherever.

7.548He said, however, that although the Brothers were aware of it, they would rarely talk about it. He denied that he would have discussed the matter with the boys in order to find out who was abusing whom, on the grounds that it was ‘none of my business’. He stated that if he became aware of an incident ‘I would have to hand that over to somebody at a higher authority level … I would probably go to the Disciplinarian’.

Conclusions on sexual abuse

Incidence

7.5491.Sexual abuse by Brothers was a chronic problem in Artane. Brothers who served in Artane included firstly those who had previously been guilty of sexual abuse of boys, secondly those whose abuse was discovered while they worked in Artane and, thirdly some who were subsequently revealed to have abused boys. A timeline of the documented and admitted cases of sexual abuse shows that:

(a)For more than half of the 33 years under consideration, there was at least one such abuser working there;

(b)For more than one third of the years there were at least two abusers present;

(c)During one year in the 1940s there were seven such Brothers in Artane at the same time.

2.More abuse occurred than is recorded in documents because of inadequate recording and reporting procedures. In particular:

(a)There was little or no communication on an informal, friendly basis between boys and Brothers including the Superior.

(b)The sodality was a means of informal communication between boys and the Resident Manager that uncovered four sexual abusers in Artane in 1944, but it was discontinued.

(c)Because boys could be punished for complaining about abuse, there was inevitably under-reporting.

(d)In the 1960s, the Resident Manager gave instructions that complaints were to be made directly to him and not to the chaplain, thereby cutting off a channel of information.

(e)One offender, Br Dennis, admitted sexually abusing many boys in Artane, but only one of his victims gave evidence at the Phase II oral hearings.

(f)In other cases of documented abuse, there were no complaints to the Committee.

3.Other causes of under-reporting also operated, including the fact that sexual abuse is difficult for victims to corroborate or verify, the fear of being disbelieved, lack of faith in the investigation process, and feelings of shame and embarrassment.

4.Sexual activity between boys was common, and there was a significant amount of predatory sexual behaviour by bigger boys on smaller, vulnerable ones, but complainants and respondents were guarded in dealing with it.

5.Evidence and inferences in this and other boys’ institutions suggested that some Brothers sought victims among boys they believed were engaged in sexual activity with other boys.

Response

6.Cases and allegations of sexual abuse were not properly investigated; information was not shared in the Congregation; cases were not reported to the Department; and the Gardaí were not informed.

7.The Congregation was aware of the criminal nature of sexual abuse perpetrated by Brothers.

8.The Congregation was also aware of the risk of recidivism in such cases.

9.Sexual abuse by Brothers posed a serious risk of damaging the reputations of the Institution and the Congregation if it became public, and cases were managed primarily with a view to protecting them against that danger. The offender was an incidental beneficiary of this policy.

10.The most common reaction was to move the offending Brother to another Christian Brothers’ institution, without regard to the hazard to boys in the new location and with no evidence that the Superior was alerted. Some Brothers were moved to industrial schools after abusing in day schools.

11.The Christian Brothers have submitted that repeat offenders were dismissed from the Congregation, but this does not appear to have occurred. Even when the Council voted for expulsion, this was often done by inviting the Brother to seek dispensation from his vows, which allowed him to leave the Congregation with no taint or suspicion on his character. The Brother could continue teaching in a lay capacity.

12.Only Brothers of temporary profession were dismissed by being refused permanent status by the Congregation, but these Brothers were also able to move on with their reputations intact.

13.Some Brothers and former Brothers found to have committed sexual abuse were able to continue damaging children for many years because of the policy of concealment of the disclosure of abuse, failure to investigate properly and failure to report.

14.The Congregation claimed in its Opening Statement that the impact of abuse on young boys was not properly understood at the time and that the response to the child was therefore inadequate. The reality is that the needs of abused children were not considered at all. It was not a case of insufficient understanding, but rather of giving priority to other concerns. For a Community of religious in loco parentis, this was a fundamental breach of their duty of care.

Emotional abuse and neglect

7.550Although some Congregations conceded that institutional detention was not an appropriate way to care for children,⁷⁹ the Submission of the Christian Brothers defended the kind of care they had given. They wrote:

It is clear that the level of poverty in Ireland during the period under review was such that the basic physical needs of many people required for day to day living went unfulfilled … In this context it cannot be surprising that there was a strong focus in Artane on the physical care of the boys … The “philosophy of care” underlying the operation of Artane … can be broadly described as a philosophy of physical care concentrating on the physical well-being of the boys.

7.551The Congregation accepted that a focus on physical care alone was not sufficient to fully and properly care for a child, but contended that it was important to note the general economic and legal context in which the Congregation’s care of the boys was provided. A senior Brother described this approach in his evidence as follows:

the philosophy of Artane when I was there was a physical care philosophy. Look after the health of the boys, look after their physical education, like by drill and so on … it was a physical education philosophy. There was no understanding, and I had no understanding at the time, about any kind of emotional education, psychological education. I had no understanding of that at the time.

7.552The Christian Brothers concluded this section of their Submission by asserting that the totality of the evidence suggests that, especially when viewed in the context of the times, the Congregation fully and properly provided for the physical needs of the boys.

7.553They went on to concede that at times there were shortcomings, such as the condition of the classrooms and toilets that were criticised in the Visitation Reports, but added, ‘these shortcomings were addressed after the criticism’.

Emotional abuse

7.554Extracts from the 1926 Annual Report of the Department of Education, and the Cussen Report in 1936, highlight that there was an awareness of the emotional needs of the child. They warned that a regime based on ‘a hard and fast uniformity’, in which the child loses his sense of individuality through just being one among hundreds of other children, caused permanent damage to the child. The Congregation, on the other hand, claimed that it was not until the early 1960s that the emotional needs of children began to feature in the thinking behind childcare.

7.555The Congregation also contended that the emotional needs of children were not a consideration at the time, either by the Congregation or by the Department of Education. In support of this contention, the Congregation stated that, when the Department carried out a full and thorough inspection in December 1962, it ‘focussed almost entirely on the physical conditions in which the boys lived and on their education’.

7.556Some individual Brothers who gave evidence to the Investigation Committee displayed a greater awareness of the boys’ emotional needs than the Congregation. The Brother who was quoted by the Congregation in their Submission, and who had served a number of years in Artane and had held a senior position in the Institution, told the Investigation Committee:

As a result of what I experienced in Letterfrack⁸⁰ I came to the conclusion that a lot of these children were disturbed and a lot of these children hadn’t had their basic needs for love, affection … fulfilled …

As regards the Industrial School Branch [of the Department of Education], it is my opinion that when Artane closed in 1969 we were still working out of a physical care philosophy. All the improvements that were done in Artane; central heating was brought in; we got new classrooms; we got new improvements to the cinema; we had the Godparent associations and so on; all these improvements, while they were very welcome … they were still coming out of that physical care philosophy. I went into Artane as a teacher and I think I can honestly say I left it as a teacher.

7.557It was only later, after Artane closed, that he supplemented his training as a teacher by attending, under his own initiative, a childcare course. At one point in his testimony he said:

as I looked back over the years at my time in Artane I became aware that there were times when I punished boys … and might have done better … I looked back at Artane and saw what the system was like … the more knowledge I acquired the more critical I became I suppose of how I saw Artane and what I did.

7.558Some of the other Brothers showed a similar awareness of the emotional needs of the children in their care, and lamented that the system did not address them. One Brother, who was in Artane from the late 1940s to the early 1950s, told the Investigation Committee:

I would say I was lacking in appreciation of … the circumstances in which these chaps found themselves, away from home and that kind of thing … I wouldn’t know who was legitimate or illegitimate or anything of that nature and I tried to treat everyone the same and of course you cannot do that. In that sense I would regret that.

7.559Another Brother, who was in Artane in the 1960s, told the Investigation Committee of an occasion when the degree of deprivation of some of his pupils was brought home to him in a disquieting way. He recounted the following incident:

… I remember teaching a lesson, it was English reading and it was about a family, and I discovered a boy in the class who didn’t understand what the word “mother” meant. “Brother” or “sister”, it meant nothing to him. I was taken aback by that.

7.560Another Brother told the Investigation Committee of one boy in Artane who had taught him a great deal about human nature. He said:

I did learn before I left Artane, if I could tell you a small little story. There was the chap, I can remember his name … he feared neither God nor man. He didn’t give a hoot about anybody. He was a desperado … constantly in trouble … he was the toughest fellow I have ever came across anywhere. Who arrived to see him but his mother. The fella didn’t even know he had a mother. So he was in to meet her … she was all over him … he was due out in three months and he was welcome to come to her and she would look after him … that guy … went back, I couldn’t believe it, he was a model, because for the first time in his life he realised he had a mother, there was somebody. He didn’t care what she was like. And he was complete – a model boy.

7.561These Brothers, even though their training did not include study of the emotional needs of children, were aware that the boys needed more than just food, clothing, accommodation and education, and craved individual attention.

7.562One Brother explained:

sometimes a fellow, you would be nice and a fella would come up to you trying to play up to you and say, “Can I be your chafer?” God love them.

7.563While the boys and Brothers had to keep their distance, it was open to any Brother to rise above these constraints and offer more than just physical care to these boys. From the evidence before the Committee, regrettably few Brothers chose to do this, but those who did were remembered with warmth and gratitude by the ex-residents who attended the oral hearings.

7.564A Brother, who was in Artane from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, spoke of what he called ‘that softening down … in the whole system’ that occurred during his time in Artane. It became ‘a kinder place to be than the first day I entered it’. He told the Investigation Committee:

But I have to say now, in all sincerity, that in the latter years that I was there, there was a hell of an improvement, both in food, dress, entertainment, mixing with the outside world. Getting parents or getting Godparents for these kids and trying to get them out and breaking the system.

7.565When asked to explain what he meant by ‘breaking the system’, he explained:

You don’t change an environment overnight … It is done over the years. What I am trying to get across is that when these changes did take place … you didn’t wave a magic wand and say, “everything is new, everything is grand”. It took years even when Br Ourson was there.

7.566Some individual Brothers did not recognise Artane’s shortcomings, even when looking back at their time there. One Brother described it as ‘a happy place’. Another Brother said, ‘I was always very happy with the years I spent in Artane. I enjoyed the company of the boys … and enjoyed the fact that you could talk to them …’. Another said, ‘It was a very busy place, and a fairly happy place, there was a lot of exuberance in the yard …’.

Reasons why the emotional needs of children were not met

The problem of numbers

7.567Artane was purpose built for 825 children, and the capitation system meant that keeping the numbers up was an economic necessity. One Brother in his testimony summed it up neatly:

I would say the biggest problem was what can you do to change the life for 800 young fellas? It was entirely too big. Now who was responsible for that? … the more we had the more money we got. But the more we had didn’t necessarily mean that it was a better place for them to be.

7.568Paragraph 72 of the Cussen Report published in 1936 stated:

In our opinion the best results can be obtained only where the number under any one Manager does not exceed 200 pupils. We think that in no case should the number exceed 250. It is necessary in this connection to refer specifically to the case of Artane Industrial School, which is certified for 800 boys and where there are on an average about 700 boys. It is in our view impossible for the Manager in an Institution of this size to bring to bear that personal touch essential to give each child the impression that he is an individual in whose troubles, ambitions, and welfare a lively interest is being taken.

7.569For the sake of ‘the care and after-care of the pupils’, Cussen recommended that Artane should be divided into separate schools of no more than 250 pupils.

7.570In paragraph 80, the Cussen Report commented on the effects of institutional life:

In some schools monotonous marching round a school yard took the place of free play at the time for recreation. Such drill-like exercise, especially if prolonged, becomes a dreary routine deleterious to mind and body, and it should be replaced by free play and organised games that will develop in the child alertness of movement and individual confidence, and thus help to compensate in some measure for the lack of initiative and individuality that are characteristic of children reared in institutions.

7.571Concerned to prevent this institutionalisation, the Cussen Report, in Recommendation 15, advocated that:

Reasonable contact of pupils with the outside world is desirable and should be permitted to a greater extent that is the case at present.

7.572Cussen’s recommendations were not put into effect. Indeed, in the 1940s the numbers in Artane swelled to 844.

7.573Some senior Brothers questioned the regimented lives in Artane. In 1952, the Visitation Report contained the following observations:

The presence of over 700 boys in one establishment with all kinds of social background necessitates a great amount of regimentation and vigilance, and these have been developed in Artane to the n-th degree so that it would be almost impossible to find a loophole in the system. From Rising Bell till “lights out” the boys are regimented under the watchful eyes of Brothers who are experts in their various duties – so that it becomes almost true to say that the boys are never called on to make decisions for themselves even in small details except at one moment in the day – the moment when they must decide to go or not to go to the altar for Communion.

And then one begins to wonder if it can be possible that this system, so perfect in itself, is fundamentally all wrong from top to bottom. Is it achieving the end for which it was evolved, to train the will, memory and understanding of the boys so that when they go out into the world they may be able to take their parts as good citizens and good Catholics? Will young people who know nothing about freedom, since their birth or since their early boyhood, be able to use sensibly the freedom which is theirs when they pass through Artane gates into the wide world? These questions cannot be answered after a period of five days’ residence in Artane. However, more than one experienced Brother in the Community has asked himself similar questions and has not been too happy about the answers.

7.574In the 1956 Visitation Report the Visitor, commenting on the character training of the boys, wrote:

The control of so many boys has led, in the system employed, to over much “shepherding especially from 6.30 till bed time. The separation of Juniors and Seniors would be most desirable. The lack of play-hall space is a crying need. Notwithstanding the devoted care of the Brothers it must be admitted, I think that the Institution is much too large. If it is to continue as an Industrial School its division into Junior and Senior sections would seem to be most desirable.

7.575It was 1960 before the division was finally made, and in the Visitation Report for that year it was noted:

As an aid to discipline in this large Institution the boys have now been divided into two groups – the boys over 14 and those under that age … it was time this move was made. Of course it means doubling the number of Brothers on duty.

7.576The Congregation’s Opening Statement reveals the relationship between boys and staff over the years:

1940s – average number of pupils – 802

1950s – average number of pupils – 620

1960s – average number of pupils – 286.

7.577The staff quotas provided by the Congregation are as follows:

1940–1947 – 16 to 20 Brothers and up to 6 lay staff

1947–1960 – average 14 Brothers

1960–1966 – average 11 Brothers.

7.578The evidence of the Brothers and former Brothers in relation to staff ratios was that a small number, between six and 10 of the younger Brothers, carried the main burden of teaching and supervision of the boys. This led to the situation that Brothers who were directly involved in these duties were over-worked and often stressed. It is not clear why so many Brothers living in Artane were not directly involved with the care of the children.

7.579The Investigation Committee heard evidence from many former pupils and staff from Artane with regard to the size of the Institution. A former pupil, in Artane from the mid-1940s to the early 1950s, described:

The first night, I was put in the ward, I couldn’t believe it. It looked to me huge. All the beds in a line and I was put into this bed and I was crying. I was told to stop crying and I couldn’t. I was smacked [by the Brother who was on at nights] to say if you don’t stop crying you will get another one … I couldn’t sleep … I was woken up and I had wet the bed.

7.580A former Brother described how there was no preparation or training in Marino for dealing with the large numbers in Artane or for the type of boys that were sent there. Artane was run like the Army, everything ran like a clock. The boys marched for breakfast, marched to the dormitories, other than the free play in the playground everything was structured. The size of the School and the numbers during his time (800 boys) did not leave much room for understanding the boys.

7.581Another former Brother who served in Artane in the early 1960s said:

the numbers were very large and you had to have your wits about you to keep an eye on everything, you know, to make sure nobody was in danger. You would want to keep the smaller children away from bigger so they wouldn’t be run down or hurt or anything.

7.582He recalled that, in his time, two Brothers would be keeping an eye on over 400 boys.

7.583Most of the Brothers who appeared before the Investigation Committee complained about the numbers in the School.

7.584One Brother was asked if the system made it difficult to be compassionate with individuals. He replied, ‘I would say so, yes, I would agree. I mean it was numbers, large numbers you were dealing’.

7.585A Brother in Artane in the 1950s, whilst saying that there was a good atmosphere between the 800 boys and the 25 to 30 Brothers, said that it was ‘mass production … It was impossible to do anything worthwhile with them’. He felt that the Brothers on the ground were interested in the children’s welfare and many of the children did well, but it depended more on their background and make-up. When asked why nobody spoke out about the impossibility of looking after 800 boys, he replied:

I was going to use ignorance … It was lack of knowledge or lack of insights by the Brothers ourselves, by headquarters and that. I mean 800 – there were 800 people that weren’t wanted and that nobody else would take them.

7.586A Brother who was there in the late 1950s was angry about the situation:

You had in Artane at that time 600, or whatever, pupils. You had, effectively, 16 or 17 Brothers, the teaching Brothers on the staff, who had to teach them full time … So I would be asking today, ‘Why was it that I was expected to do the impossible in Artane by my country from 1955 to 1959?’ … the system survived because of the dedication of the few. And I suppose we are paying for that today.

7.587He went on to say:

Some of them [the lads] unfortunately who had problems and maybe who should not have been there at all, they should have been in some other institution that could care for such people like that … at that particular time we weren’t as aware … about the importance of having places for people like that who need specific care and specific attention and specific help.

7.588A Brother who served a total of nine years in Artane between the mid-1940s and mid-1950s explained:

… the new kids coming in who would be lost, you know, really some of them were lost really. 825 kids. Divide that by five and that’s 160. 160 kids in a dormitory was very formidable … It was cruel … That was the total responsibility of two really. It was really the two in the dormitory made the kids or developed a kind of relationship with them.

7.589He was still angry at the enormity of it all. He railed against the system that allowed such numbers:

825 kids were imposed on us. No. 1 by the Superior, No.2 by the authorities, by the Archbishop of Dublin, who wanted the kids sent to Artane, not Letterfrack or to Galway because they were too far from home … 825 where the maximum was supposed to be 800 and you had kids on the floor and it was really cruel and unnatural and wrong.

7.590This Brother also saw children who were isolated and lost within the system. He told the Investigation Committee:

I suppose you never knew a kid, like, to talk to him. You would pick out a lonely child … If he hadn’t a friend it would be tough. Really tough. You could see a kid that is lonesome, you would take him in the hand or something. He was the only boy from Gorey. He was the only boy from Wexford …

7.591The Investigation Committee heard the evidence of ‘the only boy from Gorey’. He had been sent to Artane for stealing a purse when he was ten and a half years old. He explained that his family were very poor and his sister had told him to take it. He was sent to the Industrial School for five and a half years in the 1950s. His mother had simply told him he was ‘going away for a few days’. He told the Investigation Committee about his early days in Artane:

I think I was the only one from Gorey … It was very difficult [to make friends] for a long time … I was terrified … there were so many boys … I never saw the likes of it before in my life … The first Brother that ever met me there was Br Bruce the day I went there. I don’t know what it was, from that day onwards we seemed to get on very well together. He was explaining the school to me that night and ever since that we were friends … He was brilliant, yeah. Brilliant. Brilliant … he was exceptionally good to me. For what reason I couldn’t tell you. But I liked him and he liked me … I would be chopping sticks for him and he would bring [extra food] down under his habit.

