From the Letters page of The Irish Times 04 June 2010
Madam, – I welcome Vincent J Lavery’s letter (June 2nd).
As someone who was abused while detained in an industrial school, I am seriously concerned at the number of organisations purporting to represent “victims of abuse” that have emerged around the country.
These organisations appear to be unaccountable to anyone, least of all the people they claim to represent. Inquires made by survivors of abuse directly to the representatives of these groups more often than not go unanswered.
Those of us who were abused while in the care of religious orders and the State, have a right to know where and how money obtained from the exchequer on our behalf is being used. What seems to be a veil of secrecy regarding very substantial funding must be pulled down. – Yours, etc,
PADDY DOYLE,
Author of The God Squad,
CityWest,
Saggart,
Co Dublin.
Exactly Mona, and Bernie, you got it in one. These groups, especially (Right of Place Second Chance)and another one to watch out for is (Munster Survivors Services)who hope to come on stage shortly, have no other agenda but to secure funding, (no matter by what means) from the HSE, or whoever will give it to them.
Their intentions are NOT for the Survivor, but for themselves (FACT) Do NOT believe otherwise. To this day, there is Absolutely NO proof whatsoever that ANY of these groups have helped anyone.
Whenever they publicize anything on their sites, they are looking for money, from what ever source they can, all to pay their expenses.
They tell everyone that they are a Charity, and do NOT get a wage. What they dont tell you, is that a lot of this money they receive from their Sponsors go to paying their expenses. Yet you will (NEVER EVER) hear of them telling Survivors of the amounts in expenses they claim. Con-men every one of them.
You are so right when you say”It’s about keeping Total Control over Survivors, without doing anything to help them, This is (FACT) And YES it is all Bully Boy Tactics to keep the Survivor’s Silent.
Control Freaks is really a very MILD word for these Parasites who live off the backs of Survivors.
We are sick and tired of asking these people as to where all these Millions have vanished to, but they will Never tell you this. A lot of this money, you may be sure came from the HSE, and other Sponsors like them. But when even (THEY) are NOT interested in having this blatant squander of Taxpayers money investigated, where do you go from there. It makes you think, would they be covering up something??
If those books (WERE) opened up for inspection, (Which someone will make sure they never will) then there may be some answers to all our questions. And you may be assured that someone is doing a very good job on their behalf. Until then, we are all banging our heads against a brick wall. Thats for sure.
It’s all about keeping Total CONTROL over Survivors, without having to do anything to help them . the opposite is the case to frighten an Bully them into staying silent. those on the education board Buckley being one of them are all a bunch of Mad Control Freeks. The Redress Board is made up of Sadists. As for the certain top 2 gruppy greedy group leaders we all know who they are have recieved many Millions ,Where and on what did they spend those Millions on ???????have their books been opened for checks . IF NOT <WHY NOT.
Ciara O Hara,you are right and I am glad you found this site ,also have a look on Shameofireland. Rob Northall’s site. those groups were set up as a delibrate ploy to cover up the scale of Abuse to make the people of Ireland believe that they were doing something for survivors ,they chose Buckley and Noel Barry to carry on their dirty work by allowing them to believe they were so Important ,indeed Buckley likes to give the impression she was the only person Abused in the Industrial school which is Far from the truth she herself admitted that she chose to stay on well after she was 16 as the Nuns then sent her out to college a word all the rest of the children never even heard of the word College,when others were kicked out on their 16th birthday she didnt have to leave ireland like most survivors she was looked after by the Nuns ,and makes sure survivors who knew her in the industrial school bar one or two who stayed in ireland never have their voices heard ,we know of one such survivor who went back to ireland after many years was Bullied and frightened out of ireland again by her and her friends ,it’s all about silencing the real survivors.and MONEY .shame on all of them.
