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	Abuse Rife in St Patrick's Orphanage under the Sisters of Charity By Sean Keane Kilkenny People May 28, 2009 http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/Abuse-rife-in-St-Patricks.5311304.jp NOBODY knows for sure what level of abuse there was at St Patrick's, Kells Road, Kilkenny, an industrial school and orphanage up to 1966 when it changed over and became a centre for young adults with minor and severe learning difficulties. But before 1966 when it was run with an iron fist, we have first-hand reports of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. There is evidence like there is at St Joseph's, Waterford Road, Kilkenny, that people on the outside knew what was going on. The re are sexual abuse claims against three lay workers at St Patrick's. All three are dead. Nobody knows for sure if there are unmarked graves in the 80 acres around St Patrick's because there are no records there. It's important to look at the history of the centre to understand what happened there. In 1879, the Bishop of Ossory, Dr Moran, acquired from the State an agricultural college known as 'model farm', for the purpose of establishing an industrial school for the boys of the diocese. He invited the Sisters of Charity to take over the management and control of the model farm and convert it into an industrial school. On December 23, 1879, St Patrick's was certified as an industrial school for the admission of 186 boys up to the age of 10 years. St Patrick's Industrial School closed in November 1966. All the boys resident in the School at the time were transferred to other institutions. Later that year, with the approval of the Department of Health, St Patrick's re-opened as a school for children with severe or minor learning difficulties. It still provides residential care, day care, respite care and a special school for those with learning disabilities. Physical abuse A complainant who was in St Patrick's in the 1940s recalled the Institution before it was divided into the group system: "It was a kind of a... it was a real institution, like. You know, like an orphanage, that's how I felt. It was a very harsh regime as regards discipline ... I remember we were in the... it was like an auditorium that we were in. First thing in the morning before school we would do our catechism. We had to learn our catechism... I remember one little boy... he forgot his catechism. He couldn't remember what it was and the sister that was doing the catechism - I can't remember, I wouldn't be sure of her name. It could have been Sr Tyra. She gave him, like, a beating in front of all of the boys. We were all sort of sitting there. She said: 'I am going to make an example of this boy and this is what you will get if you don't remember your catechism'. She beat him with a billiard cue... Full-length billiard cue, yes. That was the one major incident I can remember at that school." He said the beating took place in the front of a large hall where all the boys could see it: "He was brought down to the front where everyone could see him and the nun got this billiard cue. She made him bend over and she gave him a hell of a beating. Obviously we were terrified of seeing this" The witness believed the boy was about seven or eight when this happened: "We were ever so small. We were really tiny in size. "This incident stood out in his mind: Well, I could still hear, even still today I can still hear the swish of a billiard cue. She swung it around with all her might. You could hear the wind going through the billiard cue and the little fellow screaming. It's sort of something you wouldn't forget." That was the most severe beating he remembered in St Patrick's. Lesser physical punishment was administered for failure at lessons. It was, he said, "Less severe, they would get the back of the ruler". A complainant, who spent seven years in St Patrick's until he was transferred to another industrial school in the mid-1960s, described the punishment he received for bed-wetting: "I suppose what I would like to talk about was the punishments I received as a child when I wet the bed... It happened for most of my time when I was in St Patrick's. "The punishment I re-ceived for wetting the bed was I was put into a galvanised bath down near the toilets, this was full of Jeyes Fluid, and a bucket was put into the bath and the water poured over my head and I was made sit there for five minutes. As I got out of the bath I was beaten on the behind." He said that this cold bath and physical punishment continued daily, from the age of five to the age of 10. He ran away after a nun hung him up by the feet. When he was found over at the city's railway station he was brought back and received another "hiding". Allegations Three witnesses from St Patrick's gave evidence of being sexually abused by three different lay workers in St Patrick's, Kilkenny. All three against whom the allegations were made are dead. The Sisters submit that they have been unable, due to the passage of time, to source information to assist. There were no records or documents of any kind found anywhere that might have assisted in an evaluation of this evidence. There was no corroboration. For the Sisters of Charity, res-ponding to these allegations was a practical impossibility. Conclusions 1. It was not possible for a handful of nuns to give an appropriate level of care to nearly 200 very young boys, irrespective of how hard-working and dedicated they were; 2. There was no accountability in the administration of punishment; 3. The authorities in St Patrick's failed in their duty to keep proper records. The absence of documentary evidence, accordingly does not mean that there was no abuse. 4. Record keeping is part of the duty of care and is intended to make an institution accountable. The absence of records has put both the Sisters of Charity and the witnesses at a disadvantage
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