7.592Apart from this friendly Brother, he lived in ‘a constant state of fear’. Yet this friendship, so valued by the terrified young boy, was in itself problematic for the Christian Brothers.

7.593As well as being an enormous institution, Artane was totally male dominated, and the Investigation Committee heard evidence from a number of Brothers who served in Artane about the lack of women in the Institution.

7.594A Brother who served in Artane in the late 1960s described how the lack of females there at the time left a lot to be desired, ‘The gentle touch of a woman … was missing’.

7.595One Brother who served in Artane from the mid-1940s to mid-1950s recalled that Artane was a totally male dominated place. He particularly remembered a group of boys coming from a convent in Mount Merrion in the 1950s. He described how they arrived in Artane in brand new clothes and were dressed like dolls. He remarked, ‘we could see the female hand all over the place. They never met boys, they never met men. They were thrown into Artane’.

7.596He also felt that the dormitory for the young children should have had a nurse working there full-time to care for the boys. It was not within the power of the younger Brothers to make suggestions such as the need for women in the place. Visitors could be spoken to about some deficiencies, but they were not ‘on the ground’ and could be a bit removed.

7.597Another Brother, who also served in Artane throughout the 1950s, was asked whether the boys craved affection. He replied:

yes, affection and because of the lack of women around to put it baldly. That was kind of a gesture that was made later on towards the end of the 1950s or the beginning of the 1960s to get them foster parents to get them more and more in touch with the outside world and that kind of thing and maybe to improve the feeding or the grub … they were a few extra women brought in in the nursing set up … but still it was Artane.

7.598The arrival of four nuns to work in Artane in 1963 is noted in the Visitation Report for that year:

There are four Sisters in residence in a Convent in conjunction with the Infirmary. They supervise the Infirmary and spend time in the dormitories every day, checking the beds, the boys’ clothes, the wash rooms and so forth. Because of time schedules it is unfortunate that they cannot have much contact with the boys and hence their influence on them cannot be great. The two in the dormitories feel the lack of this opportunity and are hoping that as time goes on they will be able to have more contact with the boys, especially the little ones. The Superior has this matter under observation and consideration and he hopes to be able to provide more contact with the boys for them in time.

Mixing boys with different needs

7.599The Cussen Report had recommended that boys be medically and psychologically examined and assessed for suitability to be sent to an industrial school. That recommendation was not implemented, and the result was that children were ordered to be detained in Artane and other institutions when they were unsuitable and where there were no facilities for dealing with their disabilities. This put extra pressure on the Institution and made life more difficult for the children themselves. Respondent witnesses gave evidence of their awareness of these problems, and the authorities in later years complained to the Department about its failure to identify and differentiate between children who had different needs, and particularly those who suffered from mental or psychological disability.

7.600Mr Dunleavy in his report for the Congregation also identified this problem, which he stated was exacerbated by a reluctance on the part of the Brothers to direct boys to other institutions which were better able to care for them, even when there were places available for that purpose. He quoted the Visitation Report for 1968 as follows:

Some are very retarded … Others are mentally deficient, and in recent years the proportion admitted in this latter class has been on the increase. As such children require very specialised attention it is not easy for an industrial school to adjust its programme to care for them in a satisfactory manner. The policy of the Department in directing these boys to Artane, without consultation, is quite unfortunate.

7.601He acknowledged that there was something of a double standard in the attitude of the Brothers in Artane:

However there does seem to have been a certain reluctance in the school, once children with mental problems had been accepted, to allow them to leave the school for Institutions which might have been better able to care for them.

7.602Even as late as 1969, it could be seen that there was no systematic way of dealing with children who were misplaced in Artane. Mr Dunleavy remarked:

Equally disturbing are a collection of applications from 1969 for boys to be admitted to St. Augustine’s Special School as being mildly mentally handicapped. It transpires that in some cases psychiatric evaluations of the boys determining their handicap had been made up to two years before an application was made on their behalf to St. Augustine’s Special School.

7.603He concluded his review of this feature of the Institution:

It is clear from the above that while a deplorable practice existed of “dumping” mentally and emotionally disturbed children in Artane Industrial School, a school which was certainly not equipped to deal with their special needs, the school itself took no steps to alleviate the situation, and indeed appears to have been slow to recognise that the situation existed in the first place.

The need to keep a distance between the Brothers and the boys

7.604The Christian Brothers prohibited Brothers forming particular friendships, and they had a rule that a Brother should never be alone with a child. These instructions were part of the training each Brother received at Marino. The ban on forming particular friendships was partly to protect the Brothers’ vow of celibacy, but it was also to ensure the Brother would love everyone equally as God’s children. The instruction about never being alone with a child was to protect the Brother from allegations and also from any temptation. With this purpose in mind, these were good rules and were designed to protect all individuals involved.

7.605Generally in families the parent singles out his own child from other children outside the family. In this relationship the child is made to feel special, and needs the affection that flows from this relationship and the sense of being protected by the parent. This bond is the foundation of the child’s self-esteem, and it gives the child confidence to tackle the stresses of life in the outside world. Despite being in loco parentis, the Brothers, with a few exceptions, could not provide this parental relationship because the system did not allow for it.

7.606Quite apart from the fact that the rules of the Congregation made the kind of emotional support the children needed more difficult to deliver, the actual day-to-day interaction was one of fear and distance. This more than anything damaged the development of the children and this was not necessary. Even with the large numbers, Brothers could have behaved in a kind and measured way towards the children, showing them consideration and respect. The absence of this quality of care was the most emotionally abusive element in Artane.

7.607Again and again, complainants told the Investigation Committee that they felt there was nobody they could go to for help or for protection. As shown above, many Brothers spoke of wanting to help a child who looked lost or lonely, but few were able to do so. As a result, many children went through life in Artane feeling ignored, except when being chastised and punished, and feeling nobody cared about them in any way at all. This failure to acknowledge the child, to make the child feel important and loved, left many of them feeling marginalised and rejected.

Climate of fear

7.608The Investigation Committee heard convincing evidence from complainants and Brothers who served in Artane that control of the vast numbers of children was accomplished by means of a strict regime and through a climate of fear. One Brother remarked that even well-behaved boys lived in fear of being punished. Children who were hardened by dysfunctional backgrounds, were placed with orphans and emotionally disturbed children, under the control of young Brothers who received no training other than their teacher training.

7.609In the Visitation Report of 1954, the Visitor gave an example of the level of control that was inherent in Artane:

Br Cretien is chief Disciplinarian. It is gratifying to hear that there is not much necessity for corporal punishment. There was a good test of the spirit of discipline on my second day in Artane. It was Saturday night and the boys were retiring to the dormitories. More than half had got in; many were on the stairs and a number still in the yard when the electric light failed. There was no stampede or sign of confusion. A few candles were lighted and to my surprise I found the boys sitting on or standing beside their beds in absolute silence.

7.610As one Brother who served in Artane in the late 1950s put it:

If we did not have a strict discipline at that stage the place would have gone to rack and ruin and those who would have suffered most would have been the boys … it had to be strict because we had no back up services whatsoever … some of them unfortunately who had problems and maybe who should not have been there at all … the boys who could not understand that there was a certain way of doing a thing and that if they did not do that then it was going to lead to trouble for them, even if they were punished it didn’t register with them.

7.611Later in his evidence, he was asked whether there were boys in Artane who were too emotionally fragile to be there in the first place:

In all probability that would be a way to put it yes. They had come from backgrounds where they didn’t have the normal supports and so on as young people and they were coming in and they find themselves in a large group. Looking back now it must have been an impossible situation for them and knowing what we know now those young people should not have been there. There should have been a place for them but that wasn’t available at that particular time, as far as I know.

7.612As the evidence unfolded before the Investigation Committee, it became clear that Artane did undergo a certain amount of change in the 1960s. Numbers were falling, and two Brothers in particular were singled out by their peers as men of vision who tried to bring innovations into the School for the betterment of the boys. A Godparent association was formed, and boys were placed with families for Christmas, summer holidays, and occasional Sundays. This was seen as a step forward, where boys would be able to live in a normal family situation. Nuns were introduced into the School, and their presence had a calming effect on the boys. A new games room and swimming pool were opened in the mid-1960s.

7.613Although some of the Brothers recognised the need for the boys to be better prepared for the outside world, there does not appear to have been any consistent policy to prepare the boys emotionally and psychologically for their post-Artane days.

7.614The Investigation Committee heard from a number of complainants that they did not have much family contact and that, on occasions, for example on the death of a family member, the situation was not handled in a sensitive manner. There is no evidence, however, that the Institution had a policy of discouraging children from having contact with their families. Boys from Dublin usually went home regularly.

7.615Many witnesses to the Investigation Committee gave instances of acts of kindness, when particular Brothers treated them well. This evidence was often given by way of contrast with other negative experiences in Artane. The complainants named several Brothers as being particularly kind and fair, and these kind members of the Congregation made a positive contribution to the lives of the boys in Artane.

7.616In conclusion:

• The number of boys in Artane, the extreme regimentation of their lives, the lack of appropriate training of the Brothers, the insufficient numbers of staff, and the pervasiveness of corporal punishment all had serious adverse effects on the welfare and emotional development of many of the children who passed through Artane.
• A climate of fear in Artane was a dominant memory for many ex-pupils. Practices used for management and control of the boys were frightening and abusive from the child’s point of view. It was a problem central to the whole system in Artane that the boys’ perspective was not taken into account. The Christian Brothers did not understand the impact of those practices.

Neglect

Finance

7.617The topic of finance in Artane and in the other institutions specifically investigated by Mazars is discussed more fully elsewhere in this report, in the context of issues that arise in all institutions. That discussion focuses first on whether the capitation per child was sufficient in institutions generally. It then considers the accounts of four particular institutions including Artane. The reports prepared by Mazars were sent for comment to the relevant Congregations, which responded with submissions that they prepared with the assistance of their own experts, following which Mazars finalised a comprehensive report.

7.618By making comparisons with contemporaneous indices, Mazars established that the grant paid per child in the industrial school system was adequate to provide a reasonable level of care for most of the relevant period. When other factors were taken into account, such as the value of the farm and the profit made from trades, the financial position was even stronger. A significant further factor that applied in Artane was the economies of scale that arose because of the large numbers accommodated there.

7.619Artane was virtually self-sufficient, providing the majority of its needs from its own resources. The Industrial School’s sources of income were: capitation/maintenance grants (84%); income from the farm and trade shops (10%); and the balance from a variety of other sources, including parents’ contributions and receipts from band performances. The Institution was also in receipt of a substantial primary grant for the running of the national school attached to the Industrial School.

7.620In its Opening Statement in relation to Artane, the Congregation contended that:

The level of grant aid was a constant topic of discussion between the Resident Managers Association and the Department of Education, the former continually insisting that the grants paid were seriously inadequate.

7.621The Christian Brothers’ own Resident Managers’ meetings also took the view that funding was inadequate and throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s they used the Resident Managers’ Association in order to express this view to the Department of Education, seeking increases in the grants paid. These requests were often made in years when the financial position in Artane was strong.

7.622The Christian Brothers went on to state that the validity of the claim of gross under-funding made by the Resident Managers is strongly supported by the Kennedy Report, which described the grant aid paid to industrial schools as ‘totally inadequate’. When the Kennedy Report was published in 1970, numbers in industrial schools had fallen so dramatically that funding was at that point inadequate to meet the needs of the many institutions that were struggling to stay open. When the Kennedy Report was published, Artane had already closed down.

7.623For most of the period under consideration, funding in Artane was adequate to provide for the children in its care. The Visitation Reports and the evidence of complainants and respondents indicated, however, that the physical care provided was poor, even by the standards of the time.

7.624Mazars have looked at the accounts for Artane and have identified, as far as possible, how the money was spent. On the expenditure side, the biggest item was salaries and wages of lay staff. In addition, the Institution provided a stipend for almost every Brother in the Community. The level of stipend was decided by the Managers of Christian Brothers’ residential schools and, in Artane, it varied from £120 per Brother per annum in 1940 to £300 per Brother per annum in the 1960s. The amount was uniform, and no account was taken of the extent to which any particular Brother was engaged in the care of the children or the work of the Institution.

7.625The accounts show that the stipends constituted the principal source of income for the Community. They were paid into the ‘House’ account every year for almost every Brother. The account built up a substantial surplus of income over expenditure, and showed a cumulative surplus (excluding land sales) from 1940 to 1969 of approximately £56,000.

7.626In addition to providing the Community with an income, the Industrial School also provided for the day-to-day expenses of the Brothers. In 1966, the Visitor recorded that:

… In addition to supporting the boys the School supports the Brothers to the extent of food, maintenance but not clothing or medical or any luxury items. In addition there is transferred from the School Account to the House Account each year £300 per Brother for extra services, etc …

7.627The Community was also able to invest substantial sums in its Building Fund.

7.628In conclusion:

• Artane was an important source of support and income to the Congregation.
• Lack of funds was not a reason for failure to provide for the children in Artane.
• Artane was a major contributor to the Building Fund and to the support of the Provincial Organisation.
• The Artane Community charged a full stipend for Brothers who had little or no involvement in the care of the boys and funded the Community’s day-to-day expenses out of the maintenance grant for the children, which enabled the House to run at a profit.

Physical care of the boys in Artane

7.629The Christian Brothers maintained in its Opening Statement to the Artane module that the documentary evidence:

clearly demonstrates that the boys were well fed and clothed and that their welfare needs were catered for … Where criticisms were made or shortcomings were pointed out, remedial action was taken.

7.630The sources of evidence relied on were the Department of Education Inspection Reports and the Visitation Reports from the Congregation.

7.631While Artane was directly responsible for the physical care provided, the Department of Education had supervisory responsibility.

7.632The Department of Education Inspector, who inspected Artane regularly from 1944 until 1962, reported under the headings of: Food, Clothing, Accommodation, Recreational Facilities, and Health and Education. Her General Inspection reports are a source of contemporaneous comment. The reliability and consistency of Dr McCabe’s reports were questionable, and this is discussed in the chapter dealing with the Department of Education.

7.633By and large, Dr McCabe was impressed with the way Artane was run and was not overly critical of the care provided. However, when each individual element of care is analysed, she was often quite critical of the standard provided and, taken as a whole, her reports point to serious deficiencies in the School.

7.634It is useful to look at Dr McCabe’s reports in conjunction with the Visitation Reports compiled by the Congregation’s own Visitor who inspected annually. The Visitor’s prime function was to report on the Brothers in the Community, but they also made observations on the care of the boys and the general standard of the Institution. These reports were more critical of the Institution than those of the Department Inspector, and often highlighted issues that should have come to the attention of the Department Inspector but were not mentioned by her.

Food

7.635Dr McCabe was generally satisfied with the standard of food provided in Artane. In her first report of April 1939, she stated, ‘the quantity, quality and variety of their diet is satisfactory’. Likewise, in 1944 she expressed herself as satisfied that the food was ample and varied.

7.636In 1953, she identified the kitchen and refectory as being in need of modernisation and she continued to be critical of the kitchen and refectory facilities throughout the 1950s. Her categorisation of the food as ‘good’ or ‘v.good’ has to be qualified by the absence of adequate facilities for its preparation.

7.637Visitation Reports from the 1950s did not identify any particular problems with the food or the kitchen facilities until November 1957, when the Visitor wrote:

Everything in connection with the kitchen and the preparation and serving of food calls for complete re-organisation and re-conditioning … Too many boys are at each table though half of the room is vacant almost. All the food for the meal is piled on the table before the meal begins. The boys proceed to make a most awful mess when the meal begins. There is not the slightest attempt to eat in a civilised fashion. The Brother and teacher in charge can do nothing with over 500 to look after. A great deal of the food is wasted and the waste is the main support of nearly forty pigs.

I shall comment later on the condition in which many of the boys come to meals. To me the sight was just revolting. One can just imagine the comments of visitors but every care is taken on the conducted tours to prevent visitors from seeing the spectacle.

7.638The shortcomings in the system were apparent to the management, as evidenced by the special efforts made to ensure that the boys who played in the band were given particular instruction in table manners. The 1957 Visitation Report commented:

They have special table drill in all the niceties of handling sets of knives, forks, spoons, serviettes etc and in how to behave themselves in a decent home. I have reason to know from friends of my own who had some of these lads staying in the house that they made a wonderful impression and have done a tremendous amount to win admirers for Artane and to counteract the smear campaign that would appear to be the settled policy of certain sections of the public Press.

7.639The Visitor went on to describe conditions which would have more than justified a campaign of protest on the part of the press if the full picture of conditions in Artane was made known:

The boys in the full trades and on full farm work deserve special treatment and better meals. These lads really make the running of Artane possible yet in all the apartments devoted to the farm and the trades there is not a single toilet or wash-basin for these boys. They come into their meals in a shocking condition, hands, faces and clothes are covered with the grime of the trades, boots, stockings and portions of the trousers often soaking from working in the cowhouse or the manure pit. These boys remain in this condition all day Winter and Summer, at meals, during afternoon school and in the chapel … No boy could retain his self-respect under the conditions that exist for many of them.

7.640The Visitor blamed Br Gerrard’s ‘slip-shod methods’ for the poor standards in the kitchen and refectory.

7.641A Brother who was there at the time confirmed that the report reflected the conditions he had seen: ‘My own impression was that things were not satisfactory in whatever visits I did make to the refectory … with large numbers … it was difficult’. He pointed out, however, that things improved when a new Brother came and facilities were improved in 1962: ‘There was a tremendous improvement both in the standard of food, the way the food was presented, the menus that were there’.

7.642It is difficult to reconcile that Visitation Report of November 1957 with the one of just seven months earlier, in which the Visitor remarked:

Br Gerrard has charge of the boys kitchen and does his work very efficiently. The food served is good and plentiful and the boys looked healthy and strong.

7.643It is even more difficult to reconcile this Report with the Reports of Dr Anna McCabe. She did not mention any of the matters raised in the late 1957 Report, which would indicate that either she did not actually see the boys in the refectory or she did not see anything remiss in the way meals were served. Either explanation has disturbing implications.

7.644The condition of the boys’ kitchen may be contrasted with the provision made for the kitchen that looked after the 24 Brothers in Artane. The Visitor noted in 1960:

The food supplied to the Brothers is excellent and very well cooked. There is a cook, assistant cook, six boys in training, and a Brother looking after the Brothers’ kitchen.

7.645The boys’ kitchens were renovated and a new Brother put in charge in 1960, and the Visitation Reports noted an immediate improvement, as in 1962 when the Visitor stated:

There is very little trouble on this score and the Brothers think that the improvement in the meals has a lot to do with the easier discipline among the boys.

7.646The Committee heard evidence from a respondent who spent four years in Artane in the mid to late 1950s. He was in charge of supervising meals for a period, a task he carried out with the assistance of a lay staff member. He stated that, despite the large numbers in the School, meals were conducted in a very orderly fashion and the boys were very well behaved. He does not recall mealtimes being particularly difficult, as documented in the Visitation Report of 1957. He stated that meals were not conducted in silence and were quite lively events.