I am sick of it ,Sick of those Con artists who have a over blown sence of their own importance an ego given to them by the Last Corupt government and Religious who give themselves the Title of Group Leaders they are the most disgusting bunch of Ignorant Greedy Con Artists ,who only ever cared about themselves and their Bank accounts ,GET RID OF THEM after they are made to account for every EURO they took using our names over the years ,Buckley being a frightening Bully, I was never allowed to know my own country before I fled abroad after been inprisoned as a small child in an Industrial school,Seperated from my siblings into different Industrial schools which has lasted a lifetime , I was made to suffer so much my whole life has been a disaster because I was left at the age of 16 emotionaly damaged ,when I did go to Dublin to try and get some Information I was totally ignored and Bullied by those who the government favours (So called Group Leaders) given huge funding using all our names on lists when we the real survivors have been totally ignored mostly Driven in Flight out of Ireland to nervious to return. or to Frightened to visit any of the Irish Centres for within them Bullies friends of Buckleys who were not real survivors seem to somehow have their feet under the table . We have had NO Justice. I am sick of it ,Close all those Groups the worst being The Aislinn, Right Of Place. NOW
THE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD SHOULD HAVE GONE TO >>PADDY DOYLE.SO WILL THAT WOMAN WHO LIED AND BULLIED HER WAY ,HAND IT BACK SO THE RIGHTFUL PERSON RECIEVES IT >THANK YOU.
Some years ago I met A survivor from Ireland Flew all the way from Canada to CORK after many years away and booked into the right of place the survivor only stayed two nights and in their words Escaped from that awful place and booked into the hotel in the city , they were disgusted at the goings on among the so called staff who were Very Hostile didn’t even want any comunication with the visiter all the sour faces really made the visitor feel they were in the way,The women staff just sat in their office with the door open stareing at anyone who went by not in a friendly way at all , On the wall in the hall was a photo of Noel Barry and Mrs Buckley grinning with so called staff and what looked like a government minister.> By the way what about the funding Mrs Waters and her family got in our names for Avoca House I heard it has been let out for a long time to Poles,Nigerians, and other Eastern Europeans ,Will Mr Waters explain to us on this site ??????I believe we have a right to know ,To all those who Hoard photos of survivors in Industrial Schools , COPY THEM and give them to Paddy or Robert Northall to put them up on their sites .
Yes Pauline.. Don’t you already know???? Miss Christine Buckley gets paid for what she does.. Of course she does. do you think she works for nothing?????? In my Opinion she is just like Noel C Barry, and Mr Francis Treanor, which in my Opinion, is still Manipulating the new Board of Directors, behind the scenes. I can assure you, Mr Noel C Barry and his Compatriot , are sit;; working in the Background.
Now I know why so many of us babies and children were locked up as criminals by the irish state ,they used the evil excuse that we were all from poor families many with only a mother left without any government surport at all having been widowed,this interests me ,I will write on here later on about what I found out as I have just woken up,The irish Government indeed set out to distroy families in with the religious to punish us and charging us as criminals giving us criminal records which stay with us for life,we survivors of this category must be compansated it is strong enough to take to the European Court of HUMAN RIGHTS.The Government have done their cruel best to cover up the Abuse of irish Children up BECAUSE the ABUSE was to shocking for the world to know about.each and every one of us who went through this must be properly compansated and not be further humilated by others telling us we can have Counselling and a bit of education which is an Insult and further ABUSE.
I have just come across this site, well done to all you people for speaking your minds regarding these bogus organisations who are only out for their own interests. I, along with nine of my brothers and sisters were raised in various institutions. all of us will carry our own pain regarding the dark hells we survived. How dare these people try to profit from our pain, how dare they dictate to us how any compensation due to us is used. Christine Buckley in particular makes me see red, with her counselling and education rants, most of the survivors are past education at this stage of their lives, and for those who do want to avail of further education, there is already a fund available for that purpose,and as far as counselling goes, that is entirely up to individuals to seek if they so want. I can not believe that there are people in government who actually give these people the time of day, let alone allow them to have any say on how compensation meant for survivors is used. They have to know that these people speak for no one but themselves. There must be something we can do to stop these organisations in their tracks, anyone got any suggestions.
granny we dont have to take this garbage from any one if we get the european union fighting on our side these sneeky group leaders and those in power will wish they would have given us our money in the first place if we ALL go to the european union together we will be able to win this fight nothing has been passed yet and nothing is set in stone.we need MORE people to wright power in numbers only the price of a stamp DONT GIVE UP PLEASE take care dorris.
