Children made to eat own vomit, inquiry to be told

Some children at residential homes run by Catholic nuns in Northern Ireland were made to eat their own vomit, a lawyer has said.

Those who wet their beds were forced to put soiled sheets on their heads by members of a harsh regime which was devoid of love, the largest inquiry of its kind in Britain or Northern Ireland into child abuse at residential homes was told.

Young people at Sisters of Nazareth properties in Derry were known by their numbers rather than names and many allegedly subjected to humiliation, threats and physical abuse, counsel to the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry Christine Smith QC said.

Ms Smith, senior counsel to the inquiry said complaints received by the inquiry relate to “sexual abuse by peers, older children, ex-residents, visiting priests or employees of the congregation and, in at least one instance, by a nun”.

There will also be reference “to physical assaults by sisters and civilian workers, including assaults with implements . . . such as straps, sticks, a hair brush or a kettle flex,” she said.

Other allegations related to “bathing in Jeyes Fluid, bullying by older children, denigration of a child’s family, the separation of siblings and not informing children that they had siblings often residing with them in the home.”

Ms Smith also cited “public humiliation of children who wet the bed by, for example, calling them names and making them stand with wet sheets over their heads and being beaten for bed wetting”.

Some children alleged they suffered “excessive and inappropriate physical labour such as farm labouring, polishing floors, working in the laundry – all at the expense of recreation or play activities”.

The inquiry heard children had complained “of being hungry and of poor-quality food”.

“There are complaints of forced feeding,” she added. “Some claimed that when this was done they were ill and were made to eat their own vomit.”

The Sisters of Nazareth also ran an orphanage at Fahan, a few miles away in Co Donegal in the Republic, and children were sometimes transferred across the Border.

Ms Smith said in one case a child born in the Republic was sent to Derry and later moved to Australia under a migrant scheme.

Earlier, chairman Sir Anthony Hart heard Ms Smith allege that co-operation by the Order of the Sisters of Nazareth and the provision of requested documents had "not been as complete or as rapid as had been hoped. This is despite the fact that the order was asked to co-operate voluntarily and produce documents as long ago as November 20th, 2012."

Senior counsel for the order, Turlough Montague, apologised to the chairman over the response to demands for documentation. He cited problems with acquiring the papers, which are kept in Belfast, Dublin and Hammersmith in London.

Ms Smith said the inquiry acknowledged the volume and nature of the information presented a challenging task and understood that it was not stored in a single well-ordered archive. A considerable amount was subsequently supplied to the inquiry.

The first witnesses to give oral evidence to the inquiry will be heard today.