Nuns admit psychological needs of children not met

A former provincial leader of the Daughters of Charity has admitted that the emotional and psychological needs of children at its industrial school were not met.

Sister Catherine Mulligan told the Child Abuse Commission that children sent to their school in Drogheda by the courts often screamed for their parents.

She said that most of the allegations levelled at the order, which is associated with the Saint Vincent de Paul charity, related to the children being cold, starving, physically abused and receiving a poor education.

She admitted that corporal punishment was administered using a cane or a ruler, and that some of the nuns could have been sarcastic or belittling towards the children.