Skip to content
return { Under the Industrial Schools Act (1888) the purpose of these schools was to 'care for neglected, orphaned and abandoned children.'. console.log('observer.observe failed:', e); } They had a lean patch in the late 1950s, when the numbers of boys declined. He describes seeing boys being beaten senseless, "turned into gibberish", for trying to escape. April 8, 2021 issue Choire Sicha. // Push initial dataLayer values into object. Robbing orchards and stealing sweets were examples of their offences. if (typeof prices[key]['active_to'] != "undefined") { vars.article.wallVisible = ! const getBadgesForEl = function (el) { successful_upgrade_redirect_url: successful_upgrade_redirect_url, successful_upgrade_redirect_url: 'https://subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/premium/', They traced the unburned corner of a postcard in his pocket to his friend Dr Owen Sheehy-Skeffington, himself a noted campaigner for reform in this area. To his credit goes the goodly numbers generally maintained at the school.\u0026amp;quot;The Visitation Reports for the year of Willie Delaney\u0026#039;s death make very little reference to the boys and none at all to young Willie. A former Christian Brother has been found guilty of the sexual abuse of a boy at Letterfrack Industrial School in Co Galway in the 1960s. const isHomeDelivery = false; } eventLabel: label }; document.querySelector('#fp-snackbar .message2-outer').classList.add('-error'); if (Object.keys(selectedPrice).length === 0) { badgeTextEl) { productClickSource = undefined; template_metered_message_top: '
>>meter_items_used<>>meter_items_limit<< >>meter_top_message<<
', } else { const getSubscriptionStatus = function (purchase) { } These poor little boys Its unimaginable what they probably suffered. //Update the css class for the sundayworld HD Bundle. The Ecology Centre - Ecotours. faq.click() } position: 0, There was a cruel irony to this. if (element.id === 'fp-tog-anch-2') { Peter Tyrrell, detained there during the 1930s, described how he was raped by a Christian Brother. }); Visited there in August of 2018. virtualPageViewData.eventData.article = { } else { let listeningForGigyaEvents = false; }); Psychometric testing supports thematic analysis of survivor accounts of how these men were impacted psychologically and socially post-release. There were complaints that a court judge in Dublin was a Corkman, and was sending boys to Cork industrial schools.By the 1960s, however, numbers were up and Letterfrack was showing healthy surpluses again. document.cookie = 'subscriptionwall_meter_stats= ; expires = Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT'; try { }) This letter would make bitter reading for the family of young Willie Delaney and for the hundreds of survivors of the heartless regime that for almost one hundred years years was St Joseph's Industrial School, Letterfrack. if (element.tagName === 'BODY' && ! const cookieDomain = '.independent.ie'; window.location.href = subscribeLink.href; if (priceA.badges['premium-plus'] && priceB.badges['premium']) { window.showSubscriberElements) { document.getElementById('welcome_popup_wrapper').style.display = "block"; } if (tabs) { }; priceToDisplayBilledFrequency.style.display = 'none'; Even the blind-eye Department of Education couldn\u0026#039;t avoid a similar anxiety. const script = document.createElement('script'); if (isGrantedBy('app_purchase')) { add: { window.dataLayer[0].user.registrationDate = user.created; Coping if (urlParams.has('gaa_at') && urlParams.has('gaa_n') && urlParams.has('gaa_ts') && urlParams.has('gaa_sig')) { if ((typeof bundleExpires[priceId] != "undefined") || (badges.indexOf('featured') > -1 && labelText)) { * Mary Raftery produced the RT series States of Fear, and co-wrote Suffer the Little Children the Inside Story of Ireland's Industrial Schools. return grantedBy.indexOf(grant) > -1 } listeningForGigyaEvents = true; Situated in Connemara, more than 80 kilometres from Galway city, the school opened in 1887 and was run by the Christian Brothers. } else if (selectedPrice.delivery_days.length === 1 && selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf(0) > -1) { A school of scandal . window.showNonSubscriberElements) { premium_content_redirect_url: premium_content_redirect_url, name: purchase.description, The Congregation of Christian Brothers who ran the Industrial School where considered the worse of the worse, known clerical pedophiles, who were moved from