Sir, - I was both surprised and disappointed by Mr. Fintan O'Toole's article on the Christian Brothers in the Weekend section on October 5th. I was surprised by the very negative verdict on their contribution to Irish society, and disappointed by the stark coldness of the piece.
Mr. O'Toole characterises the Christian Brothers' work as a sort of disorder that Irish society was afflicted with, and from which it is now recovering. He portrays the Brothers as dedicated to the advancement of the lower middle class and to the inculcation of a narrow, nationalistic vision of Ireland in the minds of their students. He also draws attention to the overuse of corporal punishment and to incidents of sexual abuse.
I am one of a huge number of adults in this country who received both primary and secondary education from the Christian Brothers. My experience would surely be typical of a majority. I have benign memories of most of the Brothers who taught me, and I remember many with fondness. As well as my academic subjects, they taught me to play hurling, and how to win and to lose graciously. These men led difficult and lonely lives, and most of them behaved decently towards their students.
The energy and dedication they displayed in the professional aspects of their teaching was very high. It is true that neither Irish history nor the Irish language were taught well, but all other subjects were well handled. (Also, I doubt if history and Irish were taught any better in non CBS schools.) As regards abuses, during my 10 years' education with the Christian Brothers I witnessed, and experienced, some examples of "over the top" corporal punishment. I accept that abuses of this nature were severe at times in some schools.
The Christian Brothers' school were the backbone of the Irish free mass education system for boys from the foundation of the State. They didn't rise above the norms of the society, but reinforced and reflected these standards in cultural and moral spheres. But anything else would surely be very surprising. This is what happens, almost inevitably, when a group becomes institutionalised into a powerful position in society.
Of course, this does not excuse abuses, whether of a punitive or a sexual nature. These are outside the civilised norms of society and cannot be excused. However, regrettable as they were, they do not negate the overall positive contribution that the Christian Brothers made to Ireland.
They were a part of what we were. They reflected not only our weaknesses, but also our strengths. Mr. O'Toole's analysis is far too dismissive; by all means criticise what was wrong, but praise the good also, and there was plenty of it. The Christian Brothers didn't represent some "add on" to Irish society which we can now, if we wish, dismiss with impunity. Any such denial is a denial of ourselves - a most unhealthy and unnatural exercise.
-Yours, etc,
Waterfall, Co Cork.