Industrial Schools, Letterfrack, Co. Galway
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Where: Galway, Ireland
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When: Unknown
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Nestling under a twin of the Sugar Loaf Mountain is the Industrial School of Letterfrack. Set in the far wilds of Connemara it was known a feared place for its young occupants as much by reason of its dramatic location!
Today's contributions (thankfully/unusually downbeat) highlighted how the pictured St Joseph's Industrial School, while initially set up with likely positive intentions, was so heavily referenced in the reports of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse that St Joseph of Letterfrack was labelled as "the cruel saint" by some. As per the comments below, based on the layout of the buildings pictured, it is expected that the 5 decade catalogue range (c.1860s-1910s) can be refined to perhaps a decade or so (c.1900-1910s)....
Photographer: Robert French
Collection: Lawrence Photograph Collection
Date: Catalogue range of c.1865-1914. Likely c.1900-1910s.
NLI Ref: L_ROY_05374
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Source: Flickr Commons
Views: 43355
Today's contributions (thankfully/unusually downbeat) highlighted how the pictured St Joseph's Industrial School, while initially set up with likely positive intentions, was so heavily referenced in the reports of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse that St Joseph of Letterfrack was labelled as "the cruel saint" by some. As per the comments below, based on the layout of the buildings pictured, it is expected that the 5 decade catalogue range (c.1860s-1910s) can be refined to perhaps a decade or so (c.1900-1910s)....
Photographer: Robert French
Collection: Lawrence Photograph Collection
Date: Catalogue range of c.1865-1914. Likely c.1900-1910s.
NLI Ref: L_ROY_05374
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
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Owner: National Library of Ireland on The CommonsSource: Flickr Commons
Views: 43355
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williamlawrence
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nationallibraryofireland
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damdiv
Lovely photo ..... Letterfrack ?
B-59
OSI 25" map: maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,470976,757615,11,9
B-59
Streetview: goo.gl/maps/ZvTwgoGkVFM2
Ger Cos
One of the most notorious and feared places in the country ...
Swordscookie
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] Remote, inaccessible and with a fearsome reputation! Even going there was an expedition and for boys snatched from their families it was a living nightmare! A very fine shot but the history makes it terribly sad viewing! Wikipedia traces the origins of the place: Origins A wealthy Quaker couple, James and Mary Ellis, moved to Letterfrack in 1849 from the north of England, bought a large tract of land, developed it, built a residence and also a school for local children. After the Ellises left, the school was run by Protestant Irish Church Missions to Roman Catholics. The ICM's proselytising efforts continued up until 1882. The Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, Dr. John McEvilly bought the property in 1884. Opening The Archbishop wrote to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Earl Spencer suggesting that the property was 'admirably suited for a boys’ industrial school so sadly needed in that district'. However, the Lord Lieutenants' advisors were against the establishment of the school on the grounds that there was unlikely to be enough children requiring such an institution in the area and the existing schools were adequate for the educational needs of the area. Despite support from the Inspector of Industrial Schools, Sir Arthur Lentaigne the application was refused. The Archbishop continued to lobby the Lord Lieutenant and the school received support from the Lord Lieutenant in August 1885. The school was initially certified for 75 boys and the Archbishop entered into negotiations with the Christian Brothers. The Christian Brothers agreed and after building work added to the property, the schools opened on 12 October 1887.
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
With the benefit of hindsight, a chilling 1899 description of the place, including the daily routine - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/169717022 ps - it goes over the page, including ...
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
From trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/72019038 (1926)Dún Laoghaire Micheál
Appears to be bed linen or other washing being dried in the grounds
DannyM8
It breaks my heart when I read of the unbelievable horrors the boys at these industrial schools had to endure.
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Thanks all - A scary place indeed! It may be a stretch, but do we think there is anything in the photo to help refine the ~50 year date range? Outbuildings, added wings, etc? It seems likely that this image was captured after the Christian Brothers had taken over the school from the Ellis family, and the frontage looks a little weathered (so maybe a few years after the works the Christian Brothers had undertaken). Perhaps 1890s? Early 1900s? Around the time that the strict regimes that https://www.flickr.com/photos/beachcomberaustralia links for us were likely in full force?
O Mac
The gabled building to the far left is not shown on the OSI 25" so photograph had to have been taken after June 1898 when surveyed. OSI sheet # GY023-02Surveyed 01/Jun/1898Published 01/Jun/1899
silverio10
Buena serie de fotos antiguas .
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Thanks https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] - Have reflected that date/range in the updated description. The tags, map, etc now also updated!
Dún Laoghaire Micheál
Seems like that's a telegraph pole near a gateway on the left margin. How early were first telephones introduced to institutions like this? And might there be corresponding old public or private directories?