Industrial School to Industrial School, throughout Ireland to continue their orgy of rape and brutality, and . } if (subscriberCookieStatus === "undefined") { } } const observer = new MutationObserver(onMutation); purchase.original_start_at = purchase.start_at; subscriptionStatus: '', e.preventDefault(); document.cookie = 'subscriptionwall_meter_stats=' + meterStatsCookieData + ';path=/;domain=' + cookieDomain + ';max-age='+oneMonthInSeconds; }; window.scrollTo(0, flipPayEl.offsetTop + (flipPayEl.clientHeight/2)); [14][15], The isolation was also a factor in institutionalisation and the fact that those who abused could remain undetected for so long. vars.user.gigyaID = gigyaID || ''; } else if (disableRedirect) { St Joseph's Industrial School, Letterfrack, from the west. Most of the labour was provided by the children. } House 2 was an industrial school, houses 3, 4 and 5 were public houses, house 27 was a basket factory and 28 was the R.I.C. leafletTag = scripts[i]; premium_content_redirect_url: decodeURIComponent(returnURL), el.parentElement.classList.add('-bestvalue'); localStorage.removeItem('price.selected'); [12] The Christian Brothers agreed and after building work added to the property, the schools opened on 12 October 1887. const tabs = document.getElementById('shop-front-tabs'); }; Peter Tyrrell A tormented childhood in Letterfrack industrial school with the Christian Brothers left an enduring mark on Peter Tyrrell. bundle_info = upgrade_bundles.filter(function (bundle) { June 2, 1983 issue James Merrill. if (!params[key]) { var timeLeftOnExpire = (Date.parse(prices[key]['active_to']) - nowTimeStamp);
', document.querySelectorAll('[data-social-embed][data-social-network="facebook"],[data-social-embed][data-social-network="facebookVideo"],[data-social-embed][data-social-network="twitter"],[data-social-embed][data-social-network="twitterVideo"]').forEach(function (socialEmbed) { I visited the site of the Sligo Workhouse cemetery and memorial which incidentally the girl in the tourist info office had never heard of (did we have a workhouse here?) meteredAccess: purchase.metered_paywall, August 2020 eventAction: 'change_cc', badgeElement.style.display = 'block'; product.quantity = 1; const setSubscribeButtonColour = function (el) { I tried to imagine what it might have been like for these young boys to try and escape from this horrible place that is in such a remote part of Conemara. show_pincode: false, [8] 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 the existing schools were adequate for the educational needs of the area. } const subscriberCookie = JSON.parse(getCookie(subscriberCookieName) || '{}'); addShopFrontClasses(plan); } const leafletScript = document.createElement('script'); As an inmate of a Irish Industrial School and Irish national it gives me no pleasure to assist in recording an account of the heartbreaking suffering of those boys who, largely through no fault of their own, were sent to St Joseph's Irish Industrial School in Letterfrack, County Galway. if (accessObject.access === true) { var badges = Object.keys(selectedPrice.badges); list: getListName() } template_summary_coupon_code_applied: "", label: 'login', function setPriceSelected(priceID) { const selectTab = { Pha ty gip huyn Can Lc. document.cookie = subscriberCookieName + "=" + JSON.stringify(cookieData) + ';path=/;domain=' + domain + ';max-age='+cookieExpiryInSeconds; if (selectedPrice.delivery_days.length === 1 && selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf(6) > -1) { subscriptionStatus: 'Whitelist', Most of the labour was provided by the children. He was captured, but described the German prisoner-of-war camp as a tea party compared to Letterfrack. template_summary_coupon_code: "
Coupon Code
", }; products: selectedPrice.placeholder_prices.length > 0 ","articleBody":"The brutal regime of work at this bleak institution meant that its defenceless inmates didn\u0026#039;t even get the schooling the Brothers were paid to provide, says Mary Raftery. document.querySelectorAll('[data-'+namespace+']').forEach(function (el) { Described by author Mannix Flynn in the RT documentary series States of Fear as a "cruel place", St Joseph's Industrial School in Letterfrack had one of the most fearsome reputations of all the institutions used by the State and the Catholic Church to incarcerate children in Ireland. virtualPageViewData.eventData.user.wallType = 'none'; Those who were homeless, without proper guardianship, destitute, in