A COMMUNITY group based in Co Offaly has been granted a licence for
the recreational use of one of Ireland’s most infamous industrial
schools.
A portion of the notorious Daingean reformatory, a
complex synonymous with the abuse of children, is to be handed over to
the Daingean Sports Complex Committee.
The Office of Public Works
granted the 10-year licence to the committee, who hope to use the
establishment as a sports facility for local children.
Committee
chairman Donal Milne acknowledged the industrial school’s “horrific
past” and said the reformatory now has the potential for a “terrific
future”.
Although the reformatory was once a place of dread for
children, “now it is going to be used as a means of giving children
something to look forward to,” said Mr Milne.
Committee treasurer
Nicola Martin said a portion of the facility had been used by children
from the town of Daingean for a couple of years in the 1980s.
“I’m
from Daingean, I grew up in Daingean so it’s great to think my kids
will get the opportunities we had when we were growing up,” she said.
The
group will begin a fund-raising drive in coming months and are hopeful
the facility can be used for basketball, handball, tennis and football.
Thousands
of young boys endured abuse, cruelty and brutality at Daingean
reformatory until it closed in 1973.
Those sent there included Dublin
musician Don Baker, who spent two years at the reformatory after
arriving in 1963 at the age of 13.
SIC: IT/IE