7.647A respondent, who first went to Artane in the mid-1950s and spent almost 15 years there, accepted in his evidence to the Committee that ‘while the food was adequate that, at that particular time, the serving of the food and the way it was presented wasn’t the best’. He acknowledged that this was not satisfactory. In addition, the large number of boys being catered for in the refectory made things more difficult. Things changed dramatically for the better when a new Brother took charge of the kitchen. He changed the way in which food was prepared and presented.

7.648Fr Moore was critical of the food served and the way it was served. In his report of 1962 he stated:

The boys are reasonably well fed. There is fair variety but obvious essential requirements such as butter and fruit are never used … In general I feel that the boys are under-nourished and lacking calcium and other components. At table I have observed the unruly indelicate manners of the boys.

7.649During his inspection in 1966, Dr Lysaght⁸¹ commented unfavourably on the lack of variety in the diet of the boys and on the institutional nature of the refectory. The dining room was large, and all of the boys ate together at the same time, which gave:

a feeling of institutional mass feeding and just as the large numbers in each dormitory it tends to hinder or delay development of individuality.

7.650While the meals were ample and well cooked, the weekly menu lacked imagination and variety. With the newly modernised kitchen, there was no excuse and, once again, Dr Lysaght placed his faith in the nuns to turn things around.

7.651Many of the complainants who gave evidence to the Investigation Committee from the 1940s era complained about food. One ex-resident described the diet:

I would sum up my time in Artane as cold, brutal and hungry and the cold was because of the hunger. There was this enduring feeling of cold and this gnawing pangs of hunger. There was never any satisfaction, never any way to relieve the hunger. That was it, hungry, everybody was hungry all the time.

7.652Another complainant, committed in the early 1940s at the age of nine, recalled that his mother often sent him food parcels, but that he only received a parcel once as they were stolen by the other boys. He did not blame them for this, as he stated that they were always hungry, ‘We ate the grass for God’s sake’. He stated that they had a small loaf dipped in fat for breakfast, and vegetables with gravy for dinner. He recounted how one Brother would conceal sticks of bread in his cassock and distribute them to the boys: ‘As soon as he appeared we went around him like a pack of dogs looking for food’.

7.653A witness, committed in the mid-1940s, alleged that the food was diabolical. He stated that, during mealtimes, younger boys were sometimes moved to older boys’ tables on a temporary basis. When this occurred, the younger boys invariably went hungry because they could not get to the food fast enough. He also asserted that, whenever visitors came to the School, the boys got better food.

7.654A further complainant from this era recalled how the boys divided the loaves between them. The first boy would cut himself a big slice, and the second boy would do the same, so that, by the time the last boy came to take his slice, there was little left. The younger boys were often left hungry as a result of the system of distributing food.

7.655On the other hand, a complainant who was committed in the mid-1940s and remained in Artane for six years asserted that he had no complaints to make about food, as ‘the food was better than what I was getting outside’. He described living in abject poverty before being sent to Artane, and his records indicate that he was malnourished and underweight on admission.

7.656While complaints about food feature with decreasing frequency in the 1950s and 1960s, a complainant who was committed to Artane for five years in the early 1950s stated that there was never enough food, and that the boys had to resort to scavenging from the swill buckets to sate their hunger. He singled out one Brother who would slip him extra food. He also alleged that bullying took place during mealtimes, with the result that some boys got less food than others.

7.657A complainant resident in Artane during the 1960s complained that the food was unpalatable. One surmised that the reason the quality of the food was so poor was because the boys cooked it and did not possess the requisite culinary skills. Another complainant from this era recalled that, whenever a Visitation or inspection took place, the quality of the food markedly improved.

7.658A respondent, who was in Artane during the 1940s, stated in evidence to the Committee that he punished boys who took food from other boys at mealtime. He asserted that ‘the majority of the boys always admitted that they were well fed’.

7.659Another respondent, who worked in Artane between 1950 and 1959, gave evidence that ‘the food was always reasonably good, except that it wasn’t very attractive’.

7.660Mr Dunleavy made the following comment about mealtimes:

Apart from assembly and religious services, mealtimes were the only occasions when the whole school was present together. It seems extraordinary then that only one Brother was assigned to supervise the large refectory where up to 800 boys could be eating at once. In the course of being interviewed Brothers who had formerly worked at Artane told of leaving the door behind them open at all times so that they could escape if the situation in the refectory got out of hand. Brothers spoke of the atmosphere being “like a powder keg” and related stories of how Brothers had occasionally been assaulted by boys with knives from the dining tables. At each table of boys a senior boy was placed in charge, and it was his job to distribute the bread and tea to the other boys at the table. It was also his function, should any boy be misbehaving at the table to tell him to leave the table and stand by the wall so that he could be punished by the Brother in charge in due course.

7.661In conclusion:

• Food from the farm and bread from the bakery made it possible to provide for the needs of the School and the Community at reasonable cost.
• Mealtimes were not properly supervised, and young or timid boys were bullied and did not get enough to eat. This was a failure of management.
• Facilities for preparing food and for serving it were primitive. Meals were poorly prepared and monotonous. A Brother categorised as ‘slip-shod’ by his own colleagues was in sole charge of this department for up to 15 years until the early 1960s and complainants testified that food was poor until this Brother was replaced. This was evidence of inferior management in the fundamental task of providing three meals a day for hundreds of boys. The facilities available in the Brothers’ kitchen were in stark contrast to those provided for the boys.
• The problems identified by the Visitor in 1957 and confirmed by witnesses were not picked up by the Department Inspector. The food during an inspection was not typical of that served on a daily basis, indicating a serious flaw in the inspection procedure.

Clothing

7.662Dr McCabe was critical of the standard of clothing provided for the boys.

7.663In 1944, following a number of general inspections, Dr McCabe complained that the boys’ clothes were very patched, but was informed that there was difficulty in procuring material. She reiterated her criticism sporadically.

7.664In 1955, following a general inspection of the School, a Department Inspector, Mr Ó Síochfhradha, wrote to the Resident Manager outlining a number of concerns in relation to the care of the boys. The Resident Manager responded by saying that while he agreed that the improvements were necessary:

The only obstacle that stands in the way and hinders progress being made in [the] scheme outlined is the lack of funds. The school is in a weak condition financially and for obvious reasons we are unable to meet fully our ordinary commitments at present.

7.665This conflicts with the Visitation Report for 1955, which stated that the financial position of Artane was very satisfactory:

On the 31^st December, 1954 the Surplus Income from the School Account was £4,645 … and from the House Account £12,113 … On both accounts there was a Credit Balance at the end of the year of £36,203 to carry on to the 1955 accounts. There is a sum of £30,000 invested in the Building Fund.

7.666At this time, there was to the credit of the Institution £30,000 in the Congregation’s account. Between 1944 and 1956, the sum of over £17,500 was paid into the fund. Around this time, Artane paid back a long-standing debt of £8,800 to the building fund. The Community paid Visitation Dues of £3,000 in 1955.

7.667A Visitation Report in 1947, while describing the boys as ‘well fed and very well clothed’, recommended that boys should be allowed to wash and change after working in the farm. However, 10 years later, in 1957, the Visitor commented that the boys came in to meals in a filthy condition and stayed in their dirty and often wet clothes all day.

7.668A complainant committed in the mid-1940s described how boys who worked on the farm wore their everyday boots whilst working. They did not have overcoats or waterproof clothing, and wore a sack over their shoulders if it was raining.

7.669Many of the complainants resident in Artane in the 1940s complained of the quality of the clothing. The Brothers confirmed that the School produced its own cloth from which trousers were made. Although this material was clearly unsuitable for use in clothing, it was not replaced until the mid-1960s. A number of Brothers who spoke to the Investigation Committee stated that one of the major improvements introduced in the 1960s was an improvement in the boys’ clothing. Instead of being made by the tailoring shop, the clothes were bought in and were more comfortable and fashionable. The report of Dr Lysaght dated June 1966 described the boys as ‘well clothed: neat and tidy’.

7.670The inspection of underwear also had a humiliating and embarrassing impact on the boys. A witness who was sent to Artane in the late 1950s explained how, every Saturday evening, the boys would line up and receive their change of clothing for the following week. They had to display their underwear to the Brother in charge and were punished if it was soiled. Another man who was in Artane during the late 1960s described a similar regime and said that he did not wear his underwear for fear that it would be soiled by the end of the week.

7.671This humiliating and unnecessary practice was referred to by a number of complainants who described the weekly inspection of underpants. If the underwear was soiled, the boy would have to face the wall and await punishment, which generally meant slaps on the hand with the leather. One Brother said:

I accept that I did examine the underpants. The reason for examining the underpants was that complaints had come from the woman and the staff in the laundry that soiled underwear was coming down to the laundry, and with the number of boys that was in Artane at the time she wasn’t too happy about it … so word came up to us that we were to check the underpants and if an underpants was badly soiled, not the ordinary run of the mill thing like slide marks, that didn’t matter, it was a case where the underpants was badly soiled, it is then that I would take action … I would take the action of getting the fellow to go to the washroom and so on and clean it, then we would throw it into the bag with the rest of it. I will admit that – not in connection with the underpants – if [the complainant] says I put him facing the wall I will admit that.

7.672When asked whether the boys deserved to be slapped for something they had no control over, he replied:

I do not think they deserved to be punished … I accept that if I did slap them. I don’t think I slapped them for soiling their pants. I slapped them for other reasons but not for that … normally I would not punish a boy for soiling his pants. I mean that could happen to anybody. But if [the complainant] says I did it on one particular occasion, fair enough I will accept that.

7.673Many former residents spoke of the inspection of underpants, and recalled the punishment that ensued if they were soiled, but not one of them recalled having to wash them before they were thrown into the laundry bag.

7.674Fr Henry Moore⁸² reported in 1962 that clothing was an aspect of the general care that was ‘grossly neglected’. He said that the boys’ clothing was ‘uncomfortable, unhygienic and of a displeasing sameness’. The quality of the clothing was poor due to the fact that they were manufactured at the School. Overcoats were only supplied to those boys who were in a position to pay for them. He described as pathetic the sight of hundreds of boys on their Sunday walk in the depths of winter without an overcoat. He was also critical of the fact that boys had to change from their Sunday clothes after their walk into their everyday clothes which, in his view, was bad for morale. There was no change of clothing in accordance with the seasons, and the boys wore hob-nailed boots and heavy clothing all year round.

7.675An additional criticism was the lack of personal ownership of clothes, that were common property amongst the boys. Clothes were distributed randomly from a common pool, often without regard to size. Stockings and shirts were replaced once a week, underwear only once a fortnight.

7.676Fr Moore commented:

This fundamental disregard for personal attention inevitably generates insecurity, instability and an amoral concern for the private property of others. This I consider to be a causative factor in the habits of stealing frequently encountered among ex-pupils.

7.677A respondent who was in Artane in the 1960s recalled how shirts and undergarments were distributed randomly, and there was no sense of ownership attached to these.

7.678Fr Moore referred in his report to the lack of overcoats for the boys. The leader of the Department group that inspected Artane just before Christmas 1962 noted that, in early December, 412 raincoats had been ordered by the Institution for all the boys:

… as regards clothing the overcoats supplied by the school are raincoats only 412 of which were ordered early in December. All the boys questioned (50 approx.) wore woollen underpants.

The clothing of the boys while lacking refinement was adequate apart from the doubtful desirability of providing cloth overcoats which will require further investigation.

7.679Complainants who stated that the clothing provided by Artane was not adequate in cold weather, even into the late 1960s, were probably correct.

7.680In conclusion:

• Clothing was poor, patched, and institutional in style, and the repeated criticism by the Department Inspector was often to no avail.
• Underwear inspections in public were a feature of life in Artane. The explanation that this was done to clean the underpants before they were sent to the laundry was not confirmed by former residents. It would not, in any case, have afforded justification for this degrading practice.
• Changes of clothes were not available to boys who worked in wet, muddy and dirty conditions. Until the mid-1960s, overcoats were not provided. Bad clothing marked out the boys and reduced their self-respect and personal dignity.

Accommodation and hygiene

7.681In 1944, Dr McCabe identified sanitation as being in need of modernisation. The poor state of the sanitation facilities was described in a letter written by a former resident to the Department of Justice in October 1946:

the only W.C.s 900 boys have at Artane Ind. School [are] 30 filthy buckets at the rear of a Hand Ball Alley which the boys use and I want to know when are more modern and hygienic lavatories going to be provided for the boys.

7.682He also queried whether the boys were involved in emptying and cleaning ‘these buckets of stenchious filth’.

7.683The Resident Manager responded, confirming that a farm labourer was employed to empty and clean the sanitary buckets as part of his duties. The labourer who usually performed this task had become unwell, and a number of the boys who worked on the farm had carried out this chore on a temporary basis. He assured the Department that another farm labourer had been assigned this task and was not assisted by the boys. The Department confirmed to the letter writer that plans for the modernisation of the sanitation system were ‘under active consideration’. The Department categorically denied that the boys were involved in removing the buckets. The letter went on to say:

The sanitation system at the school has been inspected time and again by Inspectors of this Department and by Sanitary Inspectors and as far as is known no complaint has been made about it from the point of view of the hygiene and health of the boys beyond the statement that the system is an old one. Scrupulous attention is given to the daily cleansing and disinfecting of the system.

7.684A man who was a pupil in Artane in the 1940s described the state of the toilets and the occasional duties given to some of the boys:

We had only buckets behind the handball alley … I would say there was about 20 to 30 buckets … it was newspaper we used instead of toilet rolls, there was no such thing … They had to be emptied … There was two men, [he thought they were siblings], … at the time it was a horse and cart … They were lay men … I was one of the ones that had to help on that occasion because I was a hefty lump of a lad … You had to put a bit of paper, them buckets could be over full … You have a dirty job there … we were just emptying the buckets … into this barrel. We called it a barrel. It was a horse and cart … it had to be done every day. Imagine there is 800 people were going through toilets … the handball alley was your wee wee, the back of the handball alley. You put them back. They were lovely looking going back … They went back with a kind of coat on them.

7.685The buckets, he insisted, were not washed out: ‘Where would you get water?’.

7.686The 1943 Visitation Report noted:

The Toilets for the boys are not modern in any sense. They are of the dry kind and buckets are used and changed daily. There is no running water in the urinals; they must be washed out every day.

7.687In each year between 1944 and 1947, the Visitor noted that the lavatory facilities required replacing. Work commenced on the replacement of this system in 1948.

7.688This primitive system remained in use until 1950, when the Visitation Report for that year stated: ‘The sanitary block completed by Br Tyce meets a long-standing want’.

7.689Apart from identifying the sanitation as being in need of modernisation, Dr McCabe expressed herself as consistently impressed with the condition of the premises in Artane. Conversely, the Visitor was regularly critical of aspects of the accommodation of Artane.

7.690Facilities for the boys were poor. There was no indoor recreation hall, as identified by the Visitor in 1945 and again in 1956: ‘The lack of a play-hall space is a crying need’. Similar comments were made in subsequent reports, but nothing was done until 1965 when an enclosed play shelter was erected, with recreation rooms for use during the winter. The financial position of the Institution was good during the 1950s, but the Visitation Reports reveal a marked reluctance to spend money on the Institution because of uncertainty as to its future as an industrial school.

7.691This uncertainty dogged Artane from about 1954 onwards and materially affected the standard of care but, even before that, there was a lack of urgency in seeing to the needs of the boys. Facilities that were in everyday use by the boys were left in poor condition, for example the lavatories, the recreation hall, the classrooms, and the kitchen and refectory.

7.692In 1955, Dr McCabe identified areas that required attention, including the kitchen and a new recreation hall. The Resident Manager accepted that the various improvements were necessary, and added that new schoolrooms were also required as the School building was in a dangerous condition and had been condemned some 40 years earlier. He stated:

The only obstacle that stands in the way and hinders progress being made in scheme outlined is the lack of funds. The school is in a weak condition financially and for obvious reasons we are unable to meet fully our ordinary commitments at present. As a matter of fact I cannot see how the work being done in this school can be continued for long under the present conditions.

7.693He sought confirmation from the Department as to the nature of any financial aid that would be available from the Department to effect the improvements.

7.694Matters came to a head when, on 24^th November 1957, the Provincial of the Christian Brothers wrote to the Department of Education following a visit to Artane. He stated that urgent repairs and renovations were necessary, particularly to the kitchen and roofs. Before entering into a consideration as to whether the Congregation would incur any liability to effect such improvements, he requested information regarding the Department’s position in relation to the future of industrial and reformatory schools. He noted that the number of boys in Artane had steadily decreased and that ‘it is proving more than uneconomical to try to run it’ with smaller numbers.

7.695This letter caused anxiety in the Department, which is reflected in an internal memorandum dated 25^th November 1957. The realisation sank in that, without Artane, the nearest location to Dublin of a senior boys’ industrial school was in Clonmel:

If Artane school were to close down the question of the provision of alternative accommodation for the area now served by it would have to be considered as an urgent problem. It is doubtful if any Religious Order would be very willing to undertake the provision of new Senior boys Industrial Schools in the Dublin area without a substantial grant in aid from the State towards the cost of the new building and an assurance that the State and local authorities would give a substantial increase on the existing rate of capitation maintenance grants.

7.696The capitation grant was increased by 50% as a result of the intervention by the Provincial. However, improvements remained outstanding and the Resident Manager pointed out that, despite the increase in the capitation grant, overheads remained high and were always increasing.

7.697By 1961, the kitchen was complete and new classrooms were due for completion that autumn; the recreation hall was not completed until 1965.

7.698Dr Lysaght was not impressed by the standards of cleanliness in the bathrooms and dormitories. He stated that, despite the School having being certified for 830 boys, realistically nowhere near this number of boys could be accommodated in the dormitories or dining room. In fact, of course, that number and, indeed, more than that number had been accommodated in Artane throughout the 1940s and well into the 1950s.

7.699Even with the falling numbers, Dr Lysaght was of the view that the dormitories were far too large, with 90 to 100 beds in each dormitory. Such a large number ‘gives an impression of institutional care and regimentation which is of course objectionable and not in accordance with modern trends’.

7.700In conclusion:

• The 800 boys in Artane had no toilet facilities other than dry buckets until about 1950. The Department of Education and the Congregation should not have allowed such primitive conditions to continue for so long.
• Some facets of the accommodation were poor and overlooked. Even when no uncertainty about the future of Artane existed and numbers were at their highest, provision of proper facilities for the boys was not considered a priority.

Education

7.701Primary school education was a right of every child in the State during the period covered by this investigation. Failure to attend school was the reason given for committing 1,045 of the 3,685 boys detained between 1940 and 1969.

7.702It is clear from the section dealing with accommodation in Artane that the classrooms provided were poor, even by the standards of the time. Successive Visitation Reports decried the dilapidated and unsuitable condition of these buildings that had been condemned in the 1930s. As early as 1934, the Visitor commented:

The Buildings are in good repair on the whole, but the class-rooms are said to be unsafe; they will hold until the findings of the Commission now in session will determine the school accommodation required.

