| St Joseph's Industrial School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Information | |
| Type | Industrial school |
| Opened | 12 October 1887 |
| Founder | Congregation of Christian Brothers |
| Closed | 1974 |
St Joseph's Industrial School was an industrial school for young boys in Letterfrack, County Galway, Ireland. The school was built in 1886/7 after the designs of the architect William Hague,[1][2] opened in 1887, and run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers.
St Joseph's received a lasting notoriety through revelation of physical and sexual abuse of the boys by some of the Brothers there, with evidence of sexual abuse and extreme physical punishments going back to the 1930s. According to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, between the years 1940 to 1970 15 children died there while in the care of the Christian Brothers, from causes including tuberculosis. Brother David Gibson, provincial of the Irish Christian Brothers' northern province, which includes Letterfrack, said that following a more thorough investigation of their files it was now established that 100 boys had died at the school during the 86-year period.[3][4]
The school was closed in 1974.
- ^ "CO. GALWAY, LETTERFRACK, INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS". Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720–1940. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "Letterfrack, County Galway 30329005". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "Paddy Doyle: Newspaper Articles". Archived from the original on 9 December 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
- ^ Chapter 8, Letterfrack Industrial School ('Letterfrack'), 1885-1974 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse