Published 2014

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Pat Conaghan’s latest local history book deals with four Killybegs institutions: the Industrial School, Boatyard, TB Sanatorium, and Hotel Training College, all based on the one ‘campus’.   The bulk of the book deals with the former Industrial School which was founded by the Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Patrick O’Donnell, and regulated by the government.  It was managed by ordinary diocesan priest managers, with the sometime help of the Sisters of Mercy.  The Killybegs facility was founded as a Marine Industrial School for the care, education and training of destitute boys.  The Boatyard grew out of the Industrial School and is now in the ownership of a local commercial company, Mooney Boats Ltd. This last period is not however, covered, and must wait for its own successful story to be told down the line.

The Industrial School building was afterwards used as a military barracks, a TB Sanatorium, and a Hotel Training College.

This close examination of the founding and operation of an Irish Industrial School is the first of its kind, apart from the recent inquiries carried out by the Commission on Child Abuse.  Any mention of Industrial Schools today brings a negative reaction from people because they now view them as having been places where defenceless children were maltreated.  Conaghan’s research was hampered by the refusal of the Department of Education to allow access to even the most basic information on Industrial Schools which were under their regulation.  Despite this, the Killybegs School emerges in this book as a caring place of refuge for destitute children. The author states that the Killybegs School never gave cause for investigation, and praises the personnel of the Raphoe Diocesan Archive for their open and helpful attitude to requests for access to their records.

The book is a very substantial size at 488 pages, and has 17 chapters, nine of which are devoted to the founding and operation of the School, and four chapters on the Boatyard.

The Industrial School, by its nature, was a place of detention, and as such was largely a place apart from the local community.  This meant that it was little understood and often misunderstood by the townspeople.

For the first time it is possible to see the operation of an Industrial School from the inside; how the boys were clothed and fed and how they were kept busy in order to discourage ‘absconding’ which happened from time to time.   Local taxi owners were hired to hunt down and recapture the runaways.  Bills of quantities of food and supplies delivered to the school give a detailed picture of how the children were cared for.  The staffing of the School by Killybegs people and by those from surrounding towns meant that it had a prominent place in the commercial life of the area.

The founding and operation of Killybegs Boatyard is thoroughly treated from the first beginnings up to the eve of its acquisition by the late Micheal Mooney.   A full listing is provided of all boats built there prior to the Mooney Boats era, as well as the names of the administrative and working staff down the years.

The story returns to the Industrial School as it is taken over by the Irish Army, and outlines the conditions under which the officers and soldiers spent their time there.   The School was then converted into a TB Sanatorium, and this period is well covered as regards the acquisition of the building, staffing and day to day operation of the hospital.

Finally the book returns to the Boatyard to detail the workings of the Yard from the 1948 period up to 1979 when the Yard was transferred to private ownership.

An extensive list of 37 Appendices offer background detail on some of the people and families mentioned in the main text, as well as lists of boats built in the Boatyard up to 1984.

Click here for a preview of what is inside the book.