ABSTRACT
In 1946, the internationally recognized pioneer in progressive forms of residential childcare Father Edward Flanagan visited his homeland of Ireland to review childcare provision across the country. Increasingly appalled at the poor and violent conditions in residential schools funded by the Irish State, and run by Catholic organizations, Flanagan began to voice his criticisms through the press and public meetings. Far from provoking widespread public sympathy and abhorrence, his criticisms drew a stinging rebuke from Irish politicians and newspaper editorials. How could such wild allegations against decent Catholic institutions possibly be true? they asked. Flanagan’s comments also provoked a lively correspondence for a few weeks in the Irish Times. ose supporting his more progressive views found themselves pitted against others, for whom the violent treatment of children was not so much a source of concern, but a moral necessity. One, signing himself “An Old Teacher”, wrote, “in my years of teaching I found only one ology eff ective with the young; that was stickology not psychology” (31 August). Another added, “through original sin children are naturally vicious little savages, and it needs a rigorous discipline with fear as a wholesome deterrent to mould them into decent citizens” (7 September 1946). In the face of
more liberal complaints against these views, the fi rst correspondent retorted, “We in Eire are the salt of the earth, the last bulwark of Christianity, and if we are severe enough on law-breakers, young and old, it is because we still retain a clear perception of right and wrong, of black and white” (21 September).1
