Industrial school (Ireland)

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Industrial schools (Irish: Scoileanna Saothair, IPA: [ˈsˠkɛlʲən̪ˠə ˈsˠiːhəɾʲ]) were established in Ireland under the Industrial Schools (Ireland) Act 1868 to care for "neglected, orphaned and abandoned children". By 1884, there were 5,049 children in such institutions throughout the country.^[1] The act was superseded by the Children Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 67).

Today in the Republic of Ireland, children may still be detained in protective custody. The nomenclature has changed from "industrial schools" and "reformatory schools" to "children detention schools". There are five such institutions in the State.^[2] The equivalent institution in Northern Ireland is the Juvenile Justice Centre at Rathgael, near Bangor. It is now Northern Ireland's only children's detention centre following the closure of St Patrick's in Belfast and Lisnevin in Millisle (formerly known as Training Schools).^[3]