Telling Tales – Cruelty and abuse in schooling in Ireland

The report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Government of Ireland, 2009) - the Ryan Report - shocked Ireland and the wider world with its chilling descriptions of abuse that was systemic, pervasive, chronic, excessive, arbitrary and endemic. Subsequent debate has, rightly, centred on the ‘religious’ arena, highlighting the appalling breach of trust in institutions that were church-run and staffed by members of religious orders. Discussion of broader educational values and perspectives has been limited. Exploring the perspectives of writers on schooling, in autobiography, memoir or through their fiction, can contribute to the educational debates that should arise from the Ryan Report. This article considers the insights of selected writers. A strong authoritarianism tradition within Irish schooling is identified as contributing to cultures of docility and compliance. The relevance of such issues for current practitioners is also discussed