Carriglea Park was an industrial school in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

, Ireland.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
Chapter 10, Report of the

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) was one of a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government to investigate the extent and effects of abuse on children from 1936 onwards. Commencing its work in 1999, it was commonly known ...

The Christian Brothers purchased the property in 1893.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-3, Report of the

It was first certified as an Industrial School in 1894 and started operating in 1896.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-1, Report of the

It was located in Kill O'The Grange in south

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, at the junction of Kill Avenue and Rochestown Avenue.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-4, Report of the

The site is now the location of the Quadrangle Building in

Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology ( ga, Institiúid Ealaíona, Dearadh agus Teicneolaíochta Dhún Laoghaire), more commonly known as IADT Dún Laoghaire or simply IADT is an institute of technology with a focus on art and ...

, a third level institute of technology with over 2000 students.

History

The property originally consisted of the 'Ruby Hall' mansion and 40 acres of land, which was increased to by the purchase of a nearby farm.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-5, Report of the

In 1946 purchase of land intended for a secondary school increased the size of the property to . The idea behind establishing Carriglea was that it would be " Artane on a small scale". The mansion was used as residence for the Christian Brothers and a separate building was built for the dormitory, dining room, kitchen and classrooms.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-6, Report of the

Closure

The school officially closed on 30 June 1954.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-13, Report of the

When the Congregation decided to close Carriglea Park, it decided that admissions to St Joseph's Industrial School, Letterfrack would be restricted to those boys whose offences would have resulted in a prison sentence for an adult.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-15, Report of the

This was strongly opposed by the Department of Education and Skills,

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and members of the judiciary, but the Brothers were adamant and went ahead with the plan. The Dún Laoghaire College of Art and Design moved to the site in the early 1980s, expanding into the

(IADT) in 1997 with several more buildings constructed over the years.

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse

Physical abuse

The Commission concluded that when discipline had broken down, the Congregation approved the appointment of a man known to practice excessive corporal punishment and that they considered this an appropriate approach.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-90, Report of the

Sexual abuse

The Commission concluded that there was a problem with abuse of boys by other boys.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-110, Report of the

They noted that a Brother had been transferred from

Artane Industrial school St. Josephs Industrial School, Artane was an Industrial School run by the Christian Brothers in Artane, Dublin from 1870 to 1969. History On 28 July 1870, the Artane Industrial School for Roman Catholic Boys, also known as St Joseph's, was of ...

to Carriglea after concerns had been expressed about his friendship with a particular boy in Artane – this was condemned as "ill-judged and dangerous". Two specific Brothers were noted as having histories of abuse – they were given the pseudonyms Brother Tristan and Brother Lancelin.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-98, Report of the

Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-100, Report of the

Brother Tristan was probably known to be an abuser by the General Council, but was moved on and kept employed in the industrial school system. He had committed offences at Carriglea and Marino. The Commission found that the records of the General Council showed that they regarded his offences as being much more serious than the submission to the Commission by the Christian Brothers had indicated. Brother Lancelins offences were serious enough to be described with language that would be used of criminal offences, contradicting the submission made by the Congregation to the Commission. The Commission described one offence in particular as a "serious case of sexual abuse". Unusually for the 1940s, the boys made written statements about the abuse.

Emotional abuse and neglect

Carriglea Park was "dilapidated and run-down" for most of the period of the Commissions remit.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-140, Report of the

Boys were badly clothed and went barefoot in summer despite adequate funds being available.

Education and trades

Primary school education at Carriglea appears to have been of a relatively high standard.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-171, Report of the

The Commission praised the practice of preparing boys for the Postal Office exam, but regretted that the practice of sending brighter boys to the Christian Brothers secondary school in Dún Laoghaire was discontinued. Trades were for the benefit of the institution, not the boys and only two were offered apart from farming.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-184, Report of the

Boys in Carriglea were not provided with work skills for after their time in the school.

General conclusions

The Congregation had adequate funds to provide reasonable care for the boys sent to Carriglea, but didn't do so.Chapter 10, Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dun Laoghaire (‘Carriglea’), 1894–1954
section 10-200, Report of the

The Congregation made considerable profit from closing Carriglea Park but did not use it to benefit boys. Chronic mismanagement and a harsh regieme caused abuse. Discipline was enforced by harsh and violent means to introduce order, with no regard for the boys welfare. Sexual abuse by two Brothers was noted. Primary education was good, but trades preparation was poor. The school was dilapidated and poorly run.

References

{{coord missing, County Dublin Dún Laoghaire History of County Dublin Youth detention centers Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland Education in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Industrial schools in the Republic of Ireland Defunct Catholic schools in Ireland Defunct schools in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions disestablished in 1954 1893 establishments in Ireland Educational institutions established in 1893 Violence against men in Europe