Painful memories from the class of 1971

IN 1971, in a CBS school on the northside of Dublin, I witnessed two first-year boys receiving six slaps on each hand using a leather strap.

Administered by a lay teacher in his mid-20s, the ferocity of the blows caused the two boys to faint.

The brute who inflicted the blows told other students to carry them across to the science lab where they could be revived with smelling salts. While being shouldered over, the brother superior met the boys. He was utterly shocked, stormed into the classroom and ordered the teacher to come to his office after class was over.