London Irish Centre at Camden

[Rob Northall]

Abuse group founder Phyllis Morgan ‘forced’ to retire

 

Woman, 66, who helped launch a support service for Irish convent victims, is told to leave

Published: July 28, 2011
by TOM FOOT

A SURVIVOR of Irish convent abuse who set up a pioneering group to help victims living in London says she has been pushed out of her job because of her age.

Outreach worker Phyllis Morgan, 66, will leave the London Irish Centre at Camden Square tomorrow (Friday).

She has worked there for more than 10 years, running the London Irish Survivors Outreach Ser­vice and helping thousands of victims who were abused in religious convents as children. Ms Morgan said: “I love my work and I don’t see why I should have to leave because of my age. They are doing this before the law changes.”

New rules banning employers from firing staff because they have reached the retirement age comes into effect in October.

David Barlow, the Irish Centre’s new director, said its board had been in retirement talks with Ms Morgan for two years.

He told the New Journal that her contract had been temporarily extended when she reached 65 but that to comment further would break employment rules.

Mr Barlow stressed that the service was not closing and that board members had been in talks with Irish ministers this week about the continued funding of the project.

He added: “Services for victims of abuse will continue.

“The London Irish Centre takes its commitment to survivors very seriously.”

Ms Morgan was a victim of the physical and mental abuse suffered by tens of thousands of children placed in the care of Catholic religious orders.

At the age of three, she was separated from her mother and placed in the full-time care of nuns.

She told how she would eat pig food because it was better than what was offered to her. “We were treated worse than pigs,” she added.

Ms Morgan said she spent her entire childhood at three convents in the Dublin area, where she claims the nuns abused her.

“Children were placed in these convents for various reasons,” she said.

“They were all over Ireland and many fled to come here to Camden. The are all such a vulnerable group.

“They are not able to hold down jobs because they were so damaged – many were repeatedly raped.

“Many live in dire homes and we get them into better homes. We help them get compensation. We have made a difference to so many lives. It is unbelievable how busy we are.”

The last of the 132 convents of this kind was shut down in 1986. The Irish government issued guidance following an inquiry in 2009 that a state-funded support service should be provided for all victims.

The Camden-based survivors service is funded by Ireland’s Department of Education and costs around £94,000 a year.

Source -

http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2011/jul/abuse-group-founder-p...

[Geraldine Jackson]

I knew someone was after Phyllis's job , they are so sneeky and then they take over the job that belonged to Phyllis Morgan and become rich rich rich at survivors expense, who when it all boils down to it they couldn't give a fiddlers fart about the Survivors , Those groups set up by the State have had 16 years of funding >WHAT HAVE THEY ACHEIVED ,They have devided and dominated other Survivors  ( Yet those who stayed in ireland and were appointed by Bertie Ahern to run centres ( God help us) ) they were NOT Trained to deal with Trauma  and they being Ex Industrial school themselves were Not the right type to have been put in such a position  by the Government ,to damaged themselves  no child who grew up in Industrial schools could  possibly be UNEFFECTED , The Government  should have employed  Professional properly Trained people who were NOT in Industrial schools  Expertly Trained people  should have been appointed for This should have been  so Important and  Important enough to appoint the right people for the benefit of ALL the survivors  But the underhanded  inane  way the  government  and the Catholic Church Lawyers no doubt carried this out they had to know would only cause more damage  thus the State and Catholic Church could then just walk away and say to the people of Ireland Look we are doing something ,, Phyllis made an effort for many survivors this new lot ??? wouldn't even know who they are >except I know Mrs Mulready is in the British Labour party , We survivors are INDIVIDUALS we all have our own minds our own story what happened to us as INDIVIDUALS in those Hell Holes , No survivor should be frightened to speak out ,to speak their mind, To voice their opinion , No Survivor should be to frightened to return to their own Country for whatever reason and not feel threatened in any way and feel FREE to go about without worrying , No returning Survivor should be Shouted at and Bullied ,  It is the Survivors  Own Country where our roots are where our History is where our ancesters are buried , , Ireland does Not belong to the Politicians nor the Catholic Church , (Nor Group so called leaders) Ireland belongs to all Irish people. What the past Irish State  under the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church allowed to happen in Ireland was Ethnic Cleansing on a HUGE scale ,     Those  that  the  terrible Famine didn't kill off  , Or those who were  forced to  Migrate to different countries  the Roman Catholic Church tried to finish off Ireland's children and young Irish women who were forced to hand over their babies for mainly Export and Payement . Children in Industrial schoos forced into hard Labour to swell the RC C's Bank accounts  while those children suffered in pain and hunger ,  Where are all the RECORDS??  , Shame indeed on The Irish State.

