'It’s just horrific to think of the damage done,' says principal of school named in report on allegations of historical sexual abuse

“I haven’t really been able to sleep much since that report came out, to be honest with you,” said the principal of one of the more than 30 Cork schools named in a national report on allegations of historical sexual abuse at schools run by religious orders in Ireland.

The Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders, which was published last Tuesday, contains almost 2,400 allegations of abuse.

The investigation, led by senior counsel Mary O’Toole, found claims were made about 884 alleged abusers in 308 day and boarding schools run by 42 Catholic religious orders across the country.

The scoping inquiry said it had contacted 73 religious orders that ran or are still running schools in Ireland, with 42 having records of historical sexual abuse allegations.

In Cork alone, there were more than 300 allegations of abuse against more than 130 alleged abusers in well over two dozen Cork schools.

In the wake of the report’s publication, The Echo attempted to contact all of the Cork schools named in the report and still in operation, both by telephone and by email. Where we were unable to contact a school by telephone, we sent an email. Several of the schools we were able to contact declined to comment, and a number of them referred us to the head office of the religious order relevant to that school. The majority of the schools did not respond at all.

The principal of one Cork school named in the report, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they had been “deeply upset” since reading the testimonies of some survivors, and had had difficulty sleeping.

“I have young children myself, and I keep thinking that if anyone hurt my kids, I keep thinking, I just couldn’t bear it. How could anyone do that to small children?

“It’s just horrific to think of the damage done, all of the suffering spreading out and out and the lives destroyed,” they said.

“All I can say is that we’re a very different school now. I know that doesn’t help the poor people whose lives were destroyed, but for us in the school now the single most important school policy that we have is child protection, and it’s been that way for years.

“The [named religious order] have had nothing to do with us for years, thank God.” 

The report contains 166 allegations against 50 alleged abusers at the Brothers of Charity in Lota in Glanmire, and nine allegations against two alleged abusers at the Brothers of Charity St Mary’s Rochestown.

A statement from the Brothers of Charity said since they were first made aware in the mid-90s of allegations of sexual abuse in their schools, they have put in place “rigorous child protection structures in order to maximise the safety of every pupil”.

They said:

“We apologised publicly and unreservedly to pupils and families when [earlier reports relating to abuse] were published and we renew our sincere apologies”.

They urged any former pupil “who needs support” to contact the independent counselling and therapeutic service, Towards Healing, at 1800 303416.

The report contains 42 allegations against four alleged abusers at Coláiste an Chroí Naofa, Carrignavar, run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. The school’s current board of management expressed its horror at allegations of abuse “at our school at a time when it was a boarding school”.

The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart extended its “unreserved apologies to any child or young person who was sexually abused by any of our members … We acknowledge and accept the lasting impact of such abuse on the lives of victim survivors.” 

The order said it encouraged anyone who was abused in their school to report the abuse to An Garda Síochána and the order’s safeguarding manager at safeguarding@mscmissions.ie.

The report contains 16 allegations against five alleged abusers at Blarney St Christian Brothers primary school. The school, which is now known as Blarney Street School, said it extended its heartfelt sympathy to all those who have been deeply hurt by sexual abuse.

“Above all, our response to abuse allegations must be grounded in gospel authenticity (truth, openness, transparency and accountability) rather than institutional preservation or preservation of assets,” its statement said.

The report contains two allegations against three alleged abusers at Ursuline College in Blackrock, and the Ursuline Sisters said they “acknowledge the courage and bravery of the survivors and are deeply sorry that they have experienced abuse in religious-run schools.” The order said it encouraged anyone needing support to contact them “to get the help they need”.

“We continue to create and maintain an environment that is safe, respectful, supportive, nurturing and caring for all people, especially children in our schools.” 

The report has one allegation of abuse against one alleged abuser at Presentation Brothers College. The order said: “While we acknowledge that it can never undo the damage caused, a broad range of support is available to support victims including access to funded counselling and therapeutic services as well as pastoral and restorative justice processes. We encourage anyone in need of support to contact us to avail of these services.” 

