Horrific Conditions of 1940s
Irish Industrial Schools Exposed
The life of Surrey, British Columbia resident Walter O'Keeffe is the subject of a fascinating and tragic new book.
Those Who Trespass Against Us paints a disturbing picture of O'Keeffe as a young orphan as he struggles to survive the inhumane treatment imposed on him by those charged with his care.
The book examines the horrific conditions of Ireland's industrial schools during the 1940s and the bizarre Irish legal system that placed defenseless children into these institutions.
O'Keeffe was born in Mooncoin, County Kilkenny, and spent his early years playing on the banks of the River Suir. Following the untimely death of his father in 1939, Walter - then eight years old - and his five siblings were orphaned and the family torn apart.
After being severely abused by his aunt, Walter and two of his brothers were removed from her care and convicted in a court of law for wandering and having a guardian who did not exercise proper guardianship.
As their sentence, the judge ordered that O'Keeffe and his two brothers be detained to Greenmont Industrial School for Boys in Cork, where according to O'Keeffe, they were starved, beaten, abused and denied access to proper education and medical treatment.
The book's author, Toni O'Keeffe, is also the subject's daughter. "A part of my father has been locked away, guarded, suffering a dark indescribable grief," stated O'Keeffe.
"Although I knew the story of his past, I never understood the depth of his pain until I was an adult. He'd mask his anguish by escaping into his music, his poetry, his carvings and or, the drink.
"As a result of the abuse he suffered, the genius of my father never truly had the opportunity to take root and grow. This fact is a tragedy as great as the abuse he endured most of his young life."
The book also tells a tale of thousands of other young Irish children who were brutalized under the harsh hands of the Christian Brothers and Sisters in Ireland's industrial schools in which they were forced to live.
Other stories recount the suffering of Ireland's children, and while they are all horrible, no other so vividly describes the harsh realties of children struggling to survive during this shameful period of Irish history.
On May 11, 1999, the Government of Ireland apologized on behalf of the State to the victims who suffered abuse while incarcerated in Ireland's industrial schools. But the apology came too late for many. At 76 years of age, Walter O'Keeffe is still having nightmares and suffers from anxiety and other social disorders.
"I can't forget that awful place, the beatings, the torture, the humiliation and the starvation. I still fear authority and am unable to totally trust anyone. These were supposed to be Christian men taking care of us, but there was nothing Christian about them," said O'Keeffe.
In September of 2004, with the assistance of his daughter and after two years of pleading his case, Walter O'Keeffe received a settlement claim from the State of Ireland for the suffering and abuse he was forced to endure from 1940 to 1946 while incarcerated in Greenmont Industrial School, Cork, Ireland.
Following his release from Greenmont, O'Keeffe was sold off to a farm in Crosshaven, where he was forced to work without pay for over a year and a half until he found the courage to run away.
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| WALTER O'KEEFFE with his daughter Toni who is the author of Those Who Trespass Against Us |
O'Keeffe immigrated to Canada in 1956 and now resides in Surrey B.C. His daughter and author, Toni is the second eldest of the seven children O'Keeffe had with his wife Monica.
Toni O'Keeffe has been a professional business writer and communicator for over 20 years. She currently works as the Director of Communications and Public Relations at Malaspina University-College on Vancouver Island, B.C.
Those Who Trespass Against Us is now available in Canada, the United States, Europe and Britain through Trafford Publishing at www.trafford.com. For more information, call toll-free at 1-888-232-4444, or e-mail: angelink@shaw.ca.
Facts: Ireland's Industrial School System
o Over 105,000 children were committed to industrial schools by the Irish courts between 1868 and 1969.
o These schools were funded by the State and run by the churches, primarily the Catholic Church of Ireland.
o Only a small number of the children committed to these schools, approximately 5.6 percent were actually orphans. The other children were committed in three other categories
1) the state had determined their parents were either unsuitable or unable to look after them;
2) children who were convicted of minors acts of delinquency;
3) children who were under the care of local agencies whose families were either destitute or they had been born to an unwed or single woman.
o The system supported 71 schools, detaining up to 8,000 children at one time.
o More girls were detained to the schools than boys.
o Greenmont Industrial School for Boys, was closed March 31, 1959.
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