7.703By 1937, the Superior expressed the view to the Visitor that the classrooms were adequate and would survive another 10 years.

7.704It was not until 1963 that new classrooms were provided, five years before Artane ceased operating as an industrial school and opened as a secondary school for boys. Not only were the buildings themselves in poor condition, but they were cheerless and depressing, according to both ex-pupils and ex-staff members.

7.705The standard of the School premises came in for criticism in 1956 when the Visitor noted that they were drab, crowded and the furniture old fashioned. However, given the uncertain future of industrial schools, he recommended that any plans to refurbish be postponed. Plans for the construction of new classrooms were approved by the Department of Education in 1959, and they were completed in 1963.

7.706The Visitation Reports are complimentary of the standard of primary school education in Artane throughout the years, and frequently note that it is on a par with, if not better than, the standard in ordinary day schools. The Visitors were not alone in their praise. It is noted again and again in the Visitation Reports that the Department of Education School Inspector marked the standard of teaching as either efficient or highly efficient.

7.707Br Wiatt held the position of Principal from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. He was praised in many Visitation Reports for the well-organised manner in which he ran the School.

7.708The Visitation Report in November 1938 noted that the School was well organised and the classes of reasonable size. The Visitor remarked that the numbers of boys in classes was in fact lower than in ordinary schools. There was a wide divergence in ages amongst children, particularly in the lowest class, because many children who were admitted to Artane had little or no education before being sent there. In the 1930s and 1940s, when numbers in the School rose to over 800, there were up to 24 teachers engaged in teaching classes, from infants through to 6^th standard. The teaching staff was mostly made up of Brothers. By the mid-1950s, the number had reduced to 16 classes with 14 teachers, due to falling numbers.

7.709By 1957, there were 526 boys in the Institution, a drop of over 200 in two years. The Visitation Report that year noted that the School was overstaffed, with 12 teachers, and class sizes were well below average. Numbers continued to drop steadily in the Institution into the 1960s and, by 1968, there were 280 boys in the School.

7.710The school day was unconventional. Most of the boys attended school in the morning, from 9.30 a.m. to 11.40 a.m. and returned in the evening, from 5.00 p.m. to 7.15 p.m., a feature that the Cussen Commission criticised. The afternoons were spent in trades, at band practice or at knitting school.

7.711There was also ‘midday school’, which ran until 2.00 p.m. and catered for children of all ages who were classed ‘backward and neglected’. Children who were not otherwise engaged in trades, the farm or the band attended this class. The value of this class was questioned by the Visitor in 1958. It did not follow any particular curriculum and was not subject to Departmental Inspections.

7.712Boys over 14 who attended trades-training all day were required to attend ‘continuation school’, which ran from 5.00 p.m. to 7.15 p.m. They were taught by the same teachers who took the midday class, and these classes were not subject to inspection by the Department of Education.

7.713Although the continuation school offered an opportunity for extra education to boys who might not otherwise achieve 6^th class standard, nevertheless there was little room in the above timetable for recreation. The boys who attended the continuation school in the evening did so after a long day working in a trade or on the farm. They were exhausted by the time they got to school, and did not even have time to change out of their work clothes before class.⁸³ This daily routine remained until the School closed in 1968, although it was debated in 1959 whether normal school hours should be introduced.

7.714The same year, a secondary top school was formed in the School, although the Visitor opined in his Visitation Report of 1965 that a technical top might have been more appropriate. The School had opted for the secondary top, as there were no metal or woodwork teachers available.

7.715Two classes were formed from amongst those who had passed their Primary Certificate, and the first tranche of boys from Artane prepared to sit their Intermediate Certificate in 1966. However, it was also the last time a boy from Artane Industrial School would sit this examination. The Visitation Report of December 1966 noted that the class had been discontinued because of Department regulations. Only eight boys had passed the examination that year. Instead, a class for boys who wished to join the catering industry was set up under the supervision of the CERT⁸⁴ organisation. It was hoped that the more promising boys could continue their education in the local secondary schools, although the Committee has seen no evidence that this ever occurred.

7.716In 1964, a special remedial class was formed for boys of sub-normal ability. The class was a success, and the Principal hoped to form another class so that the age range of boys would not be so disparate.

7.717By 1966, the number of boys of sub-normal ability had increased to the point where it was becoming an acute problem. The Christian Brothers were critical of the Department’s policy of directing these boys to Artane when the Institution did not have the specialised facilities to deal with these children.

7.718The School followed the National School programme, and the boys were eligible to sit the Primary Certificate examination. Many of the Visitation Reports point to the high success rate of the boys who sat this examination, but these figures need to be examined against the total number of boys in 6^th standard. In some years, up to 50% of the boys in 6^th standard in the primary school were not presented for this examination, which made the very high pass rate for those who did sit for it less significant.

7.719The standard of education for the boys engaged in trades during the day was criticised by a number of Visitors. The first hint of disapproval appeared in the Visitation Report of 1947, in which the Visitor noted that the few hours devoted to school work in the evening lacked drive and efficiency. In 1952, the Visitor queried in his report the wisdom of taking the boys out of primary school at the age of 14, regardless of whether they had reached the 6^th standard.

7.720In 1952, the Visitor noted that more could be done for this category of boys. He stated:

… our institutions owe a great deal to those boys who work full time at their trades. Their work is of great financial advantage to each establishment. One obvious difficulty is that those teaching the trades are tradesmen and not teachers. If they have the power to control and teach it is only by accident and not as a result of their previous training.

7.721He noted with satisfaction the introduction of mechanical drawing during evening classes, and wondered whether it would be possible to employ vocational teachers to develop this aspect of education further.

7.722In 1954, 40 of the boys who had passed the Primary Certificate were nominated to sit the Technical School examinations. Two teachers from Marino Technical School taught woodwork and mechanical drawing. They were paid by the Vocational Committee. 16 boys sat the exam in June 1954, and 12 passed. In 1956, all but one of the 16 boys who presented for the examination were successful, and all had higher marks than the average. However, this scheme was discontinued.

7.723In conclusion:

• The pass rate for the Primary Certificate was high by national standards, but not all boys of 6^th class standard sat the examination.
• Boys who attended continuation school did so after working at a trade during the day. Many boys had not attained 6^th standard before they reached 14 and were taught by teachers in classes that were not subject to Department Inspections. The standard of their education was the subject of contemporary criticism in Visitation Reports.
• Boys who completed the Primary Certificate went over the same course until they reached 14 and went into trades training, and did not get the opportunity to progress into secondary education.
• The Christian Brothers have been critical of the Department of Education’s failure to provide for the educationally backward children in Artane, but they must also accept blame for their failure to provide secondary education to intelligent and able boys who passed through Artane. The Congregation ran secondary schools close to Artane, and yet no provision was made for any Artane boys to attend these schools.

Training/trades

7.724Training was an essential part of the philosophy of the Industrial School. If the boy was to become a useful citizen, he should be trained for productive employment. The author of the 1952 Visitation Report discussed some of the issues:

Artane has a more elaborate organisation of trades than our other Industrial Schools. These trades serve, or are supposed to serve, a dual purpose – training the boys for outside life and balancing the Artane budget. Br Oscar⁸⁵ has charge of the shops, and each shop has one or more trained lay tradesman. In practice, some of the trades serve only one purpose. For example, the wages of the two shoemakers amount to £800 per annum. It is believed that this sum plus the money expended on leather would supply the boys with factory-made boots for one year. On the other hand, the tinsmiths supply the establishment with such things as kitchen-ware and refectory-ware at a cost well below factory prices, but no boy has been placed as a tinsmith in any outside factory in the past six years.

7.725The Visitor noted that:

the position is satisfactory with regard to placing tailors, shoemakers, waiters band boys and farmers, unsatisfactory in the case of bakers, weavers, carpenters, mechanics and painters, and hopeless in the case of tinsmiths. These latter have to be fitted in anywhere a vacancy can be found irrespective of its nature.

7.726He then asked the very pertinent question:

Would a boy who has served as a tinsmith for two years and who has to go into a post of a very different type for which he has received no training have a grievance? Would he feel that he had been exploited for two years? Are the Brothers justified for economic reasons in putting a boy at such work when they know that he is almost certain not to continue in it later? The nurse told me that one of her patients was a tinsmith against his will. He wanted to be a carpenter. I should have mentioned earlier that as far as is convenient the boys get their choice of trade.

7.727The Visitor’s question deserves to be answered. Were the Brothers using the boys as child labour, or were they genuinely training the boys for trades that would give them a chance of finding employment? This was an issue identified by the Cussen Report as being problematic as far back as 1936.

7.728The evidence is mixed. The majority of boys did not get jobs for which they had received training. Farming was the main activity to which boys were assigned in Artane, despite the majority coming from the city, and not surprisingly they tended to return to urban living. Boys who were taken on by farmers were let go once they were old enough to be paid full wages. As the Visitor had predicted, in later years they felt resentment that they had been used as child labour.

7.729Some boys did enter trades for which they had been trained, and they spoke well of Artane. A complainant sent to Artane in the mid-1940s, who was trained as a decorator, was extremely complimentary of the quality of training that he received. Another complainant from this era, who was trained as a tailor, praised his lay instructor for the high standard of instruction. A witness who was committed to Artane in the early 1950s, and remained there for five years, was placed in the band where he played the drums in his last two years. He had very happy memories of his time with the band and was very complimentary of the Brother in charge.

7.730A respondent who spent five years in Artane from the late 1950s gave evidence that the Superior and another Brother interviewed boys to see what areas they were interested in and, if they could facilitate their choices, they generally did so.

7.731The Investigation Committee, however, heard many complaints that boys could not enter the trade they wanted. The low demand for farm training and the high level of farm work that needed to be done meant that many boys found themselves in farming, despite expressing preferences for other trades. Most of the boys worked on the farm, and there was no doubt that the main purpose of this work was to provide food and an income for the Institution.

7.732Some boys were put into trades that had become obsolete, such as weaving and tailoring. One complainant explained: ‘Mass production was coming in and it was nearly all machinists … Where once a tailor cut one suit, now they could cut 100 suits’.

7.733Even when the trade was a needed one, there were problems. Br David Gibson explained at the public hearing on 16^th June 2005 into Letterfrack:

[The children] weren’t going through the normal apprenticeship and therefore when it came to them continuing their training, the training that they had already received was not accepted by the unions … There was an inherent difficulty in the training that the young people were getting.

7.734This issue was raised in the Cussen Report, but nothing was ever done to resolve it. The status quo was just accepted by both the Department and the Congregation and, as a result, boys trained in Artane continued to face real problems finding employment to suit their skills.

7.735In conclusion:

• The Christian Brothers assumed a responsibility to provide training and they failed to do so for many of their pupils.
• Industrial training was a key objective of the system and the largest industrial school in the country should have provided it to a high standard but training was, to a large extent, only a by-product of work that met the needs of the Institution.
• In an era of high unemployment, it would have been impossible to place all the boys in jobs, and it would be unreasonable to criticise the Christian Brothers for failing in this regard. In many respects, they achieved a high level of employment for their school leavers. However, much of this employment was menial and exploitative and, for some, led to a lifetime of such work.

The Artane Boys Band

7.736Fr Henry Moore stated in his report to Archbishop McQuaid in 1962 that ‘in my opinion the band is the only worthwhile achievement of the school’.

7.737The band performed regularly in Croke Park at major GAA fixtures. They also toured the length and breadth of the country and broadcast shows on radio. The high point of their fame saw them perform at venues in New York and Boston, in May 1962, and included a television performance.

7.738According to the Congregation, by the 1960s, approximately 80 boys were involved in the band at some level. This was a much higher number than in previous decades, when the participation was as low as 40 boys.

7.739According to Fr Moore:

The time used, the money spent, the number of engagements annually met are, I fear, out of all proportion to the results obtained. The maintenance of the band, although approximating £2,000 annually, is a continual strain on financial resources.

7.740A Visitation Report in 1957 painted a different picture and stated that the band was on a ‘sure financial footing and more than paying its way’. Visitation Reports also reveal that, in 1938, the School received £215 in payments for band performances. It was operating at a loss in the early 1940s. By 1957, the band was earning the School just under £900 per annum.

7.741Fr Moore also expressed concern at the effect that participation in the band had on the boys’ education. In 1946, the Resident Manager had obtained sanction from the Department of Education to credit the time the boys spent attending broadcasts and performances as part of their school attendance. Fr Moore believed that the boys’ education suffered as a result of prolonged hours of band practice and days missed from school attending performances. He found little evidence to suggest that even a small number of boys continued their musical career upon leaving school.

7.742Br Vailant told the Investigation Committee that life in Artane tended to revolve around the band and that the needs of the band took priority.

7.743The boys who toured with the band stayed with families in the locality. They were taught table etiquette and instructed on ‘how to behave themselves in a decent home’. Their behaviour on tour did a ‘tremendous amount to win admirers for Artane and to counteract the smear campaign that would appear to be the settled policy of certain sections of the public Press,’ according to the Visitor in 1957.

7.744Some of the boys who formed part of the band went on to make a career in the Army band. Almost all of the complainants who were in it and gave evidence to the Investigation Committee gave positive feedback regarding their experience with the band. One complainant stated that he was treated very well in the band, and that the majority of boys in the band had been transferred to Artane from convent industrial schools.

7.745

• Participation in the band could be a positive experience for the boys involved, and it was an extraordinary achievement and an illustration of what could be achieved with proper direction and training. Boys who were part of the band fared better in Artane and afterwards.
• Boys who were not in the band missed an important part of the life of the Institution. The band absorbed a huge amount of time and energy, and similar efforts should have been directed at improving conditions for all the boys.
• The band was the public face of Artane, and members of the public would have been reassured when seeing the boys performing that they were receiving good care and education, but in fact the band did not represent the reality for most boys in Artane.

Recreation

7.746One of the more disturbing images of Artane that was presented to the Committee was the plight of the boys during recreation periods. Weather in Dublin is often cold, wet and windy and, until 1965, there was no proper indoor recreation facility where they could play. A barn-like structure had been erected in the mid-1940s, that had no walls and a tin roof, and which barely fitted the hundreds of boys. Dr McCabe formed part of a tripartite inspection team that carried out a two-day inspection of Artane in December 1962. On the issue of recreation, the inspection team stated:

He [the Resident Manager] deplored the money spent by a predecessor on the erection of a huge play-shelter of hay-shed design which gave cover overhead but absolutely no protection from wind or cold. This indeed was a hopeless attempt at planning and a waste of money … The recreation hall is a long cement-floored room, uncared for, dismal, depressing and dirty and with no redeeming feature whatsoever. The school classrooms are of the same ramshackle type … demolition is probably the only solution.

7.747Visitation Reports had identified the lack of proper recreational facilities from the early 1940s, but no improvements were effected until the mid-1960s. This directly impacted on the daily lives of the boys in Artane and should not have taken over 20 years to address.

7.748Games and sports were part of the day in Artane. Teams were fielded in GAA events throughout Leinster. These teams reached a high standard of proficiency, and boys with a talent for sport had a more positive experience in Artane than boys who had not. In general, the Committee did not hear much evidence from these boys, although some did attend hearings and were able to distinguish the experiences with teams from other experiences in Artane.

7.749The Brothers put a considerable effort into training teams for matches with other schools and playing outdoor games. However, the lack of indoor recreational facilities represented a severe deprivation.

Aftercare

7.750In 1947, the Department of Education wrote to the Resident Manager seeking information on the aftercare provided, following a query by the Joint Committee of Women’s Societies and Social Workers. The Resident Manager responded, confirming that a Brother was assigned on a full-time basis to deal with aftercare. Another Brother helped out in cases where boys had ‘slipped and fallen’. The Resident Manager stated that he himself settled difficult cases, which had meant ‘travelling as far as Leitrim, Westmeath, Wicklow etc’.

7.751Contact was maintained with the boys by way of letters and visits. When boys were sent to the country, the Parish Priest of the town was informed and asked to ‘take a paternal interest in the boys … Kind and encouraging replies to these requests are invariably received’. He also confirmed that the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Dublin were being encouraged to include past pupils as beneficiaries of their work. It was hoped that eventually this would become a nationwide initiative:

Boys who have lost employment are helped to find new employment when practicable. On a number of occasions when it was considered necessary and advisable boys have been recalled and retained for a further period in the School.

7.752Although Dr Lysaght was informed that the Manager placed the boys in suitable jobs upon discharge, ensured that they were properly treated, and if they left a job, found them another, he still expressed concern. He commented:

this while outside the province of the School and Dept. of Education would seem an essential part of the support of young boys to make their way in the world. It can well be the case that all the time and care given them in the schools can be of no avail unless they are safeguarded during the first year or two after leaving.

7.753He was told a Brother was assigned to visit the boys and keep in contact with them. Many of those who trained in the band found work in the Army bands; others were placed to work in hotels or in houses of religious orders. In fact, the vast majority of the boys did not go into such employment, but were sent as farm hands all over the country.

7.754A common theme amongst the complainants committed to Artane is that Brothers were never in direct contact with them once they left Artane. When records were put to them that the Brothers did make enquiries with their employers to check their progress, they accepted this was true, but as far as they were concerned once they walked through the gates of Artane for the last time, they were very much on their own in the world.

7.755Another common thread running through the testimony was that the boys were placed in low-income or, indeed, no-income jobs that offered no stability: they tended to move from job to job. Some complainants did fare well in later life, but they felt that this was despite, rather than because of, their experience in Artane, or indeed any assistance they received from the Brothers on leaving Artane.

7.756One witness, who left Artane in the mid-1940s, went to work on a farm in County Laois. He worked seven days a week and slept in a hayloft above the horses. He earned up to 10 shillings a week. He moved from this job to another farm in the area where he was treated better, and from there he moved to another farm before moving back to Dublin. He was not aware that the Brothers were checking up on his progress, as revealed in the records.

7.757Another witness, who left Artane in the early 1950s, was also sent to a farm in Athlone. He was not paid the 12 shillings a week promised to him and had to beg for money to go to the cinema. He eventually went back to Artane where he was told that he was a failure. He stayed there for a while, working on the farm for which he received no payment. He went from there to work for a butcher in Roscommon, where he was treated well. He was told not to tell anyone that he had come from Artane, but instead to say that he had worked with a wealthy family in Wicklow. When news leaked as to his true origin, he felt compelled to leave. His employment history after that involved a succession of low-paid, menial jobs.

7.758One witness, who left Artane in the late 1950s, remarked that when he was discharged, ‘I wasn’t able for the outside world’. A complainant who left Artane 11 years later expressed the same sentiment, ‘Based on up to the time I left, I don’t think that I was prepared for the outside world, to be honest with you’. Another witness said very simply, ‘I lost a little bit of faith because after I came out I realised about life, that life wasn’t as simple as it was in Artane’.

