The ‘Decade of Centenaries’ All-island history competition for primary and post-primary schools

Template cover sheet which must be included at the front of all projects

Title of project: The Institute and the Education of Deaf \ Mute Girls in our School, 1892-1940 “Our Industrial Revolution”

Category for which you wish to be entered (i.e. ‘Decade of Centenaries’, biography, Local / Regional Issue local/regional, or national (including social/cultural) Issues

Name(s) of class / group of students / Transition Year History Class 2 (T.Y.P. 2) individual student submitting the project:

School roll number (this should be provided if possible): 63310T

School address (this must be provided even St. Joseph’s Secondary School, for projects submitted by a Rochfortbridge, group of pupils or an Co. Westmeath individual pupil):

Class teacher’s name this must be provided even for projects submitted by a group Noel Foynes of pupils or an individual pupil):

Contact phone number: (044) 9222176

Contact email address:

www.mercyrochfortbridge.ie

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The Institute and the Education of Deaf \ Mute Girls in our School, 1892-1940

“Our Industrial Revolution”

Between the years 1892 to 1940 there existed in our School an Institute for the training and education of deaf \ mute young girls. This Institute not only played a very significant role in the lives of the Sisters and their students during this period but it also impacted on the economic and social fabric of the wider community in Co. Westmeath. Even though as this research will later reveal an industry built up around these students, it can not be described as an Industrial School. In the nineteenth century, Industrial Schools were mainly run for children of no fixed abode or for orphans, Rochfortbridge fell into neither category. From the pages of “To Serve With Gladness” published in 2012 to coincide with the celebrations of one hundred and fifty years of the Sisters of Mercy in Rochfortbridge, we read: “the children placed in the care of the Sisters of Mercy were placed there by their families to help provide an education for their children and to help them gain skills which would help them to interact and survive in a world of silence where communication and understanding were more often than not quite difficult for them.”

St. Joseph’s Institute for Deaf Mutes c.1900 St. Joseph’s Secondary School 2015

The original idea for the setting up of this school came during the period when the then , Dr. Thomas Nulty was anxious to set up an institute for deaf mute young girls in the diocese as a cousin of his was a deaf mute. Interestingly, Dr. Nulty has also provided us with a window onto what was happening in at this precise point in time as he was a friend and supporter of the Irish nationalist , Parnell having being first elected as a member of parliament for Co. Meath in 1875. In 1888 this friendship between the two was coming to an end because of the divorce crisis that was by now shadowing Parnell. Dr. Nulty became very extreme in his condemnation of “the uncrowned King”, as in an edition of the History Ireland magazine (Issue 2 March\April, 2010), we read of a pastoral (sermon) delivered by him on the eve of the July 1892 election in which he declared: “that no Parnellite voter could remain a Catholic”, strong words still persisting with him at this time considering Parnell had died prematurely the previous October.

Dr. Thomas Nulty Bishop of Meath (1864-1898)

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W.B. Yeats in his 1937 poem, “Come Gather Round me Parnellites” summed up “that tragic story” better than anyone as he accurately recalled: “The Bishops and the Party That tragic story made, A husband that had sold his wife And after that betrayed; But stories that live longest Are sung above the glass, And Parnell loved his country And Parnell loved his lass”

Charles Stewart Parnell (1845-1891)

However, aside from the national issues of elections and Home Rule in 1892, the job of setting up this school in Rochfortbridge still had to be undertaken and this onerous task fell to the then Superioress of the Convent, Sr. M. Stanislaus O’Neill sometimes seen written as Stanislas. She was born in Dublin in 1842. She was one of the founding sisters of the Convent of Mercy in Rochfortbridge and for most of her life was Mistress of Novices when not working in her capacity as Superior. The pupils on arriving occupied St. Joseph’s on the Main Street, (on the former Main Dublin \ Galway road). This had been the original Convent from its beginnings in 1862 but by now the Sisters had moved to the “new” Convent in 1872 situated in the gardens behind the Institute and the local . The Westmeath Examiner in their obituary notice which appeared in February 1917 paid a very fitting tribute to her thus: “When she came to the “Bridge” the now spacious up-to-date Convent was a place of very limited dimensions, and little was known of it, while today, with its splendid

educational Mother M. Stanilaus O’Neill facilities, its deaf and dumb institute attached, it ranks amongst the foremost religious houses in Ireland. For this the deceased Nun is primarily responsible”. Aside also from her many duties, she also found time to prepare pupils for the London College of Music and according to the 2012 edition: “To Serve With Gladness”, “they all obtained honours”. She was also described as gentle, holy and humble possessed of an unusually cultured mind, she developed the intelligence of her pupils always, with the view to make them thrifty, refined members of society.

