There were angry scenes yesterday when the gates to Dublin's RDS were bolted in the faces of victims of child abuse.
The victims, many of whom said they had been abused by Christian Brothers, had gathered to protest at bicentenary celebrations at the venue.
They felt a "jamboree" was inappropriate given the number of cases of abuse perpetrated by the brothers and, when they tried to enter the RDS grounds, its gates were locked by security.
The protesters, members of SOCA (Survivors of Child Abuse)felt it was a case of the brothers turning their backs on them again.
Inside the brothers tendered an apology at noon Mass for "the intense suffering" which some members of the order had caused, but the victims felt the brothers should have come to the gate to tender it in person.
A SOCA spokesman, Mr John Kelly, also criticised the presence of Cardinal Desmond Connell. "What he's doing in here today our people find highly offensive," he said. "He's actually giving credence to some of the people that this organisation abused".
Mr Kelly, who has secured a promise of a meeting with Dr Connell, said the Cardinal's position was now untenable. He was ignoring the victims, and it was simply not good enough any more, he said. Others called for the Cardinal to resign.
During emotional scenes when victims recalled how they had been abused, one man, Mr George Bell (54), originally from Dublin's Liberties but now living in Manchester, collapsed.
He said he had been "raped, battered and abused" at Upton industrial school in Cork in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had tried to take his own life.
Of the celebrations he said: "It just brings back bad memories for me. I just want them to be punished for what they did".
Mr Ger Kelly from Waterford claimed he had seen his abuser go through the gates. "He smiled at me going in. He's a lucky man I wasn't too near him," he said.
He said he had been sexually, physically and emotionally abused while at Artane industrial school in the late 1960s.
"I think it's disgraceful here today. They are giving us the two fingers," he said.
Mr Sean Healy, who spent six years at St Joseph's industrial school in Tralee, run by the Christian Brothers, said the brothers "beat the hell" out him. They were supposed to educate him but instead had him tending to in-calf cows at night. He left school unable to read or write.
Another victim, Mr Victor Myles, spent three years at St Joseph's in Clonmel where, he claimed, he was beaten every day. He said it was "totally disgraceful" for the brothers to be celebrating.
Asked as he left the RDS after celebrating Mass how he felt about the protests, Dr Connell said he was not giving any interviews. He was ushered into a waiting car which sped off.
At a press conference later Brother Kevin Mullan, province leader with the Christian Brothers, said he regretted people felt it necessary to protest at the event but he recognised their right to do so.
Brother Daryl Barclay, the conference co-ordinator, defended the order's decision not to allow a statement from SOCA to be read at the Mass.
It could have been seen as tokenistic and "wouldn't necessarily lead to the sort of reconciliation for which we are striving," he said.