CBS Charleville, which has one allegation against one alleged abuser in the report, said its patron, Edmund Rice Schools Trust, had co-operated fully with the Scoping Inquiry over the past year and provided the information required as comprehensively and honestly as possible.

“We will continue to cooperate fully with any future inquiries or investigations,” the school said.

Two Cork schools named in the report – Sullivan’s Quay Christian Brothers primary school, Deerpark Christian Brothers secondary school – have between them seven historical allegations against four alleged abusers and have been amalgamated under Coláiste Éamann Rís (Edmund Rice College, named after the founder of the Christian Brothers).

Aaron Wolfe, principal of Coláiste Éamann Rís, said the school’s staff was deeply saddened by the revelations, but welcomed the fact that survivors have been given the opportunity to tell their stories and be heard and supported.

The Edmund Rice Schools Trust, which is patron to almost 100 former Christian Brothers schools, said it wished to “ensure that schools today are safe places for all, and that the highest standards of child safeguarding are in place, along with the ongoing development of a culture of care, openness and transparency”.

The principal of one of the schools named in the report said it had been “very unfair” that schools had not been given advance notice of the report’s publication. That principal, who declined to be named, said that with more notice schools might have been better prepared.

However, when asked what measures they had taken since the report’s publication to contact past pupils or offer support to survivors of alleged abuse, they said they were restricted under GDPR from retaining any contact details of past pupils and thus had made no contact with any past pupils or survivors.

Asked to comment, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said the investigation and the subsequent report had a survivor engagement process at its centre, adding that survivors who took part in the process were given the first copies of the report as a priority.

That claim is confirmed anecdotally by survivors who had contributed to the investigation who said they had received a copy of the report delivered to their homes by courier. The department said it had made support information and resources available to schools’ management bodies, “including specific information for schools that may have been named in the report of the scoping inquiry, and schools can contact their management bodies for that information,” the department spokesperson said.

“The information includes guidance for assisting past pupils who may approach schools directly, and it also includes an extensive list of support services, including specialist sexual abuse support organisations, where survivors can be referred for assistance and support.

“NEPS, the National Educational Psychological Service, is also available to support schools where needed,” they added.

HELPLINES

In response to the publication of the report, the telephone-based counselling service Connect is extending its service opening hours for the coming month.

The HSE-funded service, which provides professional telephone-based counselling to survivors of abuse at freephone 1800 477 477, will open from 5pm-9pm every evening until Tuesday, October 8.

The organisation One in Four provides services to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. One in Four can be contacted by calling 01 662 4070 or by completing the form at www.oneinfour.ie/contact.

The HSE’s National Counselling Service provides a professional, confidential counselling and psychotherapy service to people aged 18 or older who experienced childhood abuse. Access to the service can be made by self-referral or referral by a GP. The service is available in all HSE health regions.

Rape Crisis Centre offers a free and confidential listening and support service for anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted, sexually harassed, or sexually abused at any time in their lives. 24-hour National Helpline: 1800 77 88 88 Email: counselling@rcc.ie (office hours) An Garda Síochána Child Sexual Abuse Freephone is a 24-hour line for reporting a complaint of child sexual abuse: 1800 555 222.

Samaritans are available for confidential, non-judgmental, listening support. You can call or email Samaritans anytime, day and night. Freephone: 116 123; email: jo@samaritans.ie; website: samaritans.ie.

Pieta provides counselling at their centres nationwide and telephone support. Their services are for people who are at risk of suicide or self-harm, along with people who have been bereaved by suicide. Freephone 1800 247 247 anytime, day or night, text HELP to 51444 (standard message rates apply), or visit www.pieta.ie for more.

Text About It is a free text service providing emotional support to anyone experiencing a crisis, through engagement in a text conversation with a trained and supervised volunteer. Text ‘HELLO’ to 50808 to start a conversation or visit www.textaboutit.ie for more information Anyone who wishes to report an allegation of sexual abuse can contact their local Garda station, the Garda Sexual Crime Management Unit (01-6663430), or the Garda Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Line (1800 555 222) — which is a confidential and free service. Or they can email GNPSB_SCMU@garda.ie.