“Westmeath Examiner” 1917

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Funding such an adventure was always going to be difficult and from the very beginning these deaf \ mute girls were not only taught how to read and write but also to sew to knit and to manufacture lace which was constantly on display and for sale in the school. The Sisters even to this day have in safe keeping a number of these pieces of lace used for display purposes from time to time. Local people called the lace manufactured at the Institute “Rochfortbridge Lace”.

From the beginning and through the life time of the Institute, we found evidence of many bequests (wills). A sample of “Rochfortbridge Lace” In the beginning Dr. Nulty secured one third of the Arthur Smith Bequest which amounted to £50, not forgetting the local parishioners in economically challenging times who came up with £132 and well wishers £118 wiping out the initial debt. From the pages of the “Westmeath Examiner” and dated 25th. February 1905 (page 4), we managed to uncover a charitable donation from a Rev. Mathew Hynes originally from Co. Westmeath but at the time of his death residing in Moynalty, Co. Meath. It was of particular interest to learn that this kind of sensitive and personal information was available and made public in the Ireland of 1905, but nontheless, it was a great help to the former students of our school. Another intriguing aspect of a “different” Ireland found in this Will was the use of the legal term “the Mullingar The Sisters of Mercy Rochfortbridge Convent c.1897 District Registry Back r ow, from left to right, Sr.Gertrude Smith, of the King’s Bench”. Sr.Josephine O’Gorman, Sr.Therése Byrne, Sr.Antonia Kelly, Sr.Alacoque Coffey. Front row, from left to right, Sr.Columba Fitzpatrick, Sr.Agnes Weir, Sr.Magdalene Hackett, Sr.Stanilaus O’Neill, Sr.Agnes Nangle.

Rev. Mathew Hynes Bequest It is also to be remembered that Bishop Nulty always maintained a keen interest in the Institute from the beginning and bequethed Canal Shares for its upkeep up until his death in 1898. The Sisters also saw an ongoing need to advertise such a “specialist” school on a national scale particularly as numbers were starting to dwindle from about 1920 onwards and this was evident from an advertisement dated 30th. June, 1925 which appeared with an advertising sales pitch of: “Do not Neglect the Afflicted.” It was interesting and surprising to see the impact this type of 1925 advertising had because it must have been reaching a very wide audience. In the census returns previous to this date students from most counties in Ireland were represented with also a student from the Arran Islands and two students from London.

A newspaper advertisement, June, 1925

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The Annals were a hand written yearly account of life in the Convent and thankfully of local and national events of the day. Each year the then Bishop of Meath on a visit would read and sign them as an accurate portrayal of life in the Convent. For the purposes of this research they proved invaluable as many references were made to the deaf \ mute Institute throughout the period of its existence.

Extract from the Annals of the Convent No.1.

For example from this extract we read: “For a short time there were thirty deaf mutes, but the number was seldom higher than twenty-five”. We also discovered an early reference to the demise of the Institute from this particular entry because as early as 1920 we note that: “the number of deaf mutes decreased very much”, it goes on to say: “Better facilities were available in Cabra, and it was much more central”.

Not surprisingly, from the census returns of 1901 and 1911 we also uncovered a number of surprising and interesting facts concerning the Institute. Firstly we noted that the census return for the Institute was called a Form C with the title of: “College and Boarding School Return”. 1901 Institute Census In 1901 there were twenty-four students and two teachers listed in this return. Interestingly one of the teachers a Miss Ellen Mary Jane Cronin from Co. Cork was aged thirty eight years at the time and was listed as Deaf and Dumb. From the annals of the convent, we found an entry that informed us that she had trained as a specialist teacher in Cabra in Dublin where there was also such a school for deaf \ mute students and that she remained on in the Institute in Rochfortbridge as a teacher until 1903. Other significiant points of interest to be learned from this census return was the broad geographical base from where all these students came from and the variety in their ages. For example we read of the eighteen year olds Teresa Waters and Bridget Farrelly from Co. Louth and Co. Meath respectively down to Margaret Moore from Limerick city who was listed as a three year old in 1901 although this may have been an error as her age was given as sixteen in the 1911 returns. Much more importantly though was the fact that in the 1901 return, Margaret was listed in the column under “Education” as: “cannot read”, but by 1911 she was listed as being able to read, so in the intervening ten years she had mastered this most difficult of skills in her silent world.

