238 Missing Children

[Andrew Brennan]

Missing

FACT,
Many children who were placed into Residential Institutes were never
heard of again, they never came home. It was as if they had been
spirited away, vanished from the face of the earth & this indeed is
most odd as it states in the "KENNEDY REPORT" published in 1970
that 238 children absconded from these hell-holes over a period of 19
years & were never traced or found at all, this is in itself most
strange as the majority of these Residential Institutes were so remote
that it beggars belief how small children could escape, remain at large
& ultimately never be discovered. I have tried to obtain the exact
amount of children that absconded from each individual Institute, but to
no avail, no answers forthcoming - WHY?

Please read this quote from the Kennedy Report 1970 below to show why it is so strange that there are no records kept anywhere for these missing children.

KENNEDY REPORT 1970 - Reformatory & Industrial Schools

Part of the Children's Act 1908 - 1947 states:

"Any child that absconds & is still at large for six days, means a
report must be made to the local Garda station, Education Department,
School Inspectorate & a copy of this report must be kept by each of
the above mentioned. The Institute where the child has absconded from
must also keep a record".

Below is a table of figures that account for the release of those discharged from Industrial Schools
between 1949 - 1969. Now my questions about this table are as follows:

* Immigration: Where are the individual figures for each Institute? Up do date I have yet to come across one single person who fits into this category. Where
are the records?

* Medical: Where are the individual figures for each Institute? We find this term "medical" unacceptable
because it covers such a wide area. Why were they taken out exactly?
Where were they taken to? Where are the records?

* Adopted: Where are the individual figures for each Institute? To our knowledge
adoption in Ireland did not become a legal practice until 1952, yet many
people have since come forward asking the question "how did they get
from an Institute in Ireland to live in far away country's such as
America, Australia etc?" What was the procedure for moving children out
of Ireland at that time? In the 1940's Eamon de Valera stated that Irish
children were not to become boat children sent to foreign countries, so
again how was this practice still possible? Where are the records?

* Taken Out: Where are the individual figures for each Institute? Where were the
children taken to? Where did they go? In my personal experience &
time spent at Artane, I can remember maybe a couple at most, & those
I remember were placed in Artane on a short-term basis anyway due to
family crisis. Where are the records?

* Fostered: Where are the individual figures for each Institute? Where are the records?

* Etc: But the most bizarre comes under the heading of Etc. Can you imagine children coming under the category of etc!?!

Some children became ill & died in the Institutes, many people want to
know what happened, I want to know why so many children never came home,
why families and schoolfriends are still to this day asking what
happened to them?

Why didn't the Ryan Report furnish some answers?

[Rob Northall]

So Many Question and no answers!
Runaways where chattel and always returned to their rightful owners; I know my wife was!
Beatenand examined by a Doctor to make sure she was intact! Then Head Shaved!

[Rose Gosnell]

So many questions ... when will we get TRUTHFUL answers?

[Rob Northall]

We need a Membership to Mandate the Demand for answers! A letter from a Member of the Shame of Ireland with a live Vote Mandate of 500 verified by this site. Will get answers!! Testing Live Voting at the Moment but it appears that the current membership have not voted? Will move it on the site page!!

[pauline jackson]

there was no where to go bact to so children who obconded had to keep going .i was taken back the first time i obconded by the police who had a great laugh about what was going to happen to me so the second time i left alone . i felt safe once i left ireland on the boat there was great big waves around me . it was such a relief . but i couldent go back to ireland for many many years