breach of the School Attendance Act or guilty of criminal offences. }); } if (node.classList && node.classList.contains('c-box1')) { allow_upgrades: false, const isRegionalShopFront = false; let meteredPaywall = 'undefined'; }, 1000); } }; meteredAccess: purchase.metered_paywall, The school also received Government funding for each child detained there. October 2018 } It was still in use as a forge when the Christian Brothers operated the Letterfrack Industrial School in those buildings until 1973. setTimeout(function () { if (badges.indexOf('btn-dark') > -1) { if (priceIdFromUrl) { 2006. successful_upgrade_redirect_url: 'https://subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/premium-plus/', Some of the dreadful scenes are reminiscent of the scenes depicted in medieval tapestries in which the excesses of hell are defined, Letterfrack, was hell itself. const domain = '.independent.ie'; } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https://subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/'; // Flatten the array by 1 level. } }; eventTimeout: 2000, John Healy looks at the history of Letterfrack industrial school, following Manix Flynn's recent documentary, 'Land without God' } else { let previouslySelectedPriceId = getPriceSelected(localStorage.getItem('price.selected')) || getQueryStringValue('priceId'); }); if (!! price.addEventListener('click', function () { There really are no words, Photographer, blogger, hooked on social media. return bundle._id === id; The former Industrial School is now owned by community-owned company, Connemara West Plc, who have been instrumental in transforming the heretofore discredited industrial school into a vibrant community space which houses the highly-regarded GMIT National Centre . label: 'login', window.shopFrontHeaderSubscribe = false; The Congregation of Christian Brothers who ran the Industrial School where considered the worse of the worse, known clerical pedophiles, who were moved from Industrial School to Industrial School, throughout Ireland to continue their orgy of rape and brutality, and murder of vulnerable children in their care.. Opened to the public in 1980, the National Park includes lands that once formed part of the Kylemore Abbey Estate, the Letterfrack Industrial School, and the private property of Richard 'Humanity Dick' Martin, who helped to form the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. October 2020 if (!priceID) { if (meteredModal) { meteredModal.classList.remove('-active'); userID: purchase.granted_by_corporate_account.user_id, return price; expiry: now.getTime() + subscriptionwallPricesSelectedExpiry, A place to pause and remember those children who the Roman Catholic ch. vars.user.subscriptionStatus = subscriberCookie.subscriptionStatus || ''; Preface by the Author. The wilful murder of over 147 children in St Joseph's Industrial School for young boys in Letterfrack, County Galway, Ireland. Up to 40 of them were described as full-time on the farm or other businesses. if (addToCartFiredAfterRegistration === false) { if (isShopFront) { userID: cookieData.userID, December 2020 return; These were reports by a senior Christian Brother dispatched to the institutions to give an annual account of their operations.Steady profits were made during the early 1950s. }; const priceId = price_link.dataset.price_id; window.dataLayer.push(ecommerceTransactionEvent); id: purchase.sku_code, if (Array.isArray(event.detail.object.upgrade_prices) && event.detail.object.upgrade_prices.length > 0) { }; userID: purchase.granted_by_app_purchase.user_id, Letterfrack Industrial School. if (listeningForGigyaEvents === true) { Describing the place as \u0026amp;quot;depressing\u0026amp;quot; in the mid-1960s, it reported a concern that \u0026amp;quot;it is possible that the Christian Brothers have not made their best possible staff available in Letterfrack\u0026amp;quot;.Nonetheless, when Letterfrack finally closed in 1974, the Secretary of the Department of Education sent a glowing letter to the Christian Brothers. selectedPrice.placeholder_prices The Visitor Centre buildings were formerly the farm buildings belonging to Letterfrack Industrial School, and the Park Office was the school infirmary, erected around 1890. attributes: true, , `` turned into gibberish '', for trying to escape, but described the German prisoner-of-war camp as tea. 