Bishop told of school’s ‘reign of abuse’

FORMER pupils of a primary school in the south-east have told Bishop of Ossory, Seamus Freeman how its teachers past and present, have presided over a “reign of abuse” that dates back 25 years.

The two past pupils and parents of young children, who lodged abuse allegations in the past three years, met with the bishop in recent weeks. Bishop Freeman who attended the meeting with his secretary, Fr Patrick Dalton, was told how physical and emotional abuse was “systematic” in the school and occurred after 1987 when corporal punishment was banned.

The bishop was told how children “were beaten with sticks... were pulled and dragged by their hair and ears and had objects wedged between their upper and lower teeth to force their mouth open”.

One former pupil described being forced “to stand on one leg on a manhole” in the school playground for several hours.

Two of the accused teachers taught at the school until recent years while a third teacher is principal. An investigation was undertaken by the Department of Education in 1991 into the abuse allegations at the school and two of the teachers admitted to committing illegal acts. Nonetheless, they remained on in employment at the school.

A spokesman for the bishop said that he could not comment on the allegations.

The school is under the spotlight after it emerged that since 2006, 20% of the pupils have been removed from the small rural school after nine children from six families alleged abuse or alleged to have witnessed abuse.

Five of the children say they were sexually abused by a class teacher. Three of the children say the headmistress was involved in the sexual abuse.

Investigations into the alleged abuse by the HSE and the board of management, of which the principal is a member, proved inconclusive. The families have serious concerns about both investigations describing them as “fatally flawed”.