The following is a ‘Letter to the Editor’ I came across while doing some research. It was published on 24th February 2003.
A chara,
The current frenzy of intemperate attacks on the religious orders remind me of the ruthless attacks of the Nazi cohorts on the Jewish people in Germany in the 1930s.
Side by side with reports of abuses in industrial schools and orphanages have come reports of good and kind treatment of children too – but little or no prominence is given to such good deeds.
In his book on Artane, Patrick Touher, who spent some years there, said: “I realise that the majority of the Brothers were truly dedicated to our care; of course a few bad eggs emerged as in any institution but I know that on the whole the Brothers were doing their best within limited circumstances in hard times and with frightening numbers.”
Every boy in Artane – the full complement was 900 – was given training to learn a trade – carpenter, shoemaker, tailor, baker, barber, etc., – to fit him for future life.
Artane was practically self-sufficient in producing its own milk, vegetables and bread. The salaries of the Brothers were ploughed into the running expenses of the school, while the State paid a minuscule subsidy to the institution.
The much maligned Magdalen Laundries were there for the same reason – to help pay for food and other necessities. In effect, by their efficient and self-sacrificing work in caring for the neglected children of Ireland, the brothers and nuns saved this country enormous sums of money for decades at a time when Ireland’s economy was very poor indeed.
Is mise,
Rev CON McGILLICUDDY,
Dollymount Grove,
Dublin 3.
Interesting reference to Nazi cohorts since we’ve learned of the ruthless attacks by religious Nazi cohorts on innocent children in Artane and other religious slave labour camps.
There was a good deal of admiration for the Nazi philosophy in Ireland in post WW II Ireland. Maybe not for the horrible atrocities which they perpetrated but for the ideas on discipline and good order which they supposedly avowed.
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”
Well, maybe it didn’t cost the Irish Govt. much THEN – but it sure is doing so NOW – but why all this bullshit about MONEY???What about MORALITY. ETHICS, and THE LAW -to say nothing about humanity… THEIR point of view (other than a never-ending supply of free boys to share around; or free girls to slave their miserable lives away and rape on demand) was MONEY – just look at how they claimed bloody INSURANCE to ‘cover their losses’ YES, THEY ACTUALLY TERMED THE MONEY AND ASSETS THEY WERE DOLING OUT FOR COMPENSATION AS A FINACIAL LOSS!!! and then refused point-blank to turn these millions in Insurance Payments over to the victims’ fund. Shun them, disgrace them, PUNISH THEM – they need to be stripped of everything, as they did to their hapless and innocent victims all those years while Authority looked on smugly. Wasn’t it wonderful to have a priest or a nun in the family in those days? Someone to be proud of. Well, we know better now, don’t we? And the self same Authority – read Fiana Fail and its hangers-on, its appointees, its bagmen and touts – they ought to be treated in the same way. I see that their leader hasn’t even really gone to bat on this issue – what’s he afraid of? WHAT ARE THEY ALL AFRAID OF??? If you watch Dempsey on the video on this site, you’ll see a lot of what is wrong. There, out front, is a brave man going public whith what thousands were hiding, telling it like it is and all he gets from Dempsey is a stoney stare which to me says ‘Why are you blowing the whistle…’ I would say that they are scared that their bloody boat will be rocked to such an extent that it sinks, and more power to it… I also would like to ask other contributors if they see any ‘coincidence’ in Dermot AHERN’S pushing of the criminal blasphemy law and the then-pending release of the Ryan report, which presumably he read well ahead of the rest of us. Did Fianna Fail shudder at the thought of what language and accusations might be hurled against their Roman Catholc mentors/allies/Masters; when the report hit the streets? And that of course, might be constrained if the Bill were Law. Not that the Law matters a lot in Ireland – we’ve seen how 18 ‘religious’ orders and their buddies in the Dail felt about The Law. What Law?
THERE is an authority in this country that everybody bows to. what i mean by everybody is the media, the paper the news and so on. because that is where we all get our information on what is happening in the country and no matter what goes on or what they do nobody speaks up or tells it as it is. there is no voice or outlet for the average joe but i will say that this site is a voice for the average joe but then again its not accessable to the majority of average joe`s for whatever reason.
I am genuinely astonished that for all the talking, no one seems to be making the connection between Irish society’s regular placement at the bottom of league tables for achievement and the Catholic church’s control of and interference in our public services and institutions.
We should all be aware that there is a reason why we are the only western or developed society where, to give an apt but simple example, you may find a large and dangerous pothole in a busy arterial road, but for which no one is held responsible.
The natural feedback loop of experience feeding responsibly into practice hasn’t, and largely STILL doesn’t, in Ireland.
Tomorrow we’re going to vote – the first occasion we’ve had to DO SOMETHING beyond talking! This is OUR chance to START the corrupt union of church and political party government on the way OUT!!! We can’t get idiot Brian and his Ahern-trained henchmen out tomorrow, wish we could – BUT we CAN send a signal, to Ireland, to Europe, to the World – that we no longer will go obediently to the Fianna Fail/Church/Big Business mincer. That we are, in fact, pissed off with them. IRELAND – DO IT…
Where have you disappeared to Anthony ? I thought you would be celebrating the humiliation of the Soldiers of Destiny.On second thoughts – maybe that’s just what you have been doing and forgotten about your blog
Ireland – you did it. Now , onward ( and not Biffo’s version of onward, either…)