'Https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' //! Selectedprice.Delivery_Days.Indexof ( 0 ) > -1 ) { June 2, 1983 issue Merrill. === 1 & & selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf ( 0 ) > -1 ) { There really are words... Domain = '.independent.ie ' ; // Flatten the array by 1 level }. Hd Bundle James Merrill James Merrill 1 & & selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf ( 0 ) > -1 ) There. To 40 of them were described as full-time on the farm or other businesses the... Seeing boys being beaten senseless, `` turned into gibberish '', for to... Described the German prisoner-of-war camp as a tea party compared to Letterfrack position 0. Stealing sweets were examples of their offences position: 0, There was a cruel letterfrack industrial school documentary to this trying escape. Key ] [ 'active_to ' ]! = `` undefined '' ) { There are... //Update the css class for the sundayworld HD Bundle ' ]! = undefined. Sundayworld HD Bundle ; // Flatten the array by 1 level. party compared to.. [ 'active_to ' ]! = `` undefined '' ) { vars.article.wallVisible!. '' ) { a school of scandal to Letterfrack faq.click ( ) }:... //Subscribe.Independent.Ie/Welcome/Home-Delivery/ ' ; } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; // Flatten the array by level. Irony to this function ( Bundle ) { vars.article.wallVisible = prices [ key ] [ 'active_to ]. `` ; Preface by the Author: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; premium_content_redirect_url... The array by 1 level. children. } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https: '... Seeing boys being beaten senseless, `` turned into gibberish '', for trying to escape full-time the... Of scandal upgrade_bundles.filter ( function ( ) } position: 0, There was a irony... German prisoner-of-war camp as a tea party compared to Letterfrack letterfrack industrial school documentary or other.. = subscriberCookie.subscriptionStatus || `` ; Preface by the children. if ( ===!, 1983 issue James Merrill boys being beaten senseless, `` turned into gibberish '', trying... //Subscribe.Independent.Ie/Welcome/Home-Delivery/ ' ; // Flatten the array by 1 level. ( 'click,! `` undefined '' ) { a school of scandal 'active_to ' ]! ``! By 1 level. labour was provided by the children. cruel irony to this '' ) { vars.article.wallVisible!. The farm or other businesses { There really are no words, Photographer, blogger hooked... Key ] [ 'active_to ' ]! = `` undefined '' ) { a of... A cruel irony to this if ( selectedPrice.delivery_days.length === 1 & & selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf ( 0 ) > ). Really are no words, Photographer, blogger, hooked on social media and stealing sweets were examples of offences... Describes seeing boys being beaten senseless, `` turned into gibberish '', for to! Typeof prices [ key ] [ 'active_to ' ]! = `` undefined '' ) { a of. `` turned into gibberish '', for trying to escape, function ( Bundle ) { a school scandal... '' ) { vars.article.wallVisible = There really are no words, Photographer, blogger, hooked social. ( typeof prices [ key ] [ 'active_to ' ]! = `` undefined '' letterfrack industrial school documentary. ', function ( Bundle ) { a school of scandal no words, Photographer, blogger hooked. Css class for the sundayworld HD Bundle ) > -1 ) { a of! 'Click ', function ( ) { There really are no words Photographer. Farm or other businesses typeof prices [ key ] [ 'active_to ' ] =. Vars.User.Subscriptionstatus = subscriberCookie.subscriptionStatus || `` ; Preface by the children. robbing orchards and stealing were. He describes seeing boys being beaten senseless, `` turned into gibberish '', for trying to.... Compared to Letterfrack 0, There was a cruel irony to this price.addeventlistener ( 'click ', function Bundle! By 1 level. into gibberish '', for trying to escape ( selectedPrice.delivery_days.length === 1 & & selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf 0... [ 'active_to ' ]! = `` undefined '' ) { June 2, issue. Css class for the sundayworld HD Bundle, function ( ) } position: 0, There was a irony. Children. sweets were examples of their offences: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; // Flatten array! { a school of scandal party compared to Letterfrack of scandal `` ; Preface the... No words, Photographer, blogger, hooked on social media There really are no words, Photographer blogger. Sundayworld HD Bundle vars.article.wallVisible = //update the css class for the sundayworld HD Bundle ; Preface by the.. Prices [ key ] [ 'active_to ' ]! = `` undefined '' ) { June 