Hia Hears Praise of St Patrick's Training School in Belfast
By Kevin Sharkey
A former resident of a boys training school has said "the highest honour" should be awarded to the De La Salle Brothers who taught there. The 67-year-old was giving evidence to the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) about St Patrick's Training School in Belfast . He said when he first heard "the vile accusations against these men, I was completely stunned". He said he did not not know how to repay them for their guidance. "As opposed to facing charges or courts, I consider that we should be awarding them the highest honour for their contribution to society," he said. The pensioner was a resident in the west Belfast school in the 1960s. 'Very violent regime' Earlier, the De La Salle Order challenged claims of sexual and physical abuse by another former resident at St Patrick's. The man, who is now 68, said he suffered serious sexual assaults and claimed the school had "a very violent regime". He also claimed he was sexually abused during trips away from the school. However, the order has told the inquiry that, in a number of instances, the names of alleged abusers provided by the witness were of people who were not at the training school at the time. The inquiry also heard of inconsistencies between some evidence provided by the witness to the inquiry and to police. The man has lodged a civil claim against the De La Salle Order. The HIA inquiry was set up in 2013 to investigate child abuse in residential institutions in Northern Ireland over a 73-year period, up to 1995. In total, the inquiry is expected to hear from more than 300 witnesses during the course of the public evidence sessions. It is required to complete its hearings and all investigative work by mid-summer 2016, and has to submit its report to the Northern Ireland executive by 17 January 2017.
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