Volunteer of the year award for helping the State and religious to frighten off REAL SURVIVORS and getting Paid handsomely for it.What a farce .
I see Noel Barry’s mouthpiece is called Francis Treanor, I wonder if there is any connection to Dr Noel Treanor Bishop of Down and Connor just wondered
these exclusive groups serve others purposes in protecting thier leaders from survivers who grew up alongside them , our memories are a bother to them , i was in golden bridge when bernadine was head nun . a very nasty person . when the little girl was killed in g b she was whisked away and severia took over and fabien came to take over xeverias job , we were all protected from outsiders so no doctors, nothing neading medical treatment was allowed. and thay were very careful about that . so i dont believe lots of the stuff being said by c. b . i was there . no racisme with the frustated missioneries. she was just another unwanted one . but she got on very well with fabien. i do remember that. i think this is why we are stonewalled. to pretect herself .
Billy Collins, you are spot on. I am not a member of Right of Place but I have heard Christy Heaphy. I hope members took your advice and attended the meeting. Also to point out that the Brian Cowen is determined the money be put in a trust fund and he intends to push this legislation through by September. (He is not listening to us, nothing new there) Whichever company he appoints to control this fund will have to be paid a wage and run an office so you may say goodbye to any monies due to you. Some form of action needs to be taken to put a stop to this. I personally would like to be responsible for any monies due to me and my brothers and sisters likewise. Kathleen
Iforgot to say that the false attic in gb could only be reached by ladder , so non you couldnt hide there but Iused to hide in the shed in the yard as i could not bear all the sreaming , as we had so little time outside the kids were hysterical. an upturned bucket was my seat and i read everybit of newspaper i found .
RIGHT OF PLACE ARE HOLDING A MEETING IN CORK
TOMORROW EVENING IN THE METREPOLE HOTEL AT
7-30 PM.I WOULD PLEAD WITH ANY ABUSED PERSONS
IN THE AREA TO ATTEND.IF TREANER AND BARRY GET AWAY WITH THEIR RIGGED MEETING, WE CAN SAY GOODBYE TO OUR CHANCES OF GETTING ANY OF OUR RIGHTS, AND PROP UP THEIR COSY CARTEL.ALL THEY WANT IS TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS SO CALLED TRUST FUND AND KEEP THEIR WELL PAID JOBS.AT THE LAST MEETING A NEW COMMITTEE WAS ELECTED.NOW I SEE THAT TWO MEMBERS OF THAT COMMITTEE ARE GONE MR CHRISTY HEAPHY PRO,(WHO IS A TIRELES WORKER
(REMEMBER HIM,AND HIS SPEECH ON THE STREETS OF CORK LAST YEAR)ALSO MR OLLIE BURKE, BOTH
HAND WORKING MEN WHO SPOKE THE TRUTH ON BE HALF OF THE ABUSED.WHY ARE THEY GONE!! TOMMOROW EVENING IS THE ONLY CHANCE TO GET RID OF THESE PARSITES.REMEMBER IF WE GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT (TOTAL POWER)WE CEN KISS
ANY MONIES COMING TO US GOOD BYE FOR GODS SAKE ATC NOW
Hello. Well as to the attic in Goldenbridge, it was not a real attic, but when they put electricity in the ceiling in the dormitory was lowered because of the wires . up until then we had gas . i still remember the long poles they had to turn out the lights, it was not easy to get up there, in fact I don’t think anyone ever tried
Grannie 1 i think the name you are looking for is CARMEL MCDONALD BYRNE.she allong with CHRISTINE BUCKLEY are supposed to have met one day and met with people who had been in the instutions and said the survivors needed help with reading and writing because they were illerate hence the begining of the NOVA center.
I WOULD URGE ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING IN CORK THIS WEEKEND TO,
(1) ASK MR TREANOR, WHO ELECTED HIM TO SPEAK?
(2) WHERE IS NOEL BARRY, & WHY HE IS NOT HERE?
(3) TELL HIM THAT THE MEETING IS ILLEGAL,
(4) TELL HIM HE WAS NOT ELECTED BY THE MEMBERS.
