Suffer the Little Children

The Inside Story of Ireland's Industrial Schools

Nonfiction, History, Ireland
Cover of the book Suffer the Little Children by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan, New Island Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan ISBN: 9781848403970
Publisher: New Island Books Publication: April 10, 2009
Imprint: New Island Books Language: English
Author: Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
ISBN: 9781848403970
Publisher: New Island Books
Publication: April 10, 2009
Imprint: New Island Books
Language: English

Up until the late sixties in Ireland, thousands of young children were sent to what were called industrial schools, financed by the Department of Education, and operated by various religious orders of the Catholic Church. Popular belief held that these schools were orphanages or detention centers, when in reality most of the children ended up at the schools because their parents were too poor to care for them. Mary Raftery’s award-winning three-part TV series on the industrial schools, States of Fear, shocked Ireland when broadcast on RTE, prompting an unprecedented response in Ireland. Hundreds of people phoned RTE, spoke on radio stations and wrote to newspapers to share their own memories of their local industrial schools. Pages of newsprint were devoted to the issues raised by the series, and on the 11th of May, the airdate of the final segment of the trilogy, the Taoiseach issued an historic apology on behalf of the state to the victims of child abuse within the system. Now, together with Dr. Eoin O’Sullivan, Raftery delves even further into this horrifying chapter of Irish life, revealing for the first time new information from official Department of Education files not accessible during the making of the documentaries. It contains much new material, including startling research showing a level of awareness of child sexual abuse going back over sixty years, particularly within the Christian Brothers. The dissection of these official records, detailing sexual abuse, starvation, physical abuse, and neglect, together with extensive testimony from those who grew up in industrial schools convey both the extraordinary levels of cruelty and suffering experienced by these children, and their tremendous courage and resilience in surviving the often savage way in which they were abused.A definitive history of industrial schools in Ireland, Suffer the Little Children offers a unique insight into the minds of government officials and religious orders who ran this vast system. First-hand testimony from the survivors of the schools punctuates the narrative, providing a stark and revealing picture of stolen childhood.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Up until the late sixties in Ireland, thousands of young children were sent to what were called industrial schools, financed by the Department of Education, and operated by various religious orders of the Catholic Church. Popular belief held that these schools were orphanages or detention centers, when in reality most of the children ended up at the schools because their parents were too poor to care for them. Mary Raftery’s award-winning three-part TV series on the industrial schools, States of Fear, shocked Ireland when broadcast on RTE, prompting an unprecedented response in Ireland. Hundreds of people phoned RTE, spoke on radio stations and wrote to newspapers to share their own memories of their local industrial schools. Pages of newsprint were devoted to the issues raised by the series, and on the 11th of May, the airdate of the final segment of the trilogy, the Taoiseach issued an historic apology on behalf of the state to the victims of child abuse within the system. Now, together with Dr. Eoin O’Sullivan, Raftery delves even further into this horrifying chapter of Irish life, revealing for the first time new information from official Department of Education files not accessible during the making of the documentaries. It contains much new material, including startling research showing a level of awareness of child sexual abuse going back over sixty years, particularly within the Christian Brothers. The dissection of these official records, detailing sexual abuse, starvation, physical abuse, and neglect, together with extensive testimony from those who grew up in industrial schools convey both the extraordinary levels of cruelty and suffering experienced by these children, and their tremendous courage and resilience in surviving the often savage way in which they were abused.A definitive history of industrial schools in Ireland, Suffer the Little Children offers a unique insight into the minds of government officials and religious orders who ran this vast system. First-hand testimony from the survivors of the schools punctuates the narrative, providing a stark and revealing picture of stolen childhood.

More books from New Island Books

Cover of the book City of Dis by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book An Accidental Diplomat: by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book Don't Mention The Wars by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book New To The Parish by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book The Interview by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book Making Way by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book Banished Babies by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book Marked Off by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book Witches, Spies And Stockholm Syndrome by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book On This Day Volume 2 by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book Time on the Ocean by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book The Umbrella Tree by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book The Skipper & Her Mate by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book Temple Street Children's Hospital by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
Cover of the book Aengus Finuncane by Mary Raftery, Eoin O'Sullivan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy