Children Of The Poor Clares by Mavis Arnold, Heather Laskey Page A
Authors: Mavis Arnold, Heather Laskey
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called, Meehan could be thanked for the convent not burning.
The organisational history of the fire brigade itself was obscure. In 1940 Mr Gaffney was given responsibility for it, but the man who was in charge of the AFS told the tribunal that it was impossible to get crew because ‘the apathy was terrific and they kept falling away’. There was uncertainty about who constituted the brigade. Fitzpatrick, for example, maintained that, although he ‘turned out’ with the brigade he was not actually in it. When the chairman enquired whether or not he got anything extra for this, Fitzpatrick growled, ‘All I ever got for any fire work I did was plenty of abuse’, at which there was laughter in court.
Several members of the brigade described the call-out procedure. One man told the inquiry that he knew of no call-out instructions except that Fitzpatrick was to call him. Another said that their training was ‘all perfunctory’; they had no practice with a ladder, only with ‘putting water on’. Patrick Cullen, the captain of the brigade, said that he had been chosen because he lived at the Town Hall, and that was where the Brigade assembled. He was not ‘really’ but only ‘sort-of’ captain. At fire drill he never took charge or gave instruction. He described the call-out routine. He was to be called first, and then the rest were to be called in turn, each one bicycling off to get the next.
Major Comerford : ‘Was there any means of calling you at night?’
Cullen: ‘Not unless they kicked the door.’
Comerford: ‘No bell or knocker?’
Cullen: ‘No.’
Comerford: ‘How long would it take to assemble everyone at the town hall?’
Cullen : ‘Judging from previous occasions I would estimate about three-quarters of an hour.’
This was the same period of time as had elapsed between the smoke first being seen from Sullivan’s, and the final collapse of the dormitory floor.
Chairman: ‘Was this little fire drill you had just an afternoon’s amusement?’
Cullen: ‘No, it was in case of an emergency.’
At that time, Cavan’s fire-fighting facilities were probably no worse than many other small towns in the country. However, an editorial in The Anglo Celt on 27 th February, when the anguish was still fresh, commented that ‘over half a century ago when the waterworks scheme was inaugurated, a volunteer fire brigade was called into being with full equipment, including ladders, to deal with any emergency and a weekly drill of the entire members at the highest buildings in the town.’ This referred to the period before independence from Britain.
* * *
Because St Joseph’s was a certified Industrial School, most of the children had been committed to it through the courts by the Department of Education. It was the duty of that department to ensure that the children were adequately protected by the relevant legislation and that the regulations were being implemented. Yet, in the statement with which he opened the Inquiry, Counsel for the Department, Mr McLoughlin, clearly defined his role as one of only ‘assisting’ the Inquiry, and, unlike the other Counsel, he was to make no final submission—presumably to emphasise the point that the Department had no case to answer.
‘The orphanage,’ he said in his opening statement, ‘being a certified school is subject to inspection by the Minister. This school has been regularly inspected and would appear to have carried out its duties to the children in all particulars. Following the receipt of circulars from the Department of Education about regular fire drill, the Department had been informed by the Manager in a letter that it had been put into effect.’
Fire drill was required by the regulations to take place once every three months, each alternate drill at night, and a record had to be kept in the school diary.
Mr McLoughlin called Dr Anna McCabe, Medical
The organisational history of the fire brigade itself was obscure. In 1940 Mr Gaffney was given responsibility for it, but the man who was in charge of the AFS told the tribunal that it was impossible to get crew because ‘the apathy was terrific and they kept falling away’. There was uncertainty about who constituted the brigade. Fitzpatrick, for example, maintained that, although he ‘turned out’ with the brigade he was not actually in it. When the chairman enquired whether or not he got anything extra for this, Fitzpatrick growled, ‘All I ever got for any fire work I did was plenty of abuse’, at which there was laughter in court.
Several members of the brigade described the call-out procedure. One man told the inquiry that he knew of no call-out instructions except that Fitzpatrick was to call him. Another said that their training was ‘all perfunctory’; they had no practice with a ladder, only with ‘putting water on’. Patrick Cullen, the captain of the brigade, said that he had been chosen because he lived at the Town Hall, and that was where the Brigade assembled. He was not ‘really’ but only ‘sort-of’ captain. At fire drill he never took charge or gave instruction. He described the call-out routine. He was to be called first, and then the rest were to be called in turn, each one bicycling off to get the next.
Major Comerford : ‘Was there any means of calling you at night?’
Cullen: ‘Not unless they kicked the door.’
Comerford: ‘No bell or knocker?’
Cullen: ‘No.’
Comerford: ‘How long would it take to assemble everyone at the town hall?’
Cullen : ‘Judging from previous occasions I would estimate about three-quarters of an hour.’
This was the same period of time as had elapsed between the smoke first being seen from Sullivan’s, and the final collapse of the dormitory floor.
Chairman: ‘Was this little fire drill you had just an afternoon’s amusement?’
Cullen: ‘No, it was in case of an emergency.’
At that time, Cavan’s fire-fighting facilities were probably no worse than many other small towns in the country. However, an editorial in The Anglo Celt on 27 th February, when the anguish was still fresh, commented that ‘over half a century ago when the waterworks scheme was inaugurated, a volunteer fire brigade was called into being with full equipment, including ladders, to deal with any emergency and a weekly drill of the entire members at the highest buildings in the town.’ This referred to the period before independence from Britain.
* * *
Because St Joseph’s was a certified Industrial School, most of the children had been committed to it through the courts by the Department of Education. It was the duty of that department to ensure that the children were adequately protected by the relevant legislation and that the regulations were being implemented. Yet, in the statement with which he opened the Inquiry, Counsel for the Department, Mr McLoughlin, clearly defined his role as one of only ‘assisting’ the Inquiry, and, unlike the other Counsel, he was to make no final submission—presumably to emphasise the point that the Department had no case to answer.
‘The orphanage,’ he said in his opening statement, ‘being a certified school is subject to inspection by the Minister. This school has been regularly inspected and would appear to have carried out its duties to the children in all particulars. Following the receipt of circulars from the Department of Education about regular fire drill, the Department had been informed by the Manager in a letter that it had been put into effect.’
Fire drill was required by the regulations to take place once every three months, each alternate drill at night, and a record had to be kept in the school diary.
Mr McLoughlin called Dr Anna McCabe, Medical
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