Clerical abuse!

Started by D4S, May 20, 2009, 05:09:14 PM

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We all know this disgusting scandal is as a result of The Church and The State, but who do you hold mostly accountable, and should therefore pay out the most in compensation to victims?

The State
The Church
Split 50/50

Owen Brannigan

Quote from: armaghniac on March 12, 2018, 01:47:29 PM
Quote from: Owen Brannigan on March 12, 2018, 01:36:07 PM
Quote from: Targetman on March 12, 2018, 11:08:04 AM
Mary McAleese on Rte radio says that her young brother was abused by that animal Finnegan

Some care needs to be taken as her statement was based on a letter to Belfast Telegraph by her brother but he doesn't claim that Finnegan abused him physically or sexually other than he knew about it going on in the college:


She said that she hadn't known about it before the letter, but is she saying that the only thing she currently knows about it is the letter?

Her brother makes no claim against Finnegan as a direct abuser of any nature, he complains that Finnegan as headmaster allowed physical abuse to occur and this was carried out by others employed by the school but without being stopped by the headmaster.

From the letter, her brother is making allegations of being physically abused by other members of staff.  Mary McAleese is extending this to include Finnegan abusing her brother even though he says otherwise.


Taylor

Sexual abuse aside I cant imagine there were too many schools which were ran by priests/christian brothers where physical abuse wasnt rife prior to 87/88?

Think it changed around that time whereby you were no longer allowed to hit schoolkids

brokencrossbar1

Quote from: Taylor on March 13, 2018, 12:19:40 PM
Sexual abuse aside I cant imagine there were too many schools which were ran by priests/christian brothers where physical abuse wasnt rife prior to 87/88?

Think it changed around that time whereby you were no longer allowed to hit schoolkids

I would agree there. It was very rife in the Abbey the few years before I started in 1987 and continued on after that. A certain Brother who was in the top portakabins had a purple plastic hurl he would use sometimes, dodgy as hell and his next door neighbour brother would batter us with a leather strap. In my older brothers time it was very common, even among the lay members of staff.  I have no doubt that there was also some other stuff went on (brother with the purple hurl was suspected for many years) but as it was a day School only the opportunities were not there as much.

What I would say is when I studied A Level irish we went to a retired brothers room for extra work on our literature. We loved it as one of the lads smoked and he and the brother would smoke away together in secret. We also on one or two occasions shared a whiskey with him. It was all straight forward when I was there but there was a chance that things could have been viewed differently had it become apparent what was going on. I never heard any questions being raised about this particular brother but you just never know....

Owen Brannigan

#2509
Quote from: Taylor on March 13, 2018, 12:19:40 PM
Sexual abuse aside I cant imagine there were too many schools which were ran by priests/christian brothers where physical abuse wasnt rife prior to 87/88?

Think it changed around that time whereby you were no longer allowed to hit schoolkids

As I only attended CB schools, I cannot confirm but would still have thought that prior to 1987, when corporal punishment became illegal, physical abuse was common in all schools.  Prior to 1987, physical violence in schools was still illegal but was accepted by most pupils as part of attending schools.  This level of violence by adults against children was also reflected in the playground where brutal fights were common place.

Prior to 1987, parents rarely made formal or informal complaints about violence against their children as they had been conditioned to such violence against pupils being the norm.

While being slapped with rulers, leather straps, etc (including the wooden wedges used to secure gym wall bars and climbing frames) was accepted by all, there were plenty of extreme examples of this being used sadistically by some teachers.  As BC1 noted above, the use of other 'weaponry' and especially fists was commonplace.

As a pupil I would have found a lot of the lay staff being more violent and sadistic than the Brothers.

Thankfully, the removal of corporal punishment in 1987 made schools less violent but it never removed the violence completely. 

Targetman

I left the Abbey in 87 and of course there were teachers who would have given you a dig with either the strap or fist, just thought it was par for the course, Tommy Bo must have been giving out the fegs and whiskey, Dick Dargan (dodgy)!!

brokencrossbar1

Quote from: Targetman on March 13, 2018, 02:03:01 PM
I left the Abbey in 87 and of course there were teachers who would have given you a dig with either the strap or fist, just thought it was par for the course, Tommy Bo must have been giving out the fegs and whiskey, Dick Dargan (dodgy)!!

Got it in two Targetman!!!  You must have been in my brothers year above him....presuming you made it to 7th year

johnnycool

Quote from: Owen Brannigan on March 13, 2018, 01:57:36 PM
Quote from: Taylor on March 13, 2018, 12:19:40 PM
Sexual abuse aside I cant imagine there were too many schools which were ran by priests/christian brothers where physical abuse wasnt rife prior to 87/88?

Think it changed around that time whereby you were no longer allowed to hit schoolkids

As I only attended CB schools, I cannot confirm but would still have thought that prior to 1987, when corporal punishment became illegal, physical abuse was common in all schools.  Prior to 1987, physical violence in schools was still illegal but was accepted by most pupils as part of attending schools.  This level of violence by adults against children was also reflected in the playground where brutal fights were common place.

Prior to 1987, parents rarely made formal or informal complaints about violence against their children as they had been conditioned to such violence against pupils being the norm.

While being slapped with rulers, leather straps, etc (including the wooden wedges used to secure gym wall bars and climbing frames) was accepted by all, there were plenty of extreme examples of this being used sadistically by some teachers.  As BC1 noted above, the use of other 'weaponry' and especially fists was commonplace.

As a pupil I would have found a lot of the lay staff being more violent and sadistic than the Brothers.

Thankfully, the removal of corporal punishment in 1987 made schools less violent but it never removed the violence completely.

FFS I remember perusing through one of my teachers EDCO stationary books in the late 80's and there was two pages full of various leather straps and so forth for dishing out the beatings. Most teachers had some equipment or other in the desk.

Seems mad now, but was taken as the norm back then.

naka

#2513
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on March 13, 2018, 02:09:25 PM
Quote from: Targetman on March 13, 2018, 02:03:01 PM
I left the Abbey in 87 and of course there were teachers who would have given you a dig with either the strap or fist, just thought it was par for the course, Tommy Bo must have been giving out the fegs and whiskey, Dick Dargan (dodgy)!!

Got it in two Targetman!!!  You must have been in my brothers year above him....presuming you made it to 7th year
.

never had an issue with getting a dig as it was par for the course as was getting digs at home with the brush from my ma.
dick of course was dodgy but everyone knew that and stayed well clear,
tommy bo was a decent brother nothing untoward, he lent me money to buy a pair of football boots in 87 cos my mother couldn't afford them. we had a mc rory quarterfinal  and I was keeper with a ripped boot .

Targetman

Quote from: naka on March 13, 2018, 02:58:58 PM
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on March 13, 2018, 02:09:25 PM
Quote from: Targetman on March 13, 2018, 02:03:01 PM
I left the Abbey in 87 and of course there were teachers who would have given you a dig with either the strap or fist, just thought it was par for the course, Tommy Bo must have been giving out the fegs and whiskey, Dick Dargan (dodgy)!!

Got it in two Targetman!!!  You must have been in my brothers year above him....presuming you made it to 7th year
.

never had an issue with getting a dig as it was par for the course as was getting digs at home with the brush from my ma.
dick of course was dodgy but everyone knew that and stayed well clear,
tommy bo was a decent brother nothing untoward, he lent me money to buy a pair of football boots in 87 cos my mother couldn't afford them. we had a mc rory quarterfinal  and I was keeper with a ripped boot .

Them boots did you no harm Naka, 87 was a good year at the Abbey !!

brokencrossbar1

Quote from: naka on March 13, 2018, 02:58:58 PM
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on March 13, 2018, 02:09:25 PM
Quote from: Targetman on March 13, 2018, 02:03:01 PM
I left the Abbey in 87 and of course there were teachers who would have given you a dig with either the strap or fist, just thought it was par for the course, Tommy Bo must have been giving out the fegs and whiskey, Dick Dargan (dodgy)!!

Got it in two Targetman!!!  You must have been in my brothers year above him....presuming you made it to 7th year
.

never had an issue with getting a dig as it was par for the course as was getting digs at home with the brush from my ma.
dick of course was dodgy but everyone knew that and stayed well clear,
tommy bo was a decent brother nothing untoward, he lent me money to buy a pair of football boots in 87 cos my mother couldn't afford them. we had a mc rory quarterfinal  and I was keeper with a ripped boot .

I'd agree about Tommy Bo and he was the brother who let us have the whiskey. He was always great to us. Nannery beat us regular with the strap and as you say Dick was dodgy as hell. But then you had some viscious lay teachers who were happy enough to let you know the story.

Know now who you are!!!  Year before I started but as targetman said the boots worked wonders!!!  I wasn't at those games as my brother had fallen out with Val. He probably would have played but pride got in the way!!!  Wasn't the last time he fell out with our family either!!!

naka

Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on March 13, 2018, 03:20:59 PM
Quote from: naka on March 13, 2018, 02:58:58 PM
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on March 13, 2018, 02:09:25 PM
Quote from: Targetman on March 13, 2018, 02:03:01 PM
I left the Abbey in 87 and of course there were teachers who would have given you a dig with either the strap or fist, just thought it was par for the course, Tommy Bo must have been giving out the fegs and whiskey, Dick Dargan (dodgy)!!

Got it in two Targetman!!!  You must have been in my brothers year above him....presuming you made it to 7th year
.

never had an issue with getting a dig as it was par for the course as was getting digs at home with the brush from my ma.
dick of course was dodgy but everyone knew that and stayed well clear,
tommy bo was a decent brother nothing untoward, he lent me money to buy a pair of football boots in 87 cos my mother couldn't afford them. we had a mc rory quarterfinal  and I was keeper with a ripped boot .

I'd agree about Tommy Bo and he was the brother who let us have the whiskey. He was always great to us. Nannery beat us regular with the strap and as you say Dick was dodgy as hell. But then you had some viscious lay teachers who were happy enough to let you know the story.

Know now who you are!!!  Year before I started but as targetman said the boots worked wonders!!!  I wasn't at those games as my brother had fallen out with Val. He probably would have played but pride got in the way!!!  Wasn't the last time he fell out with our family either!!!
yip think its fair to say your fella would have played.but  he did alright in the long run.

Orior

Nolan you are a tosser.
Cover me in chocolate and feed me to the lesbians

longballin

Quote from: Orior on March 14, 2018, 11:08:39 PM
Nolan you are a t**ser.

He is but not the biggest culprit in all this... the Catholic Church is.  McCann is right, McAreavey should be answering police questions.

Owen Brannigan

Quote from: Orior on March 14, 2018, 11:08:39 PM
Nolan you are a t**ser.

Putting it up to Dromore diocese and Colman's again and they have played into his hands by making bland statements in the hope it will go away. 

BTW Martin O'Brien well fit for Nolan while McCann is in his element.