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By 1911 as can be noted from the census pages, the school now had thirty one students on the roll. Interestingly the age profile of these students soared from the 1901 census, for example Mary Glynn from Co. Meath whose age was given at forty six and Emily Walsh from Co. Dublin aged thirty nine to Mary Flynn from King’s County (Offaly) at only age six. Five students from 1901 remained in 1911 and they were as already mentioned Margaret Moore from Limerick city, Margaret Grant from Co. Meath, Bridget Fitzgerald from Co. Kerry, Catherine McLaughlin from Derry city and Catherine Sheridan from Co. Westmeath. 1911 Institute Census (Part 1) The photograph seen below is a very significant primary source as it was taken on the school grounds sometime between the years 1905-1912 as it verifies a lot of the information given particulary in the returns of the 1911 census. It is also very clear to see from this that the school population of the Institute comprised by then of both younger children and adults in the company of their teachers and the clergy of the parish.

In March and April 1906, the “Westmeath Examiner” newspaper ran two articles about the deaf \ mute Institute. These two articles more than anything else gave us an insight into how the school was run. The first article published on the 31st. March 1906 and titled: “A Practical Industrial Object” mainly honed in on the industrial work carried out in the school. The second article which appeared on the 1911 Institute Census (Part 2) 14th. April 1906 was a follow-on and titled: “An Interesting Institution-Practical Industrial Effort” mainly concentrated on the “special” education received in the school. From both of these articles, it became very apparent to us that the author was very impressed with the work being carried out in the school both educationally and industrially. In modern day terms it could have been regarded as a school inspection that went well. The author of this article also expressed a curiousity with the Visitors Book that had to be signed by offical visitors.

The first article as already mentioned was mainly “industrial” and the training of girls in the workplace was commented on and how their skills of knitting, sewing and lace-making was developed which resulted in the production of lace and linen work, altar cloths, handkerchiefs, vests and underware.

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The author then went on a sales pitch and encouraged people to come to Rochfortbridge to purchase some of the goods on offer. We read for example: “the articles, including so many things of everyday need, are sold by the Sisters, with no effort to obtain large prices, or to add on because of the work being done at the Institute. On the contrary they merely ask a fair, reasonable price, comparing most favourably with the prices in some of the largest shops”. In the conclusion, this writer becomes even more animated by saying: “the people of Westmeath and other midland counties The Westmeath Examiner 1906 Extract No.1. owe to give earnest and practical help to industrial effort that is at hand and in their midst...... neither tongue nor pen is of any avail in the industrial revival unless its efforts be quickly followed by people buying Irish manufactured goods”. The second and follow-on article mainly dealt with education in the Institute and the difficulties instructing children with disabilities in the Ireland of 1906. This article interstingly got to the heart of the matter as the author somewhat perplexed as to how these students could learn because: “one can tell them nothing by the mouth, for they would not hear, and they could not, on the other hand, The Westmeath Examiner 1906 Extract No.2. tell what it was they knew or would like explained, because they were unable to speak”. The simple answer was that the students were taught: “by means of objects, observance and motion of the lips and mouth, facial expression, pictures etc., by degrees patience and kindness and love are rewarded, and the poor deaf and dumb girl begins to be able to write questions or frame answers on a piece of paper, or a blackboard.....” The Westmeath Examiner 1906 Extract No.3.

Inside the Convent c.1900 “Instruction at the Institute” : A Student’s View

The only negative remark that the author of these articles could muster was that more space was required for the work that was being carried out but unfortunately even though the ground was available the funds to carry out such work were not in 1906. W.B. Yeats yet again appropriately: “Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths, enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths of night and light and the half-light”......

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The Altar Press on the back wall of the 1900 school room.

Marble from the Tomb of St. Callistus embedded in the wall in the school room of the Institute from this 1900 photograph. This same piece of marble remains today in the DCG Room.

The Institute School Room c.1900 An interesting part of our study was to find that areas of the school that were used by our former students in the Institute are still used by us today. In these photographs the original Institute school room looks much the same today with only the easels having been replaced by the data projector and the fireplace by the radiators. One constant remaining though is a small piece of white marble with a big history. When the Institute was being The DCG Room 2015 set up in 1892, foundress Sr. Stanilaius whom we have already documented wrote to the Very Rev. T. Kirby, Archbishop in the Irish College in Rome seeking a blessing from the Holy Father who at that time was Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) for the education of deaf \ mute children. Archbishop Kirby not only sent the Pope’s blessing but also this piece of white marble that had been given to him by Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) the previous Pope. It was blessed by Leo XIII and embedded in this part of the school in 1893 where it remains to this day. The marble itself came from the Catacombs from the grave of St. Callistus, the patron saint of grave diggers. The Latin on this piece reads:“commemorating Callistus..Pope Pius IX.. Great...Sacred Prince..and the year”. History in the walls and on the walls of our school.

