St Joseph's Industrial School, Letterfrack

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St Joseph's Industrial School
Letterfrack, Connemara, County Galway

Ireland
Information
TypeIndustrial school
Opened12 October 1887 (1887-10-12)
FounderCongregation of Christian Brothers
Closed1974 (1974)

St Joseph's Industrial School was an industrial school for boys in Letterfrack, County Galway, Ireland. The school was built in 1886/7 after the designs of the architect William Hague,[1][2] opened in 1887, and run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

St Joseph's received a lasting notoriety through revelation of physical and sexual abuse of the boys by some of the Brothers there, with evidence of sexual abuse and extreme physical punishments going back to the 1930s. According to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, between the years 1940 to 1970 15 children died there while in the care of the Christian Brothers, from causes including tuberculosis. Brother David Gibson, provincial of the Irish Christian Brothers' northern province, which includes Letterfrack, said that following a more thorough investigation of their files it was now established that 100 boys had died at the school during the 86-year period.[3][4]

The school was closed in 1974. In total 2,819 boys went through Letterfrack between 1887 and 1974.[5]

History

The plot of land that would go on to contain Letterfrack was purchased in 1849 by a wealthy Quaker couple, James and Mary Ellis, who built on it a school for local children, as well as a residence.[6] After the Ellises left, the school was run by Protestant Irish Church Missions to Roman Catholics.[7] The ICM's continued up until 1882. The Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, Dr John McEvilly bought the property in 1884.[8] The Archbishop wrote to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Earl Spencer suggesting that the property was 'admirably suited for a boys’ industrial school so sadly needed in that district'. However, the Lord Lieutenants' advisors were against the establishment of the school on the grounds that there was unlikely to be enough children requiring such an institution in the area, and that the existing schools were adequate for the educational needs of the area. Sir Arthur Lentaigne, the Insepector of Industrial schools, backed the proposal, but the application was nonetheless refused.[6]

The Lord Lieutenant came to support the endeavour in August 1885, after lobbying from the Archbishop. The school was initially certified for 75 boys and the Archbishop entered into negotiations with the Christian Brothers. The Christian Brothers agreed and after building work added to the property, the schools opened on 12 October 1887.[9]

A revised certificate doubling the number of boys the school could care for was issued in April 1889 and in November 1912, the accommodation limit was increased to 190.[10] There were three classes of boy committed to Letterfrack. That is, those who were homeless, without proper guardianship, destitute, in breach of the School Attendance Act or guilty of criminal offences; those sent by the Local Authorities pursuant to the Public Assistance Act 1939;[11] and those whose parents or guardians had willingly admitted them.[12] In 1954 the Christian Brothers, whose finances had been declining because of the decreasing number of children in their care, closed Carriglea Park in Dún Laoghaire, and transferred the "juvenile delinquents" from that school over to Letterfrack.[13]

Letterfrack closed in 1974; according to the Secretary of the Department of Education, the school's remoteness rendered finding employees difficult and was considered harmful for the pupils who had come from cities.[14]

Conclusions of the Ryan Report

Physical abuse

The report concluded that corporal punishment in Letterfrack was "severe, excessive and pervasive, and created a climate of fear", that it "was the primary method of control" and that unavoidable because "it was frequently capricious, unfair and inconsistent".[15] There was no punishment book kept and the Department of Education was found to be at fault for not ensuring that one was maintained.[15]

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse "by Brothers was a chronic problem in Letterfrack" and that those members of the order who served there "included firstly those who had previously been guilty of sexual abuse of boys, secondly those whose abuse was discovered while they worked in that institution and, thirdly some who were subsequently revealed to have abused boys".[16]

The Christian Brothers "did not properly investigate allegations of sexual abuse of boys by Brothers" and "knew that Brothers who sexually abused boys were a continuing danger".[16] Sending known abusers to any industrial school was "an act of reckless disregard" especially "one as remote and isolated as Letterfrack".[16] The handling of members of the order who committed abuse suggested "a policy of protecting the Brothers, the Community and the Congregation at the expense of the victims".[16]

Abuse by peers was "an element of the bullying and intimidation that were prevalent in Letterfrack and the Brothers failed to recognise it as a persistent problem".[17] Lack of understanding on behalf of the order of the nature of abuse committed by peers combined with fear of punishment meant that some victims didn't report such abuse at the time.[17]

Neglect

Boys at Letterfrack "were unprotected in a hostile environment isolated from their families", they "left Letterfrack with little education and no adequate training".[18] They needed extra support to bring them up to standard "but instead they got poor teachers and bad conditions".[18]

Letterfrack was physically isolated and most boys were at a great distance from their families- the surrounding area did not supply the number of children required, and many were from as far as Dublin and Leinster.[19][20] The isolation was also a factor in institutionalisation and helped abusers evade scrutiny.[21]The remote location of the school was a factor in its closure.[22]

Former residents

References

  1. "CO. GALWAY, LETTERFRACK, INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS". Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720–1940. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  2. "Letterfrack, County Galway 30329005". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  3. "Paddy Doyle: Newspaper Articles". Archived from the original on 9 December 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
  4. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  5. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.21, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  6. Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse 2009, p. 285.
  7. Connemara: visions of Chonnacht By Michael Gibbons
  8. Quaker legacy remembered in Letterfrack, The Irish Times, 7 July 2000
  9. Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse 2009, pp. 285–286.
  10. Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse 2009, p. 289.
  11. Book (eISB), electronic Irish Statute. "electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB)". www.irishstatutebook.ie. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  12. Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse 2009, p. 363.
  13. Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse 2009, p. 290.
  14. Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse 2009, p. 292.
  15. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.264, Conclusions on physical abuse, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  16. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.461, Conclusions on sexual abuse, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  17. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.476, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  18. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.740, General Conclusions, Emotional/Neglect, Conclusions on sexual abuse, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  19. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.19, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  20. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.30, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  21. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.20, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  22. Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Section 8.45, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse
  23. "'One of the most powerful television hours I've ever seen' - huge reaction to Damien Dempsey's family story on Who Do You Think You Are". Irish Independent. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  24. "Damien Dempsey's grandfather was sent to the 'hell on Earth' industrial school run by the Christian Brothers". The Times. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  25. 🖉Brady, Tara. "Land Without God: A trip into the dark side of our Irish State". The Irish Times.
  26. "Land Without God - examining the legacy of Institutional abuse". rte.ie. 11 October 2019.
  27. Fintan O'Toole, Law of anarchy, cruelty of care, The Irish Times, 23 May 2009; retrieved 26 May 2009
  28. A tragic tale from Ireland's dark history, Peter Berresford Ellis, The Review - BOOKS, review of Founded on Fear by Peter Tyrell, Camden New Journal
  29. Jennifer Hough,A determination to expose brutality Archived 2010-02-23 at the Wayback Machine, Irish Examiner, 7 July 2009; retrieved 7 July 2009
  30. Dermot Bolger,Disturbing memoir of Christian Brothers deserves our attention, The Sunday Business Post, 26 November 2006; retrieved 7 July 2009

Works cited