7.759A witness who was sent to Artane in the late 1950s stated that he spent three years training as a wood machinist, which he thoroughly enjoyed. When the time came for him to leave Artane, he was told that a job had been secured for him on a farm in Tipperary. When he queried why he was being sent to a farm rather than to a position suited to his training, he was told that that was all he was fit for. He refused to go to the farm and found himself a job.

7.760Another witness, who left Artane in the late 1950s, was placed with a butcher in Co Leitrim after being trained as a weaver: ‘Even today I can’t understand they trained me as a weaver and they gave me a job as a butcher’. He received no monetary payment, and instead was given clothing from a market every month. He continued, ‘I asked to go back, I was there for about a year and I asked if I could go back to Artane, of all places to go back to, but it was the only place I knew’. He stated that he never received any direct communications from the Brothers whilst in Leitrim, and was surprised to learn that they had been in contact with his employer. The Brothers found him another job as a chef in Dublin.

7.761A witness, who was discharged from Artane at the age of 16 in the mid-1960s, was sent to work on a poultry farm, having received training in this area. He stayed there for two years and was very badly treated: ‘I was given less than 2 a week, I was hardly being fed, and kicked like a football’. However, he said, it was better than life in Artane.

7.762Another witness said:

We were not trained in how to live amongst society, we were brought up in a society where we all had to fight to keep our corner and stand up to bigger boys who bullied you or tried to get you to do things that you didn’t want to do, take your food off the table or whatever. So it was a constant battle to stand up and be counted or be put down, one or the other. Unfortunately that’s the way my life went in the early part of my years from Artane. It was always the same, I always thought people were talking about me, people were ganging up on me and I would lose my head. I would just lash out and hit people.

7.763A respondent, who worked in Artane in the 1950s, gave evidence that echoed the evidence of the complainants. On the one hand, he believed the boys were looked after in terms of education, training and food, but he questioned how well prepared they were for life after leaving Artane.

7.764Mr Dunleavy commented on aftercare:

The provision of after care was one of the statutory requirements of the industrial school system, and the School was supposed to have some regard to the welfare of its former pupils until they attained 18 years of age. In practice both archival records and interviews with Christian Brothers who worked at Artane indicate that aftercare, such as it was, was a very hit-or-miss affair. The Brother in charge of aftercare was responsible for trying to secure full or licensed employment for the boys and then monitoring their progress, usually for two years. In practice employers made representations to the Brother responsible for aftercare and if they were considered suitable, boys were assigned to work for them. Boys were often left unmonitored in their new positions and the only information the school had in relation to them was that provided by the boys themselves should they choose to write to the School during the early course of their employment. The low priority with which aftercare was regarded is indicated by the fact that of the two Brothers who were in charge for many years, Br. Colbert was quite an elderly man while Br. Leon was known to be an extreme eccentric, and neither man was even provided with the services of a motor car to attempt to visit the boys who were to be found in employment throughout the country.

7.765In conclusion:

• The objective of aftercare was to ensure the welfare of the boys following their discharge from Artane. It was often conducted, however, without direct contact with them. It would appear that post-discharge inquiries were conducted mainly with employers, to establish their satisfaction with the boy.
• Insofar as aftercare did occur, and subject to the limitations set out above, it was more extensive than the ex-residents were aware of. Many were surprised when they saw documentation showing the level of contact maintained between the School and their employer.
• Direct communication with boys who had left Artane would have had a positive impact. Failure to provide more of it represented a missed opportunity to extend support and encouragement to boys after discharge.

Health

7.766Dr Anna McCabe carried out General and Medical Inspections of Artane between 1939 and 1963. Before she resigned from her position in 1965, she prepared a report on the industrial and reformatory schools system in Ireland dated 29^th February 1964, in which she made specific reference to Artane. Although critical of specific aspects of care in Artane, Dr McCabe was complimentary of the overall management of the Institution. She regarded the School as very well run, and described the boys as healthy and well looked after. She was satisfied with the medical care available to the School, which she noted involved weekly visits from a GP and regular attendances by a dentist.

7.767Scabies and chilblains were identified as problems in the 1940s and, in 1944, with 100 cases of scabies identified by Dr McCabe, she expressed her dissatisfaction with the medical record-keeping in the School, as very few records were kept at all.

7.768In 1946, Br Tyce wrote to Dr McCabe on behalf of the Disciplinarian, requesting permission for the height and weight of the boys to be measured every six months rather than every three months as ‘it is very troublesome here on account of the very large number of boys; and it affects the different departments of the Institution’. He received a terse response from Dr McCabe dismissing the proposal. By 1948, Dr McCabe noted with satisfaction that the medical records were well kept.

7.769After another criticism of record-keeping in the mid-1950s, her Report of 1958 recorded that she was satisfied in this regard. She also noted that the children were examined by medical personnel from Dublin Corporation, which ensured that they could avail of free ophthalmologist and dental care funded by the local authority. However, while the local authority carried out medical examinations on all of the boys, it was only prepared to pay for spectacles and dental treatment required by boys from Dublin. In her 1956 Report she suggested that the dentist be requested to fill teeth rather than extract them.

7.770In the early 1960s, a high proportion of children were treated in the School infirmary compared to the numbers sent to hospital. Also of interest during this period was a significant number of boys classed as noticeably below average physique.

7.771Mr Dunleavy’s report observed that the infirmary was run ‘in a somewhat haphazard manner’:

When qualified staff left the infirmary they were not replaced and indeed a Christian Brother who was suffering from mental illness at the time was placed in charge of the infirmary.

7.772He referred to the situation that arose in 1959, and which is recorded in the annals, when the nurse handed in her notice and it ‘was decided not to replace her but instead to hand over the running of the infirmary to a member of the Community’. Mr Dunleavy also cited the Visitation Report for late 1959, which states:

The arrival of Br Danton,⁸⁶ who is a mental case, created the problem of trying to get him something to do … He was tried in charge of the infirmary but had little or no control over the children and would even send them to the medicine chest to get their own medicines.

7.773His interviews with Christian Brothers confirmed that the infirmary was run in an amateur fashion.

7.774At the public Phase I hearing, Br Reynolds commented on Br Danton’s appointment to the infirmary. He rejected the Visitor’s description of the Brother’s mental condition, and he did not appear to regard it as a major example of incompetence or failure of care. He said:

I would say a number of things about it. First of all, obviously I know who the Brother was, I knew the Brother and I would not agree with the description of the Visitor, but so be it. Secondly, I would say that he wasn’t a teaching Brother and I don’t think the criticism was in relation to the mental soundness of the person. I think the main criticism was here was somebody that was sent in and he does not seem to be able to fulfil any role, so essentially I think the Visitation Report said that he was a negative quantity in the place. I would take that certainly I presume not in the community and from religious observance, but from the point of view that his work rate wasn’t very good and his contribution wasn’t adequate in the eyes of the Visitor. As you wisely say, why not take him out. The simple fact of the matter was he was left there, they tried him in a number of situations, they didn’t work and eventually he was moved on. During part of that time incidentally, the Brother in question was studying in university, he wasn’t a full-time member of the staff.

7.775Dr Lysaght had visited the School in Spring 1966 and was critical of the medical record-keeping. He revisited in September and noted that record-keeping had improved. He noted that the boys’ weight and height were recorded every quarter, by their teachers in class, to cause minimum disruption. He said that, ‘In general the boys impressed me as healthy, well nourished and physically fit’. He carried out a spot check on a sample of boys and found a large number had tooth decay. Dr Lysaght recommended that a dentist by assigned to the School but, again, the issue of who would pay for the service was raised.

7.776Many witnesses complained about the medical care they were given. One complainant, who was in Artane in the 1940s, stated that the doctor visited approximately every six months. All of the boys stood out on parade, and the doctor, accompanied by a Brother, walked up and down between the rows of boys. That was the extent of the examination. Other complainants have confirmed this practice.

7.777A complainant who was committed to Artane for six years in 1945 recalled being told to go to the infirmary a number of times for various ailments. He never went, and nobody ever checked whether he had in fact attended. He gave his reason for not attending: ‘All screaming in there. The things I have heard about that place. I can’t remember it now. I was never actually in it’.

7.778A complainant committed to Artane in the early 1940s recalled many of the boys had scabs on their faces. His mother took him out for the day and, on seeing the state of his face, she bought him some salving cream. This complainant, who was 10 when he was sent to Artane, stated that he was never examined by a doctor or nurse during his four years there.

7.779Another former pupil, who spent seven years in Artane during the 1940s, stated that he had never received a routine check-up in Artane. The same complainant stated that he grew more than a foot in height in the 12 months after being discharged from Artane, because he received proper medical attention for the first time.

7.780One witness, who spent seven years in Artane from 1946, described the treatment he received for a serious injury he sustained to all of the fingers on one hand, as a result of an accident during training in the carpentry workshop. He stated that sulphur was poured over his wounds and he used to pass out with the pain. He was kept in the infirmary for quite some time, but did not see a doctor. He stated that, in his seven years in Artane, he only saw the doctor once when there was an outbreak of diarrhoea in the School.

7.781In an interview given in the late 1980s, Br Burcet described how hard he had to work there. He said that, on one occasion, 100 boys contracted influenza, and he was on his own in the dormitory looking after them. He described the utter exhaustion he felt at the end of the outbreak. Looked at from the perspective of the boys, one Brother in charge of 100 seriously ill boys was not an adequate standard of care. Whilst the tireless and selfless endeavours of the Brother in question are to be commended, the system that placed both him and the boys in such a situation must be condemned.

General observations on Departmental Inspections

7.782The Congregation stated that the overall judgement of Dr McCabe on Artane was positive. In some respects, this is correct, but an analysis of Dr McCabe’s reports reveals that she was impressed at the scale of the enterprise of Artane and the way a small number of Brothers managed the vast number of boys, rather than with the standard of care the boys received. Much of her comment was aspirational rather than factual. Rather than record conditions as they were, she tended to rely on promises that there would be improvements in the future. Successive Resident Managers did not inform the Department of Education as to the true financial position of the Institution, with the result that conditions were tolerated by the Inspector, in the belief that the Institution was barely surviving on the funding it received when she should have insisted on immediate changes.

Conclusions on neglect

7.7831.Food: mealtimes were not properly supervised, and young or timid boys were bullied. Facilities for preparing and serving food for the boys were primitive.

2.Clothing: clothing was poor, patched and institutional, and the repeated criticism by the Department Inspector was to no avail, despite a healthy surplus in the School accounts. Underwear inspections in public were unjustified and degrading.

3.Accommodation and hygiene: accommodation was generally poor. Toilet facilities were primitive until 1953.

4.Education: the Christian Brothers condemn the Department of Education for failing to cater for educationally backward children in Artane, but the Congregation is also to be criticised for its failure to provide secondary education to many of the intelligent and able boys who passed through Artane.

5.Training: industrial training was a key objective of the system and, as the biggest industrial school, Artane >should have provided a high standard. However, training was only an offshoot of work that met the needs of the Institution.

6.The Band: boys who were in the band had better experiences of Artane than those who were not, and participation for some was a positive experience. The band was an extraordinary success and illustrated what the boys could accomplish with proper training.

7.Recreation: the Brothers put a considerable effort into training teams for matches with other schools and playing outdoor games, but the lack of indoor recreational facilities was a severe deprivation.

8.Aftercare: the purpose of aftercare was to ensure boys’ welfare, but direct contact was not thought to be essential, and it was often conducted only with employers to establish their level of satisfaction. It was, nevertheless, at a higher level than the ex-residents were aware of, and many were surprised at the level of contact maintained between the School and their employers.

Fr Henry Moore

7.784Fr Henry Moore spent nine years in St Vincent’s Orphanage, Glasnevin, an institution run by the Christian Brothers, before he entered the priesthood. His first appointment, to the parish of Coolock, included the position of chaplain in Artane, which he held from 1960 until 1967. He prepared a confidential report on the School in July 1962 at the request of the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr McQuaid. His report was severely critical of the organisation and management of the Institution. Contrasting conclusions on the Institution were expressed in three reports written by Department of Education personnel, after they carried out an unannounced inspection of the School in December that year. The most senior official concluded that the School emerged very creditably from the inspection. The two approaches were analysed in depth at meetings of an Inter-Departmental Committee on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders in early 1963. Fr Moore gave evidence to the Investigation Committee, during which he reiterated and elaborated on the contents of his report. The Christian Brothers rely on the three reports from the Department of Education officials to defend the Institution against Fr Moore’s criticisms.

7.785Fr Moore’s report to the Archbishop said that, with 450 boys in the School, the only way it could be successfully managed was by breaking the number down into small units. He was critical of the way the boys were indiscriminately admitted to the School without regard to their circumstances, background or special needs. He was particularly uncomplimentary about the general atmosphere in the School and the consequences for the boys:

The very structure of the school is in dilapidated condition, colourless and uninspiring and reflects the interior spirit … The atmosphere is somewhat unreal, particularly in regard to lack of contact with the opposite sex and this unnatural situation in a group of 450 boys plus a staff of 40 men invariably leads to a degree of sexual maladjustment in the boys … The boys seem to be denied the opportunity of developing friendly and spontaneous characters; their impulses become suffocated and when they are suddenly liberated their reactions are often violent and irresponsible.

7.786Fr Moore criticised the rigid and severe discipline in Artane, where every activity was marshalled and which he thought often approached pure regimentation:

Constant recourse to physical punishment breeds undue fear and anxiety. The personality of the boy is inevitably repressed, maladjusted, and in some cases, abnormal. Their liberty is so restricted that all initiative and self esteem suffers.

7.787In addition to its general condemnation of the regime, the report made detailed criticisms of the care provided in Artane under the headings of diet, apparel, medical attention, religious observance, education, technical instruction, and aftercare.

7.788In comments on the boys’ clothes, for example, Fr Moore thought that this aspect of care was ‘grossly neglected’ and had adverse consequences:

A boy’s personal clothing is as much the property of his neighbour. Shirts, underwear (vests are not worn), stockings, footwear, nightshirts (no pyjamas) are all common property and are handed down from generations. When these articles are duly laundered they are distributed at random, sometimes without regard to size.

7.789Stockings and shirts were replaced once a week, underwear once a fortnight. There was no change of clothing in summer, and the boys wore hob-nailed boots and heavy clothes all year round. In contrast, he was impressed when he visited the Industrial School in Salthill, also run by the Christian Brothers, and saw that the boys there ‘were attired appropriately and inexpensively for the summer season.’

7.790Overall, Fr Moore suggested ‘a reappraisal of the system at governmental level … and a major reform in the management of Artane’. He strongly recommended the introduction of female staff to the School and the renaming of the School to that of a patron saint, in order to remove the public misconception that Artane was in some way associated with the prison system.

7.791In summary, the report concluded that Artane required drastic revision as ‘the methods employed are obsolete, proper training is neglected and there is no attempt at adequate rehabilitation’.

7.792Fr Moore learned about an Inter-Departmental Committee that was considering submissions in relation to Industrial and Reformatory Schools and he contacted the Chairman, Mr Peter Berry, who was the Secretary of the Department of Justice. A meeting took place on 26^th November 1962 attended by Fr Moore, Mr Berry and the Secretary to the Committee, Mr Toal. Fr Moore’s criticisms, as summarised in the minutes, included the following: the absence of aftercare; a big percentage of boys needed psychiatric treatment which was not available; a psychologist was also required; many of the boys were institutionalised from babyhood until 16 years; the educational standard was very low; trade training was poor and did not lead to jobs in those callings and boys ended up in dead end jobs; neglect in regard to clothing, bed clothes, food and medical care; the Manager was unsuitable and ‘an unwilling captain’; and the Institution was short of money. At Mr Berry’s request, Fr Moore agreed to attend a meeting with Dr Ó Raifeartaigh, Secretary of the Department of Education.

7.793This meeting took place on 13^th December 1962. Dr Ó Raifeartaigh gave Fr Moore a very different reception to the one he received from Mr Berry and vigorously cross-examined him on the minutes of the November meeting. He accused Fr Moore of being inaccurate as regards certain salient facts and effectively suggested that he had a vendetta against the Christian Brothers. Fr Moore was shaken after the encounter, and wrote to the Archbishop the following day, informing him that the meeting had been ‘a most humiliating and embarrassing experience’. Mr Berry was quick to distance himself from the stance adopted by the Secretary of the Department of Education and wrote to the latter reproving him on his hostile interrogation of Fr Moore.

7.794The upshot of the December meeting was that the Secretary of the Department of Education ordered an unannounced inspection of Artane by three senior Department personnel. They were requested to focus on food, clothing and management in general: ‘they should state the facts reasonably and with discretion – good and bad to be included’. The inspection took place over two days on 20^th and 21^st December and each inspector furnished a report.

7.795Mr Seamus Mac Uaid, Higher Executive Officer, wrote the principal report, which was described by the Chairman, Mr Berry, as ‘a model of its kind’. The general conclusion of the report was reassuring to the Department, but many of the detailed observations did not differ significantly from Fr Moore’s. The writer began with a summary of his findings:

it is my opinion that the boys in Artane Industrial School are well fed, warmly clothed, comfortably bedded and treated with kindness by the Christian Brothers in an atmosphere conducive to their spiritual and physical development. I believe, however, that boys should not be reared away from the refining influence of women and am convinced that the introduction of female assistance at key points in the management would render more effective the work of the institution.

7.796He described Artane as:

a massive pile standing on rising ground … erected in the 1870’s with all the solidity of the period and an extravagance of space that makes a nightmare of maintenance in modern times.

7.797A feature of this report is the frequent reference to the desirability of involving women in the work of the Institution, and how male standards compared unfavourably with female ones in respect of care of children. Mr Mac Uaid cited the example of the kitchen, which was staffed by one Brother and five older boys and which had recently been modernised, at a cost of £25,000:

The standards of cleanliness, cooking and presentation of the food were high but they were male standards and lacked the finishing touches which woman alone can provide in this particular domain.

7.798The aprons worn by kitchen staff were dirty, the plates were slightly greasy and not dried properly, and it would be preferable if dessert were served on a delph plate rather than the enamel plates used. However:

from observation and the questions asked of the boys, I am satisfied that the children are well fed and empty plates bore testimony to the quality of the food.

7.799Whilst he was satisfied with the menu for the two days of the inspection, he did note the absence of butter from all meals.

7.800The report described in turn: the food given to the boys and the cooking and dining facilities; the dormitories; the boys’ clothing; the laundry; the washing facilities; games and recreation; education and training; aftercare; the farm; holidays; and the general atmosphere. The overall conclusion was that:

Artane emerged from the inspection with credit. Within the limitations of an inherited system which favoured big schools, all male management and a public purse that had to be prised open at times, the Superior, Br Ourson, is doing a good job in providing for the spiritual, educational and physical needs of the boys entrusted to his care.

7.801The writer commended him on the improvements he had made to the School, in particular to the kitchen and classrooms. He recommended the following innovations, which the Manager had no objection to, provided that they were funded by the Department:

1.Introduction of a small community of nuns to provide much-needed female influence on various aspects of industrial school life.

2.Creation of two separate schools for junior and senior boys.

3.Establishment of a hostel for boys leaving Artane who had been abandoned or orphaned.