Marble from Rome St. Callistus Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) leading author and politican regarded as one of the founding fathers of the United States known as “the first American” famously advised: “write injuries in dust, benefits in marble”

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Another interesting story of education found in the Institute was in the area of religious instruction. When the National School system was set up in Ireland in 1831 one of its main objectives was that the education provided was to be non-religious, this seemingly also applied to the students of the Institute as pictorial evidence suggests. In order to get around this ruling, the Sisters provided altar presses in all of their classrooms in the primary school and one was to be seen on the back wall of the main classroom in the Institute. These altars looked just like ordinary dressers that would have adorned most kitchens in Ireland around this time, but these presses when opened would have more often than not contained a statue of Our Lady with vases of flowers on each side. On hearing of an imminent inspection, the Altar Press was hastily closed and locked. The Altar Press From another viewing of the annals of the convent, it was possible to come up with some of the names of the teachers who worked in the Institute. For example from this extract we find that the original teacher had been: “governess to Mr. R. Coffey Newcastle”. Other names found here were Miss Browne, Miss Gaynor and as already mentioned: “Miss Cronin, who had been trained in Cabra came afterwards and remained until 1903”. In another page from the annals we see that: “Two girls that had been trained in the Mercy Convent, Gort were engaged to teach the deaf mutes lace making and sewing”, these were Miss Hayes who was in charge of the lace making and Miss O’Rourke who looked after the linen work. From then on the main teachers in the Institute were Sr. M. Gertrude and Sr. M. Antonia with Sr. Antonia remaining on in charge until the Institute closed in 1940. Extract from the Annals of the Convent No.2.

Apart form the lace and linen work carried out in that part of the school, there was also an educational aspect. The 1906 “Westmeath Examiner” articles not only lauded the industrial wing of the school but also the education the students received. On the 14th. April 1906 this issue of the article had the following to say: “The knowledge of some of the pupils seen by the writer in various school subjects was quite marvellous and would be most credible to many who had been with eyes, ears and tongue studying for a similar time”.

A sample of Rochfortbridge Lace

One sample of such work examined by the author from one of the students exercise copies ran thus: “The Autumn months are August, September and October. The daylight gradually shortens, the flowers fade, the fruit ripens, the leaves assume various tints, and fall from the trees. We may now gather blackberries, acorns, nuts chesnuts and walnuts”. (Irons as used in the Institute)

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Throughout the lifetime of this “special” school a number of incidentals worth mentionong occured. For instance in 1899 a story from the annals tells of a public concert given by the deaf / mute students of the Institute in which they acted “Babes in the Wood” in signs. They also danced the Skirt Dance, popular in the 1890’s and desribed as where: “women dancers would manipulate long, layered skirts with their arms to create a motion of flowing fabric”. They also danced a type of folk dance called the Tarantella and were also performed. Another story is told of a fire that broke out in the turf shed in St. Joseph’s one night in 1910 that contained about fifteen tons of coal and a cask of paraffin oil, this fire though was quickly brought under control because of the intervention of “the kindly neighbours” and the “Babes in the Wood”, 1899 students from the Institute who operated a chain of buckets. Between the years 1919-1921, the War of Independence raged in Ireland and because St. Joseph’s Institute was on then main Dublin \ Galway road it was not without incident. In the annals of the convent we read of many fearful incidents because of the attempts by the Black and Tans to commandeer the convent. These great primary source accounts tell us of such heightened tensions in extracts where we read: “lorry loads of Black and Tans were constantly passing and many shots were fired...... the Sisters who were in the grounds The Convent of Mercy in 1911 narrowly escaped being hit by bullets...... a number of Black and Tans came to the door and hammered on it to get in”. “Students of the Institute” c.1900

In order to bring this story more to life we attempted to run a thread through one particular student from the Institute in an effort to empathise with her in her particular history. In the census of 1911, Ellen Doyle was described as a twelve year old deaf and non-speaking child that came to this school from Co. Kerry. Interestingly in the early part of the twentieth century her journey to and from the midlands would have been an arduous one in a world where it was difficult for her to communicate. All the indications seem to point to her travelling on some form of public transport as the Institute issued neck medallions (seen here) for these journeys as students like Ellen would not have been able to state their destinations.