[jack colleton]

a fine speech Geraldine! records are evidence =destroyed

[Geraldine Jackson]

Replaced by Whome???, I wouldn't trust a British Labour Party Politician ,they have proved they are Great at spending other peoples money leaving the population skint and in a trance thinking I thought they were for the people, >>I am not for conservites either but none of them somehow became involved with The Irish Government and the Statuary Trust Fund.   > That is how I feel

[jack colleton]

Geraldine:  ever heard of a 1 political party state ?  (!)  = all one and same (whatever name of political party happens to be)

[Geraldine Jackson]

I expect what the State were hoping for to happen Survivors would go to those centres all sit around >like in an old peoples home and listen to the Great leaders babble on, then return home , to whatever part of the World  Survivors live in having paid large amounts out of their own pensions to Fly and book hotels , and be silent forever.

[jack colleton]

"I expect what the State were hoping for to happen Survivors would go to those centres all sit around >like in an old peoples home and listen to the Great leaders babble on, then return home , to whatever part of the World  Survivors live in having paid large amounts out of their own pensions to Fly and book hotels , and be silent forever."

 

that rings a bell!  :)

[Geraldine Jackson]

Those who call themselves Group leaders have an Overblown sense of their own Importance ,when they are just another survivor like the rest of us but they have been carrying out the dirty work for the State + Roman Catholic Church herarchy who must have been rubbing their hands in Glee .

[Geraldine Jackson]

So Mr Quinn do you beleive it was a good thing to take Irish Babies and young children drag them through the Criminal Court and Charge them with trumpt up charges  then  Garda drive them to Gray Damp Colourless Reformatory Industrial Schools , which were Places of Sadism  and brutal Child Molesters ,Torture, Batter, Starve, take away their Identity, Isolate them from the outside world ,Rape them, Tie them to Poles and have others Piss on them, force them down on their knees to pull the grass by their little hands, scrub and polish floors, Scream at them, Belittle them, Call them Names , force them to work in their factories , beat them out of bed causing children to be terrified of the morning , Beaten into bed causing children to be terrifies of bedtime, terrified to go to sleep for fear of being dragged out and be beaten or Raped or both, stripped naked in front of other children to be Brutally beaten and made to face the wall for hours, >then if the child reaches 16 years of age he or she is then kicked  out into the world  alone and damaged with life long Nightmares, then many fled Ireland to try to  blank the horrors out  which proved Impossible , always  filled with  Fear of returning  even for a visit to Ireland   ,I myself am so frightened when I have to return for fear of the Bullies your Government aprove of  ,on on visit I went into Nova and found Noone was Interested at all in talking to me they just told me to go upstairs and have a cup of tea , That was it . I left and thought what is all the funding about I had travelled a long way to Ireland for a few days to try and trace any remaining family and my long lost missing sister,  I tried going to another centre the HOSTILITY shown toward me I might as well have been a ghost from Mars   again Not one of them wanted to speak to me never mind with me ,   Would you like that treatment for members of your own family Mr Quinn and other Politicians, 

[Geraldine Jackson]

What to run a womens group???

 

[Geraldine Jackson]

State funded support services to the Camden London irish Center , WOW now the greedy  dictators are falling over each other Statuary Trust Fund  yeppie  more funding for the Greedy _ Survivors they say  Whhhhhho are they  .

[Geraldine Jackson]

not just myself but hundreds of millions know Never to trust a Politician especially one who has a Politicial Leg in different countries , We survivors are NOT sheep you can't herd and dictate to us or dominate us ,we live in Democracy ,DID THEY GAIN OUR RESPECT AND THE RIGHT TO REPRESENT US ????? WERE WE ALLOWED A DOMOCRATIC VOTE  ON WHO COULD REPRESENT US , (the answer to these questions is NO )    WHO VOTED FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO REPRESENT US ??????  You and so called group's who claim they run services for survivors have been receiving Funding for many Years and YET YOU NEVER BOTHERED PUTTING UP A WEBSITE IN ALL THOSE YEARS , did the Statuary Trust Fund  impress you (Big Money)  you can again claim in our names  and   CLAIM MORE FUNDING OUT OF THE STATUARY TRUST FUND TO PUT UP A WEBSITE , We don't need another website now  we have this one  SET UP BY ROBERT NORTHALL WHO REALLY DOES CARE ABOUT SURVIVORS.  >  FEDERATION OF IRISH SOCIETIES  YOU ARE  YEARS TO LATE  should have done it years ago but didn't bother.

[pauline jackson]

we have enough money now for this site. keep it out of reach of those people. rob did it without them so lets keep it like that what with being awarded or having thier feet washed leaves them no time for other survivers. even meeting presidents takes time so thay were unable to talk about the ones left out.