7.802Dr McCabe reported her complete satisfaction with the medical facilities, treatment and monitoring provided in Artane. She referred to her own regular medical and general inspections and medical checks carried out every two years by the local authority. She commended the hygiene and said that the boys’ diet was very good. The dormitories were ‘large, airy spacious and very well maintained’. Dr McCabe concluded:

I would also wish to state that there is a most pleasant relationship between the Brothers and their care and I have never met with any fear on the boy’s behalf of those in charge of them.

7.803In his short covering report, the most senior inspector, Mr MacDaibhid, Assistant Principal Officer and Inspector in charge of industrial schools, endorsed the reports of his colleagues and added:

To sum up I would say that the school emerged very creditably from the inspection. No serious fault could be found in Artane and the impression of the “big happy family” atmosphere which pervaded the entire institution was inescapable. Atmosphere in such a school is all-important. Minor adverse criticisms only could be levelled at the school.

7.804In the course of his report, Mr MacDaibhid mentioned that the ‘overcoats supplied by the School are raincoats only, 412 of which were ordered in December’. Mr MacUaid disclosed in his report that the number of boys in residence was 413, which means that outer garments for all the boys were being procured. The provision of overcoats for the boys was a matter of controversy in the questioning of Fr Moore by counsel for the Christian Brothers. This report suggests that these raincoats were being ordered for the first time, and it does not disprove Fr Moore’s report.

7.805Mr MacDaibhid concluded:

Having passed strictures on Bro Ourson in the past, I must say that he emerged from this inspection with, in my opinion, much improved stature, his previous weakness being an apparently casual disregard for the authority of the Department.

7.806The Department Inspection Reports on Artane were considered by the Inter-Departmental Committee in March and again in May 1963. The Committee ‘could not agree’ that the School had emerged commendably from the inspections, or that the praise accorded to the management was deserved. Mr MacDaibhid continued to assert that the criticisms noted in the MacUaid report were minor and were applicable to all industrial schools, although he did concede that there was a need for more money, which was true of industrial schools generally. Dr McCabe’s report on the School ‘was noted’. Ultimately, the Committee agreed to bring the criticisms noted by Mr MacUaid and recorded in the minutes of the March meeting to the attention of the Minister for Education.

7.807The relevant part of the minutes is introduced by the statement that the MacUaid report ‘was then considered paragraph by paragraph, the Chairman indicating the many ways in which the criticisms corresponded to what Fr Moore had said’ and goes on:

The Report makes these criticisms for instance:-

“that boys should not be reared away from the refining influence of women;

“the necessity for having female assistants at key points in the institution;

“there is an extravagance of space which makes a nightmare of maintenance (of Artane) in modern times;

“nowhere else was I more forcibly struck by the criticism that Artane is too big than in this vast dining hall among 400 youngsters … The fact that the dining hall was designed to accommodate several hundred more than the number present added to the impression that the charge “institutionalised” could not be defended here;

“it is essential that a woman qualified in domestic economy and with a female assistant, be placed in charge of the kitchen and dining hall;

“the standards here (in the dormitories) were male standards … the furnishing of a dormitory is a woman’s role which man cannot adequately fill;

“the clothes in most cases were of the rough type tweed in the familiar poor-house colours … automatically identifying the wearers … The Sunday clothes were … equally drab in colour and unimaginative in pattern … a woman with ideas could do really good work in the school workshop …

“add to this shirts buttoned or unbuttoned at the neck and no ties and even the most presentable boys are handicapped in appearance;

“on paper this (each boy’s issue of clothes) looks a generous issue but it is not supported by the appearance of the boys;

“the same general criticisms are made of the laundry which is described as being old-fashioned in methods and machinery;

“he (the Dean of discipline) is too young for an exacting job that requires maturity, had little experience of the city type prior to his appointment as disciplinarian;

“in response to the suggestion that a course in psychology in U.C.D. would help in an office of this important kind he (the Superior) replied that the question had never been examined by the Order;

“the play-yard was disappointing, its surface uneven and puddle-holed contributing in turn to dirty boots and shoes and spattered legs;

“the recreation hall is a long cement-floored room, uncared for, dismal, depressing and dirty and with no redeeming feature whatsoever … The school classroom one of the same ramshackle type …

“the Superior drew attention to the lack of a satisfactory hostel for orphans or abandoned boys leaving Artane at 16 years;

“the absence of a hostel for post industrial school boys with no homes to go to is a weakness in the system of aftercare which I think the Department should try to rectify;

“12 boys (out of 150 eligible) were entered for the M.T. Group Certificate … in June, 1962 but all failed … this Branch will pursue this unsatisfactory performance with our Technical Instruction Branch;

“the Resident Manager very seldom applies for the retention of boys until the age of 17 years to continue their secondary or technical school studies and the replies given by the Bursar in defence of this policy were vague and unsatisfactory;

“Cleanliness in the bakery was barely adequate and the white tunics of the apprentices could do with replacement”.

7.808The Committee also set out and approved general recommendations for change for industrial schools, many of which were influenced by the Moore and Department of Education inspections. The recommendations included the following:

(1)The term ‘industrial school’ should be abolished.

(2)Larger State grants should be made to industrial schools.

(3)Inspections should take place more frequently.

(4)Minimum standards regarding clothing, bedding etc should be prescribed by regulations.

(5)Adequate financial provision should be set aside for maintenance, repairs and appropriate recreational facilities.

(6)A matron/nurse should be appointed to each school.

(7)City children should not be committed for lengthy periods to country institutions.

(8)Firm links between institutions and the Probation Service should be established for the benefit of those leaving institutions.

(9)Visiting Committees should be set up for each industrial school and, where appropriate, Aftercare Committees.

7.809A specific recommendation was agreed regarding Artane that an educational psychologist should be appointed to the School.

7.810Although the Minister for Justice approved these recommendations, they were never implemented by the Department of Education which had that remit. Nevertheless, the proceedings of the Inter-Departmental Committee laid the foundations for the establishment of the Kennedy Committee in 1967.

7.811Before Dr Anna McCabe retired from her position as Medical Inspector, she furnished a General Report on Industrial and Reformatory Schools dated 29^th February 1964. She made specific reference to Fr Moore’s report, and stated that she was in substantial agreement with most of its contents. However, she rejected outright his findings regarding the boys’ clothing, diet and medical facilities available in the School, and she complimented Br Ourson on his management and attributed many improvements to his intervention.

7.812Fr Moore in evidence said that he called to the School every morning to say Mass. After breakfast, he returned to his parish and visited the School every afternoon for an hour or two, which he spent mostly in the recreation yard, infirmary and workshops.

7.813He was aware that Archbishop McQuaid was very unhappy with the state of affairs in Artane. He was concerned about the vastness of the Institution. Fr Moore believed that the Archbishop’s disquiet regarding Artane was motivated by a deep concern for the children. In 1962, when he was asked by the Archbishop to write a report regarding Artane, he did not feel any pressure to colour his report in line with the Archbishop’s trenchant views. In fact, the Archbishop’s opinion mirrored his own experience of Artane after two years’ working there. Fr Moore had become involved in the area of aftercare, much to the annoyance of the Brothers, he said. He worked with a youth club for former Artane boys run by the Legion of Mary, which highlighted to him the deficiencies in the provision of aftercare by the Brothers. He understood his purpose in writing the report was to present a global picture of his experience of Artane. He became aware subsequently that the Archbishop stated in correspondence with the Department of Justice that he had appointed Fr Moore to set about reforming Artane.

7.814Fr Moore visited the refectory for the purpose of his report and observed that ‘it was generally unruly. Boys sitting at tables snapping each other’s food, as it were, things like that. Pretty unruly I would have thought. Pretty crude’.

7.815He contrasted the appearance of Artane boys with their peers in the parish:

It is difficult to describe. I could use the one word, to me anyway, at the time they looked institutional. That’s a blanket sort of description but I discerned a certain difference in a boy who was institutionalised, in his pallor, in his gait, in his general appearance.

7.816He said that some of the Artane boys were most definitely undersized for their age.

7.817He stated that the boys told him that they had to pay for their overcoats and, as a result, most boys did not own one:

I would have noticed on wintry days in the schoolyard, for example, very cold, bleak area of north Dublin, it seemed to me that they were very cold and some of them had chilblains and they would have runny noses and using their sleeves to clean their noses and to me looked very cold and pretty miserable.

7.818The boys went for a walk most Sundays and, even in the depths of winter, they did not wear overcoats.

7.819He knew the Superior in St Joseph’s Industrial School, Salthill and visited him at the School. Salthill was a much smaller school than Artane but he was very impressed by the way in which Salthill was managed, ‘I thought Salthill was more civilised and more happier’.

7.820Fr Moore confirmed the evidence of a complainant who said that he had reported sexual abuse to Fr Moore when he was in Artane. The boy had confided in him that he had been sexually abused by Br Adrien who worked in the kitchen. Fr Moore had always found him to be personable and thought that he was popular with the boys. He had never experienced or heard of complaints of sexual impropriety during his own time as a pupil in St Vincent’s and this was the first time he had ever had to deal with such a matter. Fr Moore suggested that the boy go to the Superior, Br Ourson, about the matter, but he was reluctant to do so, as he felt that it would be perceived that he was telling tales on Br Adrien. Fr Moore offered to speak to Br Ourson. He immediately went to Br Ourson and told him the nature of the allegations made against Br Adrien who said that he would deal with the matter. Fr Moore also informed the Provincial, Br Mulholland, to reinforce the seriousness of the matter. Within days, Br Adrien was removed from Artane and transferred to another institution. His departure was not announced: he simply disappeared.

7.821He did receive another complaint, which he reported to Br Ourson, and the Brother was removed from the School.

7.822His observations regarding the standard of education were based on his own personal contact with the boys. He did not observe them in class or consult with teachers or the headmaster regarding their education, although he would have had informal conversations with them regarding education. Similarly, his finding regarding the medical facilities in the School was made without consultation with the local GP or the Brother in charge of the infirmary.

7.823As regards trades training, he observed:

My experience was the boys didn’t have a choice of which trade they were assigned to; wherever there was a shortage personnelwise in a trade perhaps. I don’t know the reason but they didn’t have a choice.

7.824An elderly Christian Brother was in charge of aftercare. He had to secure approximately 30 to 40 jobs per year. Most of the jobs were badly paid, menial jobs, and many of the boys were placed in positions for which they were not suited. A high proportion of boys emigrated.

7.825He was asked for his observations on the comment made by Department Inspector Mr MacDaibhid that Artane was one ‘big happy family’, and he replied that such an observation was a travesty.

7.826He had a good relationship with most of the Brothers. However:

there was a resistance to any intrusion in the affairs of the Institution of Artane by the Brothers in general. They seemed to me, autonomous in their management and they resented and resisted any interference from anybody in their work.

7.827Conditions did improve in Artane over his time there. Clothing and food improved, a swimming pool was installed and, most importantly, numbers were very much reduced. A community of nuns helped out in the School, introducing much-needed female influence. Aftercare improved with the opening of a hostel in Eccles Street by the Archbishop. Under cross-examination, he accepted that he was not aware of changes that the Brothers had initiated, such as the introduction of a remedial teacher and a psychological support service. Whenever the subject of Artane came up in conversation with the Archbishop after he had submitted his report, the Archbishop would mention the fact that he was working upon changing matters.

7.828In summary, he said:

Fundamentally I would have to say, my critique would be on the grounds of defective training in the emotional and psychological preparation for the after-life, for post-Artane days. I found boys were – they many times had an inability to negotiate everyday tasks like handling money, interpersonal relations. Now admittedly many, many of those I am talking about would have had long experience of institutional care before they came to Artane … I feel also that the environment was harsh, Dickensian and in my view extremely excessive in its administration of punishment and emotional deprivation. I think today that the many, many complainants of their bad experience of Artane would, in my view, validate everything I have said about it, and the Archbishop of Dublin.

7.829The Christian Brothers reject the conclusions drawn by Fr Moore in his report and in his evidence to the Investigation Committee. They contend that his evidence is unreliable, inaccurate and that it is contradicted by the contemporaneous Department reports and evidence from former Brothers. They submit that Fr Moore was a young, ambitious priest eager to please his Superior. He was well aware of the Archbishop’s attitude to Artane, who considered the Institution ‘the plague spot of his diocese’. They contend that Fr Moore’s report does not portray an objective analysis of Artane, but rather a biased account providing affirmation of the Archbishop’s views.

7.830The Congregation contends that Fr Moore had relatively little direct experience of day-to-day life in Artane. He did not live in the School, and therefore his observations are based on his visits to the School, which were limited to particular areas. They contend that his overall contact with the School would not enable him to come to informed conclusions on the manner in which the School was run.

7.831They cite, as an example of the shortcomings in Fr Moore’s research, his analysis of the boys’ diet. During his evidence to the Investigation Committee, it emerged that his conclusions on diet were based on one visit to the refectory, his general observations of the boys and the views of a doctor, who accompanied some of the boys on a camping trip, that they were undernourished and undersized. However, the report did not disclose the limited sources which led Fr Moore to his conclusions, but instead gave the impression that a comprehensive review and analysis of the nature and adequacy of the boys’ diet had taken place.

7.832Similarly, his conclusion regarding the low standard of education in Artane was based on illegible letters he received from former residents, and the Christian Brothers submit that such a flimsy basis for such an evaluation ‘is of no real value’. They also emphasise that Fr Moore was relatively young and inexperienced, with no teaching experience, and submit that all of these factors, when taken together, render his assessment unreliable.

7.833The Brothers in their Opening Statement on Artane said that Fr Moore was ‘both unprofessional and indiscreet in the manner in which he carried out his assignment’. Whilst he acknowledged in his covering letter to the Archbishop enclosing the report that his observations were restricted to his personal experience, he proceeded to offer his opinion on areas in which he clearly had no training or expertise. The Congregation contend that the statistics he presented were inaccurate and misleading.

7.834Similarly, his criticisms of the medical care in Artane have to be viewed in light of the fact that he had no medical training and did not discuss the matter with the GP who regularly attended the School.

7.835The Christian Brothers regard it as extraordinary that, whilst he had no difficulty in criticising the lack of experience of staff in the School, he had no doubts about his own ability to assess standards in the School, despite the fact that he had worked in the School on a part-time basis for less than two years.

7.836The Christian Brothers submit that, even where no expertise was required, Fr Moore’s report contains ‘glaring errors’. Most notable is his assertion that the boys had to pay for their own overcoats. The Investigation Committee heard evidence from a Brother who strongly rebutted this allegation, and none of the complainants who gave evidence raised it as an issue. One of the Department officials who conducted the inspection in December 1962 found that the boys had overcoats of sorts, although few wore them. The Christian Brothers submit that this glaring error must raise serious doubts over the accuracy of other aspects of the Moore report. On the other hand, the fact that an order for raincoats for all the boys had been placed in early December, prior to the surprise visit, makes it impossible to reject the evidence that boys did not have coats.

7.837The Moore report led to an unannounced two-day inspection of Artane by three Department of Education personnel. The Christian Brothers assert that this:

inspection was extremely thorough and comprehensive and that there appears to have been a genuine effort on the part of those compiling the report to present an accurate account of all aspects of life in Artane.

7.838They submit that what adds weight to the veracity of the Department reports is the fact that they criticise various aspects of the School where such criticism is warranted. The reports present an ‘honest and reliable account of a thorough inspection’, and ‘considerable weight ought to be attached to these reports’.

7.839In summary, the Christian Brothers submit that:

the Moore report was prepared on the basis of a superficial examination of the relevant circumstances by an inexperienced person who was not qualified to properly assess a number of the issues which he addressed and who probably prepared the report with the dominant purpose of confirming the Archbishop’s firmly expressed views rather than with the purpose of providing an accurate assessment of the school. In these circumstances, it is submitted that the Moore report cannot be relied on in making any findings on the state of matters in Artane at that time.

7.840The Christian Brothers submit that the evidence given by Fr Moore to the Investigation Committee copperfastens the view that his assessment of Artane is biased, inaccurate and unreliable. His evidence only serves to emphasise his limited contact with various aspects of life in Artane and his limited interaction with the Brothers. They regard as particularly significant the fact that he was completely unaware of the participation of a specialist team from the Mater Hospital in providing a psychological service for the boys in Artane before he relinquished his position as chaplain.

7.841The Brothers contend that Fr Moore’s assertion that the Archbishop was behind the initiative to introduce an Order of Sisters to the School is incorrect. They submit that contemporaneous correspondence makes it quite clear that the Brothers spearheaded this enterprise.

7.842The Congregation vigorously rebuts the claim by Fr Moore that the Brothers resisted and resented any interference in the School from outside bodies. On the contrary, it says, the Brothers actively sought the assistance of outside parties such as the Child Guidance Clinic at the Mater Hospital, the Godparents Guild and, in the mid-1960s, they employed a remedial teacher. It is submitted that the totality of the evidence demonstrates that the Christian Brothers were fully supportive of and co-operative with participation from outside parties.

7.843The Christian Brothers request that the Commission reject the findings made by Fr Moore. They conclude that he:

presented himself as a witness who had a particular insight into the workings of Artane and his position there as chaplain for seven years would, prima facie, suggest that he did have such an insight. However, an examination of his testimony, especially when viewed in the light of that of other witnesses suggests that his knowledge of Artane and of issues relevant to the care of the boys was, in fact, extremely superficial and that his recollection about a number of matters was completely incorrect.

7.844In conclusion:

• There were limitations on Fr Moore’s capacity to prepare a comprehensive report on Artane. The areas of the School with which he was most familiar were the Chapel, the yard and the trade schools. He visited the farm from time to time, but he did not go into classes or the dormitories or the refectory. He said that he visited the refectory on one occasion and similarly with the band room. He was in the hall more often. He did not speak to the Christian Brothers to get information for his report because he felt that that would endanger the confidentiality that was required.
• As to the question of bias, it is clear that Archbishop McQuaid was not an admirer of Artane as an institution. Fr Moore explained how, on a number of occasions, his mentor had expressed adverse views about the Industrial School. The two men kept in touch during the course of Fr Moore’s chaplaincy and his views did not surprise his superior. In the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Fr Moore was unlikely to have approached his task of reporting with a sympathetic eye. But at the time when he was requested to do so, he had been there for two years and had being briefing the Archbishop on the conditions. There was nothing to suggest that Fr Moore was bending his views to meet the preconceptions of the Archbishop during the period from 1960 to 1962 before he made his report. Neither is there any evidence to warrant the conclusion that the chaplain was deliberately or subconsciously manipulating the evidence so as to produce an adverse conclusion. Fr Moore’s opinions were formed because of his observations in the two years before he was asked to furnish his report.
• While Fr Moore’s information was inaccurate in some particulars, as the Brothers point out, the example they gave of the boys having to purchase overcoats, which they claimed ‘was clearly wrong’ and which, therefore called into question the reliability of the report in general is not borne out by an analysis of the documents.
• Most of Fr Moore’s information came from his own observations or from the boys themselves. As to what he himself saw, the Congregation does not challenge his evidence. But on his conclusions, based on what he was told by the boys, there is major conflict. It is nonetheless the case that Fr Moore is the only person who is able to report what the boys were saying during this time, or indeed at any other time. There is no record of anybody else, either official or Christian Brother, actually talking to the boys and recording what they said. Neither is there any evidence of somebody in a position to do that because of his relationship with the boys. In other words, Fr Moore was the only person who was in a position where boys felt able to confide in him. That in itself is a significant >comment on the Institution. The fact that a witness received information from the boys in Artane, even if some of it is shown to be wrong, can scarcely be regarded as a disqualification to give evidence about the Institution in the course of an inquiry like this.
• The Committee concluded that Fr Moore was not actuated by malicious intent or bias in regard to the Christian Brothers or to Artane. He was in a position to observe events and to form opinions, and he had valuable information to give the Committee. His report of 1962, his evidence to the Inter-Departmental Committee and his evidence to the Investigation Committee were honest attempts to describe the conditions in the Institution as Fr Moore saw them and found them and believed them to be, based on the information at his disposal.
• This witness was uniquely qualified to comment on conditions in Artane because of his personal experience of being a child in a residential institution run by the Christian Brothers.
• Fr Moore was a witness of integrity and accuracy, whose evidence and report were corroborated in substantial measure by other evidence, including Mr MacUaid’s findings, Mr Dunleavy’s report and convincing oral testimony of complainants and respondents.