(5) ASK HIM IF HE IS MB BARRYS LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE,
(6) WHAT IS HIS INTEREST IN RIGHT OF PLACE,
(7) WHAT HE ASKED THE GOVERNMENT FOR ON OUR BEHALF AT HIS LAST MEETING IN DUBLIN WITH NOEL BARRY,
(7) AND TELL HIM TO LEAVE THE MEETING, AS HE DOES NOT REPRESENT US, ALSO NOEL BARRY DOES NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO ELECT WHO HE LIKES.
MEMBERS SHOULD ALSO ASK. WHERE IS THE COMMITTEE THAT WAS DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED AT THE LAST MEETING IN CORK BY ITS MEMBERS. WHY THE (PRO) MR CHRISTIE HEAPHY, IS NOT ON THE TOP TABLE, WHERE HE SHOULD BE. OUR CHAIRMAN ALSO, MR OLLIE BURKE, WHO GOT RID OF HIM, AND WHY. AND FINALLY WHY IS MR FRANCIS TREANOR A ( BARRISTER ) DICTATING POLICY TO OUR MEMBERS, WHEN HE WAS NOT ELECTED.
May Henderson, Hi hope you are keeping well .can I ask you was there an ATTIC in GOLDENBRIDGE i never saw one the roof as far as I remember was flat, if their was an attic I would have known about it would have been a great hiding place .I am sure there wasn’t you asked about Mrs Buckley’s secretary works at the aishlin double barel’d name I believe she went into GB 1969 or -1973 ish or later ask bernadette F about Photo’s ,I bet all of them read what is on this great site , keep well .
HELLO’ PAUL NOLAN, HELLO TO YOU, I just want to say we are directing our anger at the Religious and the Government Dept of Education and THOSE WHO WORK FOR THEM .ie certain so called group leaders who have been working and getting paid + funding from them parhaps a new car ect ect while doing nothing for real survivors,Older Survivors who are the real victims have been bullied into silence for far to long.It was all a setup.
OF COURSE ONE QUESTION WE ALL MISS.
8. CAN YOU TRUST THEM.
sorry paddy can you add this question to the above list.
where did these people come from to qualify for the position they want to claim? have they
ANY QUALIFICATIONS? DOES ANYONE CARE?
is it the same as the religious? just fanatics who love control?
BEFORE YOU ELECT ANYBODY YOU HAVE TO KNOW
1. WHO THEY ARE
2. WHERE THEY COME FROM
3. WHAT THEY WANT
4. HOW THEY GOT THERE
5. WHY THEY WANT TO BE CHOSEN
6. WHEN WERE THEY ASKED.
7. HAVE THEY GOT ANY QUALIFICATIONS GOOD ENOUGH.
none of the above do we know so how can we know to choose from.
how can a government and religious trust these people if we do not even know them.
this is neglect yet again.
the religious fanatics were trusted look what they did.
WE THE SURVIVORS OF ABUSE DEMAND ANSWERS NOW.
It was bad enough been abused by the Religious Orders and the State,now our own are abusing us just look at what they agreed to with Biffo,a trust fund,money for a hospital,and payment to the redress board.
When Michael o Brien walked out of the meeting in protest C BUCKLEY(who have her own hidden agenda and good job and salary)went on air and showed her true colours the way she treated M o Brien May GOD FORGIVE HER
WELL SPOKEN, ANDREW. BUT THAT SEEMS TO BE JUST WHAT HAS HAPPENED. WE DOWN HERE IN CORK GOT A LETTER FROM ( RIGHT OF PLACE CORK ) TELLING US ABOUT RECENT DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN (CONCERNED AND INTERESTED PARTIES) AND SOME AGREEMENT THAT (THEY? ) REACHED, AS TO THE GOVERNANCE OF THE ORGANIZATION.