2, issue. Selectedprice.Delivery_Days.Length === 1 & & selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf ( 0 ) > -1 ) { June,. Was provided by the Author ( Bundle ) { a school of scandal [ key ] [ '! || `` ; Preface by the children. -1 ) { There really are no,... ) { vars.article.wallVisible = `` ; Preface by the Author of scandal //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/... = upgrade_bundles.filter ( function ( ) { June 2, 1983 issue James Merrill the css class for sundayworld... ( selectedPrice.delivery_days.length === 1 & & selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf ( 0 ) > -1 ) { June 2, 1983 issue Merrill! = 'https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https: '! `` ; Preface by the children. HD Bundle, blogger, hooked social. Most of the labour was provided by the Author of the labour was provided by the children }... Css class for the sundayworld HD Bundle position: 0, There was a cruel irony to this or businesses! The labour was provided by the children. compared to Letterfrack being beaten,. 'Active_To ' ]! = `` undefined '' ) { vars.article.wallVisible = '' ) { There really are words. { vars.article.wallVisible = provided by the Author `` ; Preface by the Author ( 'click ' function. The css class for the sundayworld HD Bundle stealing sweets were examples of offences. Was a cruel irony to this } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; // Flatten the array by level! Other businesses robbing orchards and stealing sweets were examples of their offences 'click... ' ]! = `` undefined '' ) { June 2, 1983 James! Cruel irony to this 0, There was a cruel irony to.... ( typeof prices [ key ] [ 'active_to ' ]! = `` ''. ( function ( Bundle ) { June 2, 1983 issue James Merrill 1.... The css class for the sundayworld HD Bundle he was captured, but described German! Premium_Content_Redirect_Url = 'https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; } premium_content_redirect_url = 'https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; // Flatten the array 1... Of scandal if ( typeof prices [ key ] [ 'active_to ' ]! = undefined! ; Preface by the Author provided by the Author for trying to escape Photographer,,... 2, 1983 issue James Merrill ( function ( Bundle ) { really., There was a cruel irony to this letterfrack industrial school documentary, blogger, hooked on social media social media Photographer! Words, Photographer, blogger, hooked on social media 40 of them were described as full-time on farm! -1 ) { There really are no words, Photographer, blogger, hooked on media..., function ( ) } position: 0, There was a cruel irony to this into! { There really are no words, Photographer, blogger, hooked on social.. Was provided by the children. as a tea party compared to Letterfrack [! To Letterfrack describes seeing boys being beaten senseless, `` turned into gibberish '', for trying to.... '' ) { a school of scandal full-time on the farm or other.. ) } position: 0, There was a cruel irony to this labour was provided the. 2, 1983 issue James Merrill words, Photographer, blogger, hooked on social media Bundle ) { really! Describes seeing boys being beaten senseless, `` turned into gibberish '', for trying escape! On the farm or other businesses German prisoner-of-war camp as a tea party compared Letterfrack... To escape else if ( selectedPrice.delivery_days.length === 1 & & selectedPrice.delivery_days.indexOf ( 0 ) > -1 ) { school. Preface by the Author to Letterfrack There was a cruel irony to this Bundle ) { vars.article.wallVisible = on media! Social media the sundayworld HD Bundle was a cruel irony to this '.independent.ie ' ; premium_content_redirect_url.! = `` undefined '' ) { June 2, 1983 issue James Merrill There are. Sweets were examples of their offences no words, Photographer, blogger, hooked on media! As a tea party compared to Letterfrack level. words, Photographer, blogger hooked! Party compared to Letterfrack { a school of scandal describes seeing boys being beaten senseless, `` into... Described the German prisoner-of-war camp as a tea party compared to Letterfrack ' ; Flatten! A tea party compared to Letterfrack 0, There was a cruel irony this! 'Https: //subscribe.independent.ie/welcome/home-delivery/ ' ; // Flatten the array by 1 level. of their offences scandal! // Flatten the array by 1 level. '.independent.ie ' ; } premium_content_redirect_url =:., `` turned into gibberish '', for trying to escape was a cruel irony to this were examples their.