General conclusions

7.8451.Artane used frequent and severe punishment to impose and enforce a regime of militaristic discipline. The policy of the School was rigid control by means of severe corporal punishment and fear of punishment. Such punishment was excessive and pervasive. The result of arbitrary and uncontrolled punishment was a climate of fear. All Brothers became implicated because they did not intervene or report excesses.

2.Sexual abuse of boys was a chronic problem in Artane. The documented and admitted cases show that for more than half of the 33 years under consideration there was at least one Brother in Artane who at some time engaged in sexual abuse of boys. Much more abuse occurred than is recorded in documents because of inadequate recording and reporting procedures and other causes of under-reporting. Sexual activity between boys was also common and there was a significant amount of predatory sexual behaviour by bigger boys on smaller, vulnerable ones.

3.Incidences of abuse were managed primarily with a view to protecting the Congregation and the Institution from the harm that would be done if sexual abuse by Brothers became public. This involved suppression of disclosure of abuse, failure to investigate properly and failure to report. The policy facilitated further abuse when offenders were transferred within the Congregation or permitted to leave in good standing.

4.Artane failed generally to provide for the emotional needs of the boys. At management level there was a lack of respect for the boys as individuals. One example was the humiliating practice of inspection of underwear in public.

5.The number of boys in Artane, the extreme regimentation of their lives, the lack of appropriate training of the Brothers, the insufficient numbers of staff and the pervasiveness of corporal punishment all had serious adverse effects on the welfare and emotional development of many of the children who passed through Artane. The climate of fear was a dominant memory, and practices used for management and control of the boys were frightening and abusive. It was a problem central to the whole system in Artane that the boys’ perspective was not taken into account. The Christian Brothers did not understand the impact of those practices.

6.Artane had sufficient income to provide for the boys’ physical needs but it failed to do so in many respects:

• Accommodation was generally poor. Toilet facilities were primitive until 1953.
• Facilities for preparing and serving food for the boys were primitive.
• Clothing was poor, patched and institutional, and the repeated criticism by the Department Inspector was to no avail, in spite of a healthy surplus in the School accounts.

7.Artane failed to cater for either educationally backward children or for those who were brighter. No effort was made to provide secondary education for boys who were capable of benefiting from it.

8.Industrial training was a key objective of the system and the biggest industrial school should have provided a high standard, but training was only an offshoot of work that met the needs of the Institution.

9.The success of the band illustrated what the boys could accomplish with proper training and adequate resources.

10.The Brothers put considerable effort into training teams for matches with other schools and playing outdoor games, but the lack of indoor recreational facilities was a severe deprivation.

11.Aftercare for the boys’ welfare required direct contact with them but it was often conducted only with employers to establish their level of satisfaction and not to see how the boys were doing. . Aftercare was better than ex-residents were aware of and many were surprised at the level of contact maintained between the School and their employers.

12.In regard to Artane the policy pursued by the Department of Education was to defend the system and the institution over which it presided. The Department inspected and supervised perfunctorily and neglected its obligations to the children.

13.The Department of Education and the Christian Brother management did not improve or change a system that was failing. Individual Brothers with a genuine calling and desire to care for and educate disadvantaged children found themselves in an institution that forced them to use methods of control that prevented the kind of care they could have given.

Appendix

Report by Ciaran Fahy (14^th March 2008)

1.0 Introduction

The purpose of this report is to describe the physical surroundings of Artane Industrial School with particular reference to the buildings. It is based on research carried out by Ciaran Fahy and Neil Gillespie during the course of which all of the relevant documentation in the possession of the CICA was examined. On 2^nd September 2005, Ciaran Fahy and Neil Gillespie visited Artane and met Br Michael Reynolds, Deputy Head of St Mary’s Province of the Irish Christian Brothers and also Mr Bushnell.⁸⁷ Br Reynolds taught in St David’s CBS Secondary School from about 1978 to 1984 and Mr Bushnell was a pupil in Artane.

In addition to the above, Ciaran Fahy visited the Christian Brother’s archive at Cluain Mhuire on the North Circular Road and some old photographs and maps were made available by the Christian Brothers and many of these are incorporated in this report. The following documents were provided and found to be of considerable assistance:

• – An Annual published in 1904 which was intended as a souvenir or record of the school. It was published 10 years after an earlier account appeared in the Illustrograph, a monthly illustrated paper.
• – The Christian Brother’s Educational Record 1927, relating to Artane Industrial School. This document which was compiled in 1927, contains a good deal of helpful information in relation to the early years of the school.
• – The Visitation Reports from 1940 to 1968. These annual reports were prepared by a senior member of the Christian Brothers who typically spent about a week in the school and reported on all aspects of its operation. These reports also focused on the Community of Brothers. The authors of them normally varied from year to year.
• – The Annals. These were prepared on an annual basis by the Resident Manager of the school and were intended to record the most important events which took place in that year.

The report is to be read in conjunction with four appendices drawing together various maps and photographs as follows:

• Appendix No 1: Maps/Drawings

This contains extracts from Ordnance Survey sheets showing the current layout taken from the Dublin Street Map as well as the layout in 1936. There is also a sketch of the main building prepared in 1944 together with a survey drawing of the same building prepared in 1990 when it was being partitioned.

• Appendix No 2: Aerial Photographs

This contains two aerial photographs provided by the Christian Brothers.

• Appendix No 3: Current Photographs

This contains photographs of the remaining buildings on the site taken recently. This comprises three buildings namely the main building, the Chapel and the refectory which is now used as the band school and occupied by the Artane School of Music which incorporates the well known Artane Band previously the Artane Boys Band.

• Appendix No 4: Archive Photographs

This contains archive photographs provided by the Christian Brothers extending back to 1900.

2.0 Background

2.1 Location

Artane Industrial School, the largest in the State, was founded in 1870 and closed in 1969. It was located in the north eastern suburbs of Dublin, five km from the GPO in an area that was originally open countryside and which is now built up. It was located on the western side of the Malahide Road (R107) and there was access to it from this via a main gate lodge and also from the Kilmore Road. There was extensive farmland associated with the institution and the bulk of this was contiguous to the buildings. This has now been disposed of and most if not all of it has been developed and in addition, only three of the original buildings are still in existence.

The general location of Artane Industrial School is shown in map 1, which is an extract from the current Ordnance Survey Street map of Dublin. The Malahide Road can be seen in the lower right hand corner running more or less diagonally and it intersects Collins Avenue and subsequently the Kilmore Road. The original main entrance into Artane was on the Malahide Road more or less opposite Killester Avenue and even in the current street map it is possible to see the outline of the avenue that ran from this to the main building which is still in existence and which is a long rectangular building parallel to the Malahide Road. This building is now used by St David’s CBS School which has operated at this location since 1973. There was a second entrance into the institution from Kilmore Road, not far from the point where it meets Skellys Lane and where the Artane Castle Shopping Centre has now been constructed. There are two further buildings which remain on the site and these are also coloured purple and located in this general area. The first of these is the chapel which is closest to the original main building while beyond this and also marked school is what was the refectory and is now the base for the Artane Music School.

The location of the school is also shown in map 2, which is an extract from the Ordnance Survey map prepared originally in 1936. It is possible to make out the Malahide Road in the lower right hand corner of the map and this intersects with Collins Avenue just before Donnycarney Bridge, which at that time was the city boundary. Map 3 is a blow-up of the earlier one and it shows the layout of the buildings with an indication of the use of each one imprinted in red. The main access from the Malahide Road is clearly visible as is the connection onto the Kilmore Road which passes through the farmyard.

2.2 Foundation

Artane Industrial School was founded in 1870 and consequently served as a replacement for a separate institution, St Mary’s at Inchicore which opened in 1869 but whose licence was withdrawn in March 1870. In June 1870, a proposed management committee wrote to the Chief Secretary for Ireland to the effect that Artane Castle plus 23 hectares of land had been purchased for the purpose of setting up an industrial school. Subsequent to this, the Inspector of Industrial Schools visited the site on 24^th June 1870 and found the premises to be well suited. The premises is described as consisting of a ‘large dwelling house with extensive out offices, garden, farmyard all standing on 56 statute acres (23 hectares) of rich arable land, well watered, sheltered by fine trees and enclosed on the north and east by a good wall’. The lands were purchased for £7,000 on 19^th July 1870 and it was proposed that additional buildings for dormitories, classrooms, etc., should be erected for a further £1,600.

The Christian Brothers had originally been looking for a Novitiate and had raised £2,000 for that purpose. Their search led them to the Artane site but by the time it was purchased its intended use had been changed. According to the 1927 report, the Christian Brothers used the £2,000 to fund the purchase with the balance of £5,000 as well as the cost of building being raised by public subscription.

The school was to be operated by the Christian Brothers under a management committee which was to include six of the committee of St Mary’s Industrial School, Inchicore and also another five members including Cardinal Cullen. The proposal was obviously successful and the school was licensed to accommodate 825 boys on 9^th July 1870.

The founder of Artane was Br T A Hoope who was its Manager from 1870 until 1890. The 1904 Annual speaks of Br Hoope initially providing for some 70 boys, ‘in a modest dwelling house and a partially dilapidated farmyard’. However, by the time the Annual was published in 1905, it speaks of buildings which cost over £60,000 having been erected at Artane.

2.3 Subsequent History

It is clear that from the outset that Artane developed rapidly and the number of boys built up to approximately 800. The 1927 report says that the number of boys in the school had grown to 450 by 1873 and to 700 by 1880. There was a very good public response to the new institution and, for example, in 1873, the Lord Mayor held a public meeting to encourage contributions. In 1878, it appears the main building was well advanced and indeed partially occupied and at that time the farm consisted of some 40 hectares (100 acres). This also expanded rapidly and in 1884, at the time of the visit to the school by the Prince and Princess of Wales the farm consisted of some 140 hectares (350 acres). This arose from the purchase of adjoining farms by Br Hoope and the 1927 report refers to ‘Woodville, on the north-east, Kilmore, Thorndale and Verbena on the west and north of the old demesne’.

The 1904 Annual speaks of the first industrial schools in Ireland being certified in 1869 in the year following the Irish Industrial Schools Act. By the time the Annual was written there were 68 industrial schools in the country of which 21 were for boys. Industrial schools were divided on a denominational basis with three of the total given above for Protestant boys and three for Protestant girls.

In 1904, the Annual lists 102 staff working in the school of which 26 were Christian Brothers including a Manager, a sub-Manager and two secretaries. The other 76 staff comprised:

• A nurse and assistant nurse.
• Nine assistant teachers.
• Four professors of music.
• A gymnastic/gym instructor.
• A clerk of works.
• A town agent and storekeeper.
• 14 foremen and 14 assistants for the various trades.
• A gardener and an assistant.
• Four stewards.
• 18 farm and other labourers.
• Two indoor and one outdoor night watch men.
• A coachman and butcher.

In addition to the above, the Annual lists a chaplain and medical attendant who apparently called to the school regularly.

By the 1950s the number of boys in the school had started to decline and was noted as 500 in 1957. By 1962, the number of boys was down to 413 while the number of religious staff was 25 and the number of lay staff was 43. By 1965, the number of boys had fallen to 301 and in 1968 the year before the school closed the number was down to 198.

3.0 Details

3.1 General

As stated previously, Artane Industrial School was founded on a site of 23 hectares plus some buildings purchased in 1870. It is clear the main buildings of the institution were commenced very shortly afterwards in the 1870s and, in addition, it appears the land associated with the institution reached about 140 hectares by 1884 and remained close to this figure until the 1940s at least. It appears that some time in the late 1950s some of the land was sold for residential development and this policy continued, so that by the time the school closed in 1969/1970 more than half of the land had been disposed of.

All of the buildings of the institution were located between the Malahide Road and the Kilmore Road at the location shown in map no. 2, which is the 1936 survey. This area has been blown-up in map 3 and this shows the arrangement of the buildings and also their use. This same map shows access into the site from the Malahide Road with a gate lodge located at the entrance. There was a sweeping avenue leading up to a point between the monastery or residence and the main house. The monastery was in fact two separate houses constructed at different times and behind this was the Chapel. The main building at that time was in fact T-shaped consisting of a long rectangular section more or less parallel to the Malahide Road with an annexe or extension to the rear. Just to the left of the main building were the workshops and it will be seen from the map that there was a laneway which ran from the back of these down towards the Malahide Road. The two circular markings on either side of this apparently represent old quarries.

The other entrance into the site was from the Kilmore Road and it will be seen there was also a lodge at that entrance. There was an access roadway running from this which crossed the farmyard and ran towards the main building between the Chapel and the monastery. The infirmary was located along the side of this road and close to the Kilmore Road entrance and south of the farmyard there were plots associated with farming activities and also the hen runs.

Behind or north of the Chapel there was a further series of buildings. There was a long rectangular building which contained the classrooms and also a recreation area known as the long hall directly behind these. At right angles to the classrooms was the refectory with the kitchen located behind that and adjoining this and connecting it with the classroom block was the laundry with the boiler house apparently located behind this again. This area is shown in archive photograph 9, which shows the situation as it was in 1904. Clearly, the area enclosed between the classrooms, the refectory and also the Chapel was used as a playing pitch and in addition, one end of this, opposite the refectory, was provided with what is described as the gymnasium. This was obviously a roofed structure open at the sides as can be seen in archive photograph no 9.

The arrangement of the buildings is also clearly shown in archive photograph 1 which was taken from the front of the 1904 Annual and gives a bird’s eye view. This shows the main building with the workshops to its left and the annexe or theatre at the rear while the Chapel is to the right. The photograph or sketch also shows the position of the refectory and the classrooms referred to as the schools with an enclosed area between these and the gymnasium. The layout can be compared with aerial photograph 2 as well as aerial photographs 3 and 4, which were simply derived from this. It will be seen the arrangement has not changed from 1904, except that the monastery has been extended by the addition of a second larger building adjacent to the original one which had been built by 1904. This photograph also clearly shows a handball alley behind the main building which is possibly best seen in photograph 3. This is also referred to in archive photograph 1 taken from the 1904 Annual and its position is shown in map 3. It appears there was a high wall in this area extending from the classrooms and the area between this and the rear of the main house appears to have been paved probably with concrete. In addition, there was a toilet block behind the handball alley. Finally, aerial photograph 2 shows a small changing room or sports pavilion at the side of the pitches behind the handball alley and the classrooms. The same photograph in the foreground shows the plots behind the farmyard as well as what seem to be the hen runs with some form of sump or tank to one side and finally, a further handball alley.

3.2 Farm

The land associated with the school rapidly increased from 23 hectares (about 56 acres) in 1870 to 140 hectares in 1884 and appears to have remained constant at about that figure since it is recorded as 143 hectares (about 353 acres) in the early 1940s. The land obviously increased by means of the purchase of adjoining farms and this appears to have continued since the 1938 Annals state approximately 20 hectares (49 acres) were purchased from O’Neills of Rockfield in December 1938 at a price of £33 per acre. The 1943 Annals record that the O’Neill farm of 26 hectares (about 65 acres) just across the road from the infirmary was for sale at £100 per acre but there is no record of any subsequent purchase. The same 1943 Annals give the total area of land as 143 hectares (353 acres) and states that 32 hectares (about 80 acres) was about five km from the school. The Visitation Reports for 1943 and 1949 give the total acreage as 143 hectares referred to previously and this apparently was broken into a number of different farms, the largest of which was the home farm presumably contiguous to the school buildings and which contained 74 hectares (182 acres). The other farms were Belcamp with 13 hectares (32 acres), Woodville 26 hectares (63 acres) and Kilmore 31 hectares (76 acres).

From the late 1950s land associated with the school was sold for house building and there is reference in the Visitation Reports to the proceeds of this being used to fund the operations of the school. There is a reference to an earlier sale of land in the 1938 Annals, to a Mr P Belton but this was only a very small area of approximately one acre. There is a reference to 7.5 acres (about 3 hectares) being sold in 1961 with the proceeds being used to meet part of the cost of 12 classrooms on the ground floor of the main building. In all, about 32 hectares (80 acres) was sold up to 1965 and there is also reference to an out farm at Bonnybrook being sold in the mid-1960s. The 1966 Visitation Report states that about 81 hectares (200 acres) was left at that time, while the 1968 Visitation Report says that negotiations were in train to sell a further 40 hectares retaining about 40 hectares in the immediate vicinity of the school. However, there is reference in the documentation to a further 51 hectares (125 acres) being sold in 1969.

There is no precise record of the land associated with the school when it was at its maximum in the mid to late 1940s, but it seems to have comprised much of the block shown in map 1, contained by the Malahide Road, Kilmore Road, Skellys Lane, Beaumont Road and Collins Avenue. The 1936 Survey shows, that this area was largely undeveloped and presumably in use as farmland. It will be noted that on the eastern side of this block there is a veterinary research laboratory and also what looks like a large private house, Thorndale House which presumably did not form part of the school’s land. Equally however, it is clear that the school had significant areas of land which did not immediately adjoin the school and it seems likely the Christian Brothers had land on the other side of Kilmore Road/Skellys Lane.

3.3 Main Building

The most important single building on the site was the main building which was constructed shortly after 1870 and which still remains today. The front façade which faces towards the Malahide Road is shown in the current photograph 1 and it will be seen that the building consists of three storeys with four storeys in the central section and in addition to this, there is a basement on the left hand side as one looks at the building. This can be seen in photograph 2 which shows the western end and also in photograph 3. Photograph 4 shows a view looking towards the left of the main building where the workshops used to be. These have now been replaced by what appears to be a modern gym or sports hall. Photographs 5 and 6 show the eastern end of the building, with the Chapel and refectory behind this. Photograph 7 shows a view of the current entrance into St David’s CBS School, which runs beside the Chapel along the line of the original route through the farmyard from the Kilmore Road entrance. Photograph 10 shows a view of the main building from the refectory, while photographs 11 to 15 inclusive, show the rear of the main building. It is understood that some works have taken place at the end on the right hand side of photograph 12 and photographs 11, 12 and 14 in particular, show the remains of the annexe or extension that ran away from the main building and which was destroyed by fire in February 1969.