(Neck Medallion worn by students of the Institute on Public Transport)

Page 10 In order to tell her story we must be aware that we walk in some of the places she walked that we still use some of the same rooms she used over one hundred years ago and this fills us with a mixture of awe and pride. If she could have spoken what would her story have been? We must try to imagine her life based on the sources we have at our disposal for the benefits of this stepping back in time.

This is Ellen’s story: “My name is Ellen Doyle, I come from Co. Kerry and as many may already know I am a deaf \ mute. This year I was lucky enough to be able to come up to the Rochfortbridge Institute for deaf \ mute girls, it has changed my life for the better and has shown me that even though I may be a deaf \mute, I am just as capable of learning and success as anyone else. This institute has opened a world of opportunity for me that I am eternally grateful for. Before I came here my life was lonely and friendless due to the fact I couldn’t communicate even to my own family. But since I learned I finally have a way to communicate to other people like myself, I can’t even begin to explain what it’s like to be a deaf \ mute, all I can say is that it’s not easy. For the most part of my life I walked around being oblivious to what anyone was saying. I sometimes wish I wasn’t born this way, I quickly turned those thoughts around and am grateful for the life God has given me it might not be perfect but it’s still a life and its mine to live. My biggest hope in life is acceptance by the people around me for who I am. Is that not too much to ask for”?

From this final extract from the annals of the convent we read where: The Deaf \ Mute School ceased to exist about 1940, a few deaf mutes remaining on as maids, and St. Joseph’s was given over entirely to Boarders who attended the N. Schools”. Ellen Doyle would have been one of those students who remained on at work in St. Extract from the Annals of the Convent No.3. Joseph’s as her final resting place is to be found in Meedin parish churchyard, Rochfortbridge. Another was Mary Ellen Geraghty who was the last student of the Institute to die on the 4th. August 1991, and while she may have been the last survivor of the Institute she became the first to be interred in the new cemetry in the village of Rochfortbridge.

By the time the Institute closed its doors in 1940, Ireland too had changed in the intervening years since 1892 during the lifetime of the Institute. The new had come into existence in 1922 and by 1940 the then Taoiseach Eamon deValera was steering the country through a policy of neutrality during World War II. There is also much mention of this “war-time-life” in the annals of the convent where we can again read that: “During the war years there was great difficulty in getting goods and the prices were exorbitant. We could get no veiling, apron or handkerchef check and it was almost impossible to get serge or calico. Butter, tea, sugar, flour, bread, soap and clothes were rationed and coupons had to be produced for each”.

Page 11 In conclusion the final words must go to the author of those 1906 Westmeath Examiner articles titled: “A Practical Industrial Effort” in praise of this unique establishment where it was written:“All Industrial efforts should be well supported and of course there are others in the Midlands. But in the case of Rochfort Bridge Institute it would be forgetful of the character of the if the writer did not express the view that the fact that at the Institute the best of work of a most practical character is done by poor afflicted Irish girls, will be a potent additional reason why the hearts of the people will expand towards them and towards the good Nuns who live and labour for them and that they will order in future their stockings, underware and a hundred and one other things from Rochfort Bridge Institute, and at least give a fair trial to what is the work of their own race and is done, so to speak, at their doors”. This final article in the “Westmeath Examiner”, dated 14th. April 1906 ran with the following top caption: “An Interesting Institution”. It certainly was that.

Page 12 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. “The Annals of the Convent, (1862-1970)”:- The Sisters of Mercy, Rochfortbridge, Co. Westmeath

2. Dunne, Danny:- “To Serve With Gladness” Celebrating One Hundred And Fifty Years Of The Sisters Of Mercy Rochfortbridge Turners Printing, Longford, 2012

3. History Ireland Magazine:- “Political Priests: the Parnell split in Meath” Issue No.2. March \ April, 2010

4. www.censusnationalarchives.ie

5. www.irishnewsarchive.com “The Westmeath Examiner” Dated:- 25\02\1905 “The Westmeath Examiner” Dated:- 31\03\1906 “The Westmeath Examiner” Dated:- 14\04\1906 “The Westmeath Examiner” Dated:- February, 1917

6. Yeats, W.B.:- “The Collected Poems” Macmillan & Co Ltd. London, 1963

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to acknowledge the Art, English, Geography and Home Economics Departments in the school for their help in putting this essay together.

In particular we would like to thank the Sisters of Mercy, Rochfortbridge for their kind permission to view the Annals of the Convent and for allowing us to reproduce some extracts from them here for inclusion in this study.

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