THIS LETTER WAS SENT OUT TO (MEMBERS? IF WE ARE MEMBERS THAT IS ) BY SOMEONE BROUGHT ON BOARD BY MR NOEL C BARRY TO SPEAK ON HIS BEHALF ( SEEMINGLY ) WE DID NOT ELECT THIS PERSON, WE DONT WANT TO SPEAK TO THIS PERSON, BUT HE INSISTS THAT HE ALONG WITH OTHERS WILL HOLD A MEETING,ON FRIDAY, 18TH, AT THE METROPOLE HOTEL AT 19.30HRS IN CORK, TO DISCUSS, ELECTING 3 DELEGATES WHO WILL ATTEND AT THE GENERAL MEETING.
MR NOEL C BARRY IS THE PERSON WE WANT TO SEE, AND TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK HIM ANY RELEVANT QUESTIONS WE HAVE. BUT MR BARRY WILL NOT BE ATTENDING, BUT HIS MOUTHPIECE MR FRANCIS TREANOR WILL BE DOING THE TALKING FOR HIM. ( HOW DARE HE )
IF IT WAS THE HSE WHO PUT MR FRANCIS TREANOR INTO THAT POSITION, ( HOW DARE THEY ) WHO DO THE HSE THINK THEY ARE POKING THEIR NOSES INTO THE AFFAIRS OF THE SURVIVORS. THEY DO NOT DICTATE TO THE SURVIVORS, AND WE WILL NOT LET THEM.
AND FURTHERMORE, WE WONT BE DICTATED TO BY TREANOR EITHER, OR ANYONE ELSE THEY TRY TO PUT IN OUR WAY. ALL THESE PEOPLE WANT IS TO SECURE THEIR WELL PAID JOBS, PAID FOR BY THE HSE, AND THE SURVIVORS ARE BEING USED AS GUINEA PIGS SO THESE IDIOTS CAN SECURE THEIR JOBS,AND BIG SALARIES, AND NOTHING ELSE.
MR TREANOR ALSO STATES THAT, ( MEMBERS? IF INDEED WE ARE MEMBERS? ) SHOULD NOTE THAT THE ONLY PURPOSE OF THESE MEETINGS, IS THE ELECTION OF DELEGATES, AND NO OTHER MATTERS WILL BE DISCUSSED, OR DEALTH WITH, SAVE FOR EXPLANATIONS RELATING TO THE ACTUAL AGREEMENT, WHICH HE ALSO STATES, ( CANNOT ITSELF BE REVISITED ) HOW CONVENIENT, DONT YOU THINK.
IN OTHER WORDS, MR TREANOR, WHO INCIDENTALLY IS A BARRISTER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IS TELLING US ( YET
AGAIN ) TO SHUT UP, WILL ONLY DEAL WITH HIS OWN AGENDA.
WHEN ARE THESE PEOPLE GOING TO LISTEN TO US? THEY ARE NOT SPEAKING FOR THE SURVIVOR, BUT FOR THEMSELVES, AND I THINK NOW ITS TIME TO TELL THEM ALL WHERE TO GO.
NOEL C BARRY, ALONG WITH MR TREANOR, IN THEIR LAST VISIT TO MR BRIAN COWAN IN DUBLIN, SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR ANY FURTHER CONTRIBUTIONS DONATED BY THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS TO BE PUT IN TRUST FUND, AND STATED THIS WAS THE WISHES OF THE MAJORITY OF SURVIVORS.
ONLY ONE THING WRONG WITH THAT MR BARRY, AND MR TREANOR. YOU NEVER ASKED THE SURVIVORS, WHY? BECAUSE YOU WERE OVERHEARD TO SAY AT SOME VENUE OR OTHER, ( MEMBERSHIP OF AN ORGANIZATION IS A NON ENTITY, YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS PER SAY. )
Good work ! Keep us posting, you are very good writer.
Hands up everyone who has taken part in a ballot to elect a ‘spokesperson’ for US !
Thought so.
It’s not the HSE, the media or the friends of the religious orders who can dictate who speaks for US.
The government has not made any attempt whatsoever to contact us individually yet they are the only ones who have the wherewithal to do this. It’s not rocket science Taoiseach. Talk to US. You’ll find US quite reasonable.
Don’t talk ABOUT US to people haven’t bothered to consult US.
I understand what you say about solicitors , Its very difficult to think of them as trustworthy, Since its just a job to them . I think that had they had our interests at heart we would not need to claim what’s ours . WE would have received it in the first place at the redress board
Dead Man Walking.