The main building in about 1900 is shown in archive photographs 1 and 2 and it will be noted that the only apparent change is the addition of a pedestal and cross at the top of the central four storey section. Archive photograph 4 shows the relationship of the main building with the Chapel and the residence or monastery and this apparently was taken about 1950. Photograph 7 on the other hand shows the rear of the main building with the extension at the rear clearly visible on the left hand side of this photograph, which was obviously taken from the playing fields, which in turn were separated from the buildings by a high wall. Photograph 8 shows the rear annexe after the fire in 1969, when the damaged section was obviously demolished and removed. Finally, the main building is clearly visible in aerial photograph 1 and also in aerial photograph 2. Both of these were taken prior to the destruction of the rear section but aerial photograph 1 was taken after the removal of the classrooms which apparently occurred in the early 1960s.

The overall dimensions of the main building and in particular the front rectangular section was 113m x 15m. While it has been possible to obtain some drawings showing the arrangement of the building in 1990 the most informative sketch is the one included at map 4 which was prepared in 1944. This does not show the basement which apparently consisted of five storerooms but it does show the layout of the other three floors above it together with the fourth storey above the central section. It will be seen that the projecting block at the rear was in fact two storeys and interconnected with the main building at both levels. The lower section of this contained a theatre, while the upper floor was dormitory five. There were four other dormitories and these were all located at the first and second floor of the front section of the main building and in all cases these extended from the front to the back of the block. At ground floor level there was what is referred to as the long hall or exhibition hall at the rear of the section running the full length of the building and in front of this on the left hand side was the concert room, while on the right hand side was the knitting school which was also known as the juvenile workshop.

It will be seen from the sketch that access into the building was via a stairs located towards the rear of the main section where it met the projecting block. It appears there were two flights of stairs at this location and these were carried up via a landing at first floor level between dormitories three and four to the second floor and from there, the stairs continued up to the third floor which according to the sketch contained seven individual bedrooms for Christian Brothers. It should be noted, that there was another main stairs within the building located at the right hand end but this was not used by the boys, probably because its location, at one end of the building was far removed from what must have been the main thoroughfare through the building.

The sketch also shows various storerooms and boot rooms at the upper level as well as some smaller rooms at ground floor level described as classroom, band room and book room. There is no reference to bathroom facilities on the sketch but it is understood there were some at either end of the building on the upper two floors. In a questionnaire apparently completed in 1947, there is reference to ten lavatories, 251 washbasins and four baths as well as 50 shower baths.

The dimensions of various rooms and areas within the main building have been given in various documentation and are summarised in table 1 below.

Table 1 – Areas in Main Building

Location	Dimensions L x W x H	Comments
Exhibition hall	90 x 6
Concert room	30 x 9
Knitting school	30 x 9
Theatre	37 x 13 x 12	Capacity for 1300 persons.
Dormitories 1 to 4	30 x 15 x 6	172 boys in each dormitory. 2.6m2 per boy.
Dormitory 5	25 x 13 x 6	Younger boys’ dormitory. 142 boys or 2.1m2 per boy. Solid fuel central heating

Two of the dormitories are shown in the archive photographs 23 and 24. Photograph 23 almost certainly shows either dormitory one or two. However, this is unlikely in that the window shape is much more consistent with the front section of the main building. The roof structure consists of steel trusses, which appear to have been widely used in all of the Artane buildings. The other feature in this photograph is what appears to be a room in the left rear corner which presumably was for the Christian Brother who slept in the dormitory. Photograph 24 shows one of the dormitories at first floor level and thus is either three or four. The photograph shows a series of cast-iron columns running the length of the room and these are slightly closer to the left hand wall rather than the right hand one. From looking at the drawings prepared in 1990 this would imply that the wall on the right hand side is the front and that this photograph is of dormitory three. Photograph 23 is similar to the one in the 1904 Annual and dates from that period. There is no date on photograph 24 but it may also date from the turn of the century. In each case it will be seen that similar beds have been used and these are arranged in ten rows.

Archive photograph 25 shows the juvenile room or knitting school. The light appears to be coming from the left which would imply that the windows on the right give on to the exhibition hall and it also seems likely that this photograph dates from the 1904 Annual. The concert hall or music room is shown in photograph 41 and is a large rectangular room ornately decorated with an organ on a raised platform at one end and a number of grand pianos around the walls. It appears the organ was no longer there in the 1950/1960s. Finally, photograph 42 shows the exhibition hall or museum hall showing a long, wide hallway with glass exhibition cases on either side.

3.4 Classrooms/Refectory/Gymnasium

Both the classrooms and the refectory had been constructed at the time the 1904 Annual was published. The boys’ kitchen was located behind the refectory and in 1905, when the Annual was apparently published a new laundry was under construction. In addition to the above, the Annual speaks of a bathroom which apparently contained 52 shower cubicles and which was located close to the laundry and the classrooms.

The 1904 Annual describes 11 classrooms and these were constructed in a single storey building with access into each one from the outside with an indication of this given in archive photograph no 9. Immediately behind the classrooms, was what is sometimes referred to as the long hall or alternatively the recreation hall and which appears to have been a single storey pitched roof building. The 1947 Form A, questionnaire speaks of 12 classrooms and gives the size of ten of them as 12m x 9m x about 3.5m high while there were two smaller rooms. That document says that there was central heating provided and each of the ten big rooms accommodated 70 boys with 40 in the smaller of the other two rooms and 60 in the final room. No further information is available on the construction of the classrooms but interestingly, the 1904 Annual says ‘the building itself is not in keeping with most of the other departments of the Institution. In fact it was hurriedly erected to meet a pressing want’. The Annual then goes on to say ‘further Classrooms are required and are to be constructed as soon as funds are available’.

The original classrooms appear to have continued in existence until they were demolished in the early 1960s when classrooms were arranged in the main building. There were proposals advanced in the 1940s to replace the classrooms and in the mid-1950s both the Christian Brothers and the Department of Education recognised that the classrooms were in very poor condition. Writing in May 1955, the Christian Brothers stated that it was imperative to provide 20 new classrooms as the old school building was in a ‘dangerous condition’ and had been condemned some 40 years previously. Writing in January 1956, the Department of Education described the classrooms as unsuitable and structurally unsound with ‘the main walls are bulging badly, the roof leaks and the woodwork with the exception of the floors is in poor condition’. The letter goes on to describe each of the classrooms as being entered directly from the playground without corridors or porches and the ventilation by means of the south facing windows as unsuitable with the only secondary ventilation being provided by high level windows opening into what is described as ‘an old derelict building which adjoins the school on the north side’. This is obviously the long hall or recreation hall described previously and which presumably had fallen into disuse by that time.

The refectory was also located in a single storey rectangular shaped building and it was placed at right angles to the classrooms. The building still exists as shown in the current series of photographs no. 8 while it is also shown in the archive photographs 9 and 11. Its dimensions are given as 61m x 15m and the interior of it is shown in photographs 17 and 18 both of which predate 1960 with the latter showing the open truss roof. The 1904 Annual speaks of the room being arranged with 40 tables each to accommodate 20 boys with a passage of approximately 2m at the side walls and 2.4m in the centre of the room as shown in photograph 17. The refectory continued in use over the life of the institution and in May 1955, the Christian Brothers described the kitchen and dining hall as ‘very antiquated’ and in need of improvement. The kitchen and the dining hall were refurbished in the early 1960s and this included a new roof/ceiling in the dining hall. In addition, the dining hall was provided with a new floor in 1941 and central heating in 1949.

The 1904 Annual describes a new laundry approaching completion beside the boys’ kitchen and the bathroom and it goes on to speak of the location being economical because of the one set of boilers being used to supply steam for baths, cooking and laundry. No further information is available on the laundry but presumably this continued in existence at this location over the life of the institution. The bathroom or shower room is described in the 1904 Annual as being 22.5m x 6m and it apparently contained 52 shower cubicles. Apparently adjoining the bathroom there was a large clothes store. In addition, the entrance to the bathroom is described as two doors through the recreation hall or long hall.

Archive photograph 4 shows that by 1904 there was an open sided structure in the yard to facilitate physical exercise out of the elements. This is also shown in archive photograph 1 and it was replaced in 1950 by a similar open sided structure shown in aerial photograph no. 3. This in turn was replaced about 1964 by the games hall shown in aerial photograph no. 1 and also in archive photograph no. 10. This building comprised of a large play area enclosed on three sides as well as a large indoor games room.

3.5 Farm Buildings/Infirmary

The farm buildings are described in the 1904 Annual and are shown to some extent in the right hand side of aerial photograph 2 and in somewhat further detail in aerial photograph 4. In essence, the buildings consisted of a quadrangle divided in two by means of the rear access roadway leading to the Kilmore Road, as can be seen in the archive photograph 1. It will be seen that there were a number of hay sheds on one side and in addition, this area contained a potato house and a tractor shed while the other side shown in archive photograph no. 13 contained a cattle shed, a piggery, stables and a garage. There was also a store for lawnmowers and an apple house. The 1904 Annual says the farm buildings were high quality and very up-to-date and the cattle shed was capable of accommodating 40 cows who supplied milk to the institution. The Annual also refers to a slaughter house as well as a piggery on an out farm capable of holding over 100 pigs. The approach to the farm yard from the main building heading towards the Kilmore Road is shown in photograph 39.

The 1904 Annual also refers to a poultry farm which had been installed to the most modern design prepared by a firm Fletcher and Phillipson. It appears the poultry farm was just south of the infirmary and covered about three to four acres (about 1.5 hectares). The hen runs are shown in photograph 40.

The infirmary is shown in archive photograph 12 and was located close to the Kilmore Road entrance. Photographs 19, 20 and 21 show some detail of the interior of the building with the latter of these being taken in the late 1960s. The earlier two photographs were both described as about 1930 but in fact 19 is very similar to the one in the 1904 Annual and in any event appears to show the same room as in photograph 20. It will be noted that photographs 19 and 20 show the same type of bed in use in the dormitories and shown in photographs 23 and 24. The beds have obviously been changed in photograph 21.

3.6 Chapel/Monastery

The Chapel and monastery or residence were grouped together but on opposite sides of the access leading from the Kilmore Road entrance. The Chapel is still in existence as shown in the current photographs 6 and 7, although disused and in poor condition. The interior of the Chapel in 1904 is shown in archive photograph 15 and the Annual speaks of it having a capacity for 900. The Chapel was heated by hot air and the internal decorations were carried out by the school’s pupils under the direction of the foreman.

The monastery or residence consisted of two separate but adjacent buildings. The arrangement of these two buildings and the position relative to the Chapel is shown quite clearly in aerial photograph 1 and they are also shown to some extent in the archive photographs 4, 5, and 6. It appears that the two buildings taken together provided living accommodation, dining facilities, bedroom and washroom facilities for the religious Community as well as offices for the senior staff of the school. It is clear from the 1904 Annual that the building on the right hand side of aerial photograph 1 was constructed during the initial development of the school, while the larger building to the left was added later. It is in existence in the Ordnance Survey map of 1936. As far as can be ascertained, this is the only significant new building provided on the site after 1904.

3.7 Workshops

The workshops were located to the left hand side of the main building as shown in map 3 and they consisted of a string or terrace of buildings both one and two storeys high running alongside the laneway leading down to the Malahide Road. This arrangement is shown in archive photograph 1 taken from the 1904 Annual and also in photograph 38. The building on the southern side or that nearest to the Malahide Road was originally the power house but was subsequently converted into a fitter’s workshop or general maintenance shop in the early 1950s. At the far end nearest to the main building there were stores for coal and timber and working down from that the next building was originally the bakery but was subsequently converted to a store. In addition to this, the workshops provided for the weavers in the single storey buildings in photograph 38. After that the two storey terraced building in the same photograph contained the carpenters, the tailors, the boot makers, the painters and tinsmiths. The series of archive photographs 26 to 37 inclusive shows various trade shops with many of these photographs going back to the early years of the 20^th Century.

The 1904 Annual gives the numbers involved in the various trades as follows:

Workshops	Trade
Cabinet making	14
Painting/Decoration	8 to 10
Carpentry	10 to 12
Weaving	8
Cart and wheelwrights	10 to 12
Tinsmiths/Plumbing	12
Tailoring	50 to 60
Fitters	6
Shoemaking	45 to 50
Flour mill/Bakery	20
Harness making	12
Forge	10
Farm work	80
Gardening	12

In addition, the numbers working in the juvenile workroom were 140.

In October 1946, when the Department Inspector, Mr Hackett visited to discuss the education of the boys the numbers involved in the various trades and the tradesmen instructing them were noted as follows:

	Boys	Tradesmen
Weaving	24	2
Tailoring	54	2
Bootmaking	41	2
Baking and milling	9	2
Carpentry	6	1
Cartwrights	14	2
Smith work	5	1
Fitters	7	1
Tinsmiths	7	1
Painting/Decoration	10	1
Hairdressing	3	1
Gardening	12	1
Farm work	60	7

3.8 Services

The school apparently was connected to the ESB grid in 1936 but for more than 20 years prior to that it had its own electricity generation plant located at one end of the workshops. After connection to the ESB grid in 1936 one of the two engines in this was retained to provide stand by power in the event of failure. In 1952 the old power house was converted into a fitter’s workshop.

It appears the institution was connected to Dublin Corporation water mains from early on in its life, since the 1904 Annual refers to water being taken from the Vartry mains.

It appears the school was only connected to the Dublin Corporation main sewer in the late 1940s. In the 1947 questionnaire it is stated that there were 60 lavatories (dry) and 60 urinals and these were located behind the handball alley shown in aerial photograph 3. In the same questionnaire there is a comment in capital letters to the effect ‘no change for the past 70 years’. These toilet facilities gave rise to correspondence between the Christian Brothers and the Department in the 1940s and in addition, a former pupil wrote a number of letters of complaint. Eventually, in the late 1940s these toilets were replaced with what is described in the January 1956 letter from the Department of Education as an ‘open air sanitary block in the playground’.

Survey reports carried out in 1944 and in 1947 refer to central heating based on coke in the smaller dormitory, number five but not it appears in the other four dormitories. There was also central heating at that time in the classrooms. In 1949 central heating was provided in the refectory while in 1954 storage heaters were provided in the dormitories. In 1962/63 it appears central heating was provided throughout the main building and replaced the storage heaters in the dormitories. At the same time it also served the new classrooms as well as the theatre and band room.

¹ Report on Artane Industrial School for the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse by Ciaran Fahy, Consulting Engineer (see Appendix 1).

² Rules and Regulations of Industrial Schools 1885.

³ Commission of Inquiry into the Reformatory and Industrial School System 1934-1936 chaired by Justice Cussen.

⁴ Dr McQuaid and Fr Henry Moore.

⁵ This is a pseudonym.

⁶ This is a pseudonym. See also the Tralee chapter.

⁷ This is a pseudonym.

⁸ This is a pseudonym.

⁹ Br Beaufort had previously also worked in Carriglea in the early 1930s.

¹⁰ This is a pseudonym.

¹¹ This is a pseudonym.

¹² This is a pseudonym.

¹³ This is a pseudonym.

¹⁴ This is a pseudonym.

¹⁵ This is a pseudonym. See also the Carriglea chapter.

¹⁶ This is a pseudonym.

¹⁷ This is a pseudonym.

¹⁸ This is a pseudonym.

¹⁹ This is a pseudonym.

²⁰ This is a pseudonym.

²¹ This is a pseudonym.

²² This is a pseudonym.

²³ From the infirmary register it appears that while the boy was not confined in hospital he was due for a check up the day his mother called to see the superior so he may well not have been in the Institution when his mother called.

²⁴ Dr Anna McCabe was the Department of Education Inspector for most of the relevant period.

²⁵ It was in fact the Minister for Education who used those words. See paragraph 7.117.

²⁶ This is a pseudonym.

²⁷ This is a pseudonym.

²⁸ This is a pseudonym.

²⁹ This is a pseudonym.

³⁰ This is a pseudonym.

³¹ This is a pseudonym.

³² This is a pseudonym.

³³ This is a pseudonym.

³⁴ This is a pseudonym.

³⁵ This is a pseudonym.

³⁶ The same incident is referred to in the Department’s inspection into the matter as ‘a shaking’.

³⁷ This is a pseudonym.

³⁸ This is a pseudonym.

³⁹ This is a pseudonym.

⁴⁰ This is a pseudonym.

⁴¹ This is a pseudonym.

⁴² This is a pseudonym.

⁴³ This is a pseudonym.

⁴⁴ This is a pseudonym.

⁴⁵ This is a pseudonym.

⁴⁶ This is a pseudonym.

⁴⁷ This is a pseudonym.

⁴⁸ This is a pseudonym.

⁴⁹ Dr Anna McCabe (Medical Inspector), Mr Seamus Mac Uaid (Higher Executive Officer) and Mr MacDáibhid (Assistant Principal Officer and Inspector in Charge of Industrial Schools).

⁵⁰ This is a pseudonym.

⁵¹ This is a pseudonym.

⁵² This is a pseudonym.

⁵³ This is a pseudonym.

⁵⁴ This is a pseudonym.

⁵⁵ This is a pseudonym.

⁵⁶ This is a pseudonym.

⁵⁷ This is a pseudonym.

⁵⁸ This is a pseudonym.

⁵⁹ This is a pseudonym.

⁶⁰ This is a pseudonym.

⁶¹ This is a pseudonym.

⁶² This is a pseudonym.

⁶³ This is a pseudonym.

⁶⁴ This is a pseudonym.

⁶⁵ This is a pseudonym.

⁶⁶ This is a pseudonym.

⁶⁷ This is a pseudonym.

⁶⁸ This is a pseudonym.

⁶⁹ This is a pseudonym.

⁷⁰ This is a pseudonym.

⁷¹ This is a pseudonym.

⁷² This is a pseudonym.

⁷³ This is a pseudonym.

⁷⁴ This is a pseudonym.

⁷⁵ This is a pseudonym.

⁷⁶ This is a pseudonym.

⁷⁷ This is a pseudonym.

⁷⁸ This is a pseudonym.

⁷⁹ See General Chapter on the Christian Brothers at para ???.

⁸⁰ He went there after many years in Artane.

⁸¹ Dr Charles Lysaght was commissioned by the Department of Education to conduct general and medical inspections of the industrial and reformatory schools in 1966 in the absence of a replacement for Dr McCabe since her retirement the previous year. He inspected Artane on 8th September 1966.

⁸² See Department of Education and Science Chapter, One-off Inspections.

⁸³ The fact that they were tired is noted in many Visitation Reports.

⁸⁴ Council for Education, Recruitment and Training.

⁸⁵ This is a pseudonym.

⁸⁶ This is a pseudonym.

⁸⁷ This is a pseudonym.