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A TOP HISTORIAN at the National Archives has hit out at proposals that would seal records held by inquiries into historic institutional abuse for 75 years.
The Oireachtas Education Committee will hear this morning from Catríona Crowe and some of those who will be impacted by the proposed Retention of Records Bill before it begins formally considering the legislation.
Crowe, head of special projects at the National Archives, will tell the committee that the government would set “an extraordinary precedent” if the bill closes the archives to those who gave testimony to three bodies who dealt with allegations of historic child abuse.
“There would seem to be no good reason not to use the provisions of existing legislation to preserve, withhold and make accessible these very important records…” her opening statement to the committee reads.
“Administrative records of these bodies should be subject only to the provisions of the National Archives Act, and not swept up in this ill-considered attempt to bypass its provisions.”
The bill would seal records from the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB) and the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee transferred to the National Archives.
The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse was set up in 2000 to hear evidence of abuse from individuals who allege they were abused in institutions from 1940 onwards.
The RIRB was established in 2002 to make awards to individuals who were abused, and the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee was also established to review those awards.
The bodies hold more than 2 million records between them, with the commission hearing evidence from more than 1,000 people and thousands more receiving awards from the RIRB following further hearings.
The proposed bill was approved at a Cabinet meeting in February, with Education Minister Joe McHugh claiming that retention of the records was essential to ensure that institutional abuse perpetrated against children was never forgotten.
If passed, it would overturn original legislation enacted for the RIRB and two committees to perform their duties, which stated that such records should be destroyed when their work has been completed.
‘We cannot forget’
Carmel McDonnell Byrne, who was held in Dublin’s Goldenbridge Industrial School between 1965 and 1972, will tell the committee that survivors did not agree to their records being sealed when they participated in the Commission or applied to the RIRB.
“It is from my experience and contact with survivors that the bill is likely to cause practical, emotional and psychological problems for survivors…” her opening statement will say.
“Further investigations were and are necessary. This Bill will not allow such investigations to take place.”
McDonnell Byrne, who co-founded the Christine Buckley Centre to provide education and support to those who suffered from abuse, will also say that survivors deserve a right to copies of their testimony if they want it.
She will also suggest that the records should be kept in a museum alongside items from industrial schools, such as pliers used for making rosary beads and samples of clothing.
“It is important for my children, grandchildren and future generations to understand what happened in Ireland and how thousands survived this very harsh and shameful regime,” her statement says.
“We cannot forget what happened to the thousands of children that were incarcerated into 200 institutions run by church and state.”
Dr Mary Lodato, a researcher and a survivor of institutional abuse, will also tell the committee that survivors and their deceased relatives should have immediate unrestricted access to their own files.
She described current restrictions which prevent abuse survivors from sharing their records as “a re-traumatising reminder” of the Church’s authority over them, and claimed that access to them could have a therapeutic affect instead.
“The proposed 75-year sealing of our files creates cynicism,” Lodato will say.
“It makes it look as though the state is hiding something. This state has already robbed survivors of so much, and profited from our suffering. It must give us our history, and let us share it with the nation.”
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Pass that diving bell on sir john rogersons quay every day on the way too work and always wondered what it was! Explains the name of the street adjacent to it too. Good work Journal.ie. interesting little article.
you’d think the Dublin Council would stick a little sign post beside it with some info, I always wondered too. It’s quite interesting.
The diving bell was made in Grendons foundry in Drogheda where Scotch Hall shopping centre is now, right beside the Viaduct bridge mentioned in the caption. They were going to scrap it until protests from a group of conservationists forced Dublin County Council to restore it and display it where it is now.
I’ll tell you what’s a Dublin curiosity: The place is a complete dump.
The British gave the Irish their modern cities and as soon as they left, the Irish made a complete balls of the place. Out will the old Georgians and in with the concrete tat.
If you want to see a massive planning disaster on a monumental scale, go to Dublin.
The ugliest citiy in Europe just keeps getting uglier.
Think you are getting confused with Belfast, now that is a complete dump.
Dublin didn’t suffer years of bombings and terrorism, Mark.
