GIRLS living under the care of Sisters lived mainly in large unheated buildings with communal dormitories and poor hygiene facilities, according to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse report.There was little time for recreation and the children were largely isolated from the outside world, including their family.
Prior to the 1970s, their lives followed a routine with an early morning bell call for Mass, followed by breakfast in the refectory.
Types of clothing varied according to school, and often came from a stock of donated, second-hand items.
Children often knitted jumpers and socks for themselves. Many never owned a new pair of shoes.
There was an increased toiletry provisions after the 1970s, including hot water, soap, sanitary towels and brushes.
As with boys’ schools, a code of silence was often enforced in the dormitories, at mealtimes and during work.
Work was graded according to age, with girls on occasion expected to begin at the age of seven. Some reported starting work at the age of five. There was a lack of staff for domestic work. "We cared for them [the Sisters], they did not care for us," a former resident said.
Work included tasks in schools, kitchens, convents, the homes of families, farms, laundries and the making of Rosary beads.
It sometimes began before breakfast, continuing after classes finished. Many girls worked in laundries, both for convents and outside premises such as hospitals, hotels and schools.
The children often received no pay and had to wash and starch not only sheets and linen, but nuns’ habits and clerical vestments.
Witnesses reported standing on boxes to reach into laundry troughs and washing nuns’ under clothes in cold water and with bare hands.
Residents often minded baby infants admitted to schools. Work included feeding, dressing and changing the babies. Sometimes the children were so hungry, they ate the babies’ food.
Girls worked long hours in bakeries. Distinctions were sometimes made between those with families and orphans, who were allocated dirtier tasks such as unblocking toilets. Re-stuffing mattresses was sometimes part of their "summer holiday".
Inadequate provision of food was widely reported. There was porridge, boiled potatoes and on occasion some meat, but never enough.
"The nuns’ bins would be lovely, you would eat the bread out of their buckets," one resident reported.
As with boys’ schools, fruit and eggs were rarely provided, except at Christmas and Easter. Before the 1960s, toys and books were largely non-existent in girls schools. Donated presents were locked away.
Girls sometimes watched films but often made dolls just from scraps of wood. As with boys’ schools, girls were forced to go on long walks "like a crocodile" for up to 10 miles.
Most girls finished education by the age of 14 and then commenced full-time work.
Many though left education at even younger ages. "I loved school, when I was taken out I cried, I loved science in the secondary, I would have loved...to be a nurse...they took me out because I was good at sewing, they wanted me for the vestments," a former resident reported.
The notion of the "devil" was emphasised to girls and they were constantly told they were sinners.
Girls felt a sense of bewilderment when discharged, having spent most of their lives in the schools.
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