We are most certainly on the same page..here here to you as Dorris put it. You are absolutley correct.
I’m enjoying sitting back and carefully observing all comments. I almost amused, no disrespect.
I firmly stand by what I beleive is correct and that the end result will be all survivor’s shall receive their correct amount of compensation/justice.
Kind regards..
Anne.
THERE ARE NO SUCH THING AS SURVIVORS OF ABUSE GROUPS I WILL SAY IT AGAIN THERE ARE NO SUCH THING AS SURVIVORS OF ABUSE GROUPS. THERE THE TRUTH HAS COME OUT.
i am sick to the teeth of those who CLAIM to represent survivors, it has to stop and questions asked where these groups came from, why they claim to represent survivors, how they got away with this, who these people really are, when are they to be closed down.
enough is enough.
ONE PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENT OFFICE TO ACTUALLY DEAL WITH SURVIVORS NEEDS, TO MAKE SURE SURVIVORS ARE GETTING THE SUPPORT THEY ALL NEED IN HOUSING, DISABILITY, WELFARE, HEALTH, AND SO ON. THEY CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THESE DEPARTMENTS ARE LOOKING AFTER SURVIVORS NEEDS AND ANY COMPENSATIONS DUE.
TO MAKE SURE SURVIVORS AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE GETTING THEIR GRANTS AND COUNSELING FEES PAID ON TIME AS THE GOVERNMENT SAY THESE DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN SET UP. TO MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT THESE GRANTS ARE FOR.
QUESTION: CAN WE STILL USE OUR SOLICITORS FREELY TO MAKE SURE WE GET OUR ENTITLEMENTS DUE AS THEY WERE ALSO PAID VERY WELL INDEED.
here here dead man i know the institution you mean THEM lot will always look out for there own.keep it in the family so to speak. nobody has ever done anything for me or mine.useless pile of holy crap GET RID OF THEM NOW.
some of the survivor groups only seem to represent the one institution they were in ! how does that stack up ?
hi paul sorry to hear of your sad news and you are so very right take care paul regards robert
hi paddy thank you for your strong voice of truth.
how can a government expect the public to believe that this would not come to the surface just as the abuses did.
they do not expect us all to remain quiet while we are being bullied into accepting what these strangers called groups are doing.
no to just education and counselling as some survivors are far too old and some are trying to find homes, many are disabled many are struggling to rear families, there is far more to living life that needs supporting the welfare of survivors and children and babies are at stake here.
no to groups no no no
they have not been vetted at all.
thank you so much Paddy Doyle
I agree Andrew. Maybe I have veil’s on the brain as I was brought up by nuns!! It’s a funny old world. Paddy.
A ‘veil of secrecy’ Paddy? It’s a brick wall.
It seems to me that the Government has these people in their pockets. There’s no accounting, no accountability and very little transparency …
The losers with all this bickering going on will be the SURVIVORS. The goverment and the church will use it as an excuse to delay final decisions on compensation.
My uncle was in Artane in the fifties and was paid compensation, but he never got to enjoy a penny of his compensation he died of cancer as his cheque was been cleared, he was 75 years old. There are many survivors whom need finincal support now. Time is ticking by.
Focus your anger at the GOVERMENT and the CHURCH. Demand action now……….
Since the volunteer of the year award, I have been wondering if Chrissie runs the aishlinn centre out of the goodness of her own little heart , because I thought she was being paid by the state , does anyone know ?????????
Well done Paddy. Let’s have openness and transparency – nothing hidden in dark corners or pushed underground. Let everything be open and above-board. Let’s see all the accounts of these various groups, and each one of them held accountable.
Dear Paddy,
It’s so nice to think that there is some one we can trust such as yourself fighting our cause. As for all the other hangers on it’s time they were brought to account and made to come clean about there finances.
Veronica.
That would be nice Portia, but do the powers that be really care?
the government have been holding business MEETINGS with these groups , as if it was all being done legally. .who chose them . they did not appear ,out of nowhere they all have been paid by whoever decides.
Brilliant truth as always.
Let the veil be lifted and the light of truth shine in.