Having said that, urban planning in Belfast is 100 times better than Dublin.
It takes people with appreciation and aesthetics for architecture to keep a city in shape – something people in Dublin lack in general.
Your right Dublin did not suffer years of terrorism like Belfast, it was just blown apart by the British army. Dublin is the biggest most beautiful Georgian city in the world. Sure it has got a few ugly buildings, what big city doesn’t. Im from London we have alot of ugly buildings. But i totally disagree with your comments. I visit Dublin many times and it has alot of beautiful architecture.
You must be blind then, Mark. The complete historical fabric of Dublin has been destroyed by corrupt councilors and developers over the past 50 years.
And you can’t expect the British army to just stand around while a bunch of yobs run riot.
When i said it was just blown apart by the British army, i was talking about Dublin, just before the Irish kicked them out. There has been some bad planning decisions in Dublin over the last 50 years i agree. But the city has some beautiful areas. The reason why the city gets millions of tourists every year. If you want to see very bad planning come to many english towns and cities we have alot of ugly ones unfortunately.
Belfast is nowhere near as nice as Dublin.
You’ve overlooked Glasgow in your assessment of Europe’s ugliest cities but then again it’s not really the point,you’re merely here to stick it to the Taigs.
Much of Georgian Dublin is still standing,i doubt you’ve ever set foot south of the border,let alone in Dublin.
When one has hatred for a place or people they tend to hate everything about the country and wish it was not there. It is a sad way to live a life. Dublin is a beautiful city just like London, both have there downsides what big city doesn’t. But as far as big cities go in the UK and Ireland they are the best we have. Even if a few disagree.
Nice article, love finding out about quirky things in cities. Also, sound for including an explanation on what a crows foot mark is…there is one on the stone gate into my house and although I guessed that it was something to do with measurements, I never really knew what it was for.
Work in that diving bell was horrific. The men suffered greatly health wise from the pressure . In fact it shortened there life considerably. Another fantastic sight to see was the Dublin dry docks in Dublin port the older of which was recently filled in to make space for containers. I had the pleasure to work in these docks and it is such a shame to see it filled in.
Now theres some really interesting things about Ireland that give an insight into history and link modern day
Those crow’s foot benchmarks are to be found all over Ireland. They were put on things like stone bridges or at the base of granite entrance piers. You could locate them from the OS Maps. A good number of them can still be found around the country.
Fantastic article.
Really enjoyed this thank you a nice way to start Sunday
Re Pic 7 – pity the lump of meteorite that fell in Tipperary in 1865 wasn’t a whole lot bigger.
Great article. St. Andrews Resource Centre has published a booklet explaining the full history of the diving bell: “Dublin’s Diving Bell – A History”. I’m not sure if it’s still available.
The Diving Bell on Sir John Rogersons Quay was actually saved by St. Andrews Resource Centre Pearse Street in Partnership with Dublin Port and others. The City Council were not involved and the space on the Quay was given by the DDDA. The whole project was written about in a book published by the St. Andrews Heritage Project in 2003. The book is available free from St. Andrews in Pearse Street and it gives the History of the Diving Bell and details of the the project to restore it. For more information on this fascinating piece of Irish and Dublin’s history contact:
Betty Ashe 01 6771930.
1st pic isn’t 51 Stephens green, that’s on Stephens green south, think it’d the dept of foreign affairs building.
Hi Barro – you’re absolutely right so I went and snapped a pic of number 51 on my way into work today to give people an idea of which building it is, should they happen to be passing by. It’s the last pic in the slideshow there now.
Cheers, Susan
This is a good answer to the lack of Dublin “discoverability” in the “Why does Dublin have no fountains” blog post at http://blog.likeplace.ie
You think? Fountains do not make cities. We have fountains in trafalgar square, they are off most of the year. What traveller wants to see the same in every city they visit. How boring. I like the way Dublin has the beautiful old georgian street lights. Then you travel to smithfield and you have something completely different, funky and arty, something you would see in new york. Thats what is great about Dublin and its districts. Many european cities especially along the med are very similar. I like difference, unique. Not boring and mirror image of somewhere else.
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