A chara, - On Sunday, November 12th, TV3 broadcast a one-hour documentary entitled Stolen Lives: Our Boys, which had first been shown on the station in October 1999. The programme repeated a number of serious allegations against members of the Christian Brothers by former pupils of industrial schools.
One particular past pupil claimed that he had attended funerals of boys who had died while in Artane. It was further implied that these boys died following beatings administered by Brothers. This allegation is completely untrue. The records show that no boy died in Artane during this person's time there. This is a matter of verifiable fact.
In addition, this same past pupil claimed that a particular Brother who allegedly had been abusing him made certain lewd comments during Mass, as a result of which the pupil fainted and had to be transferred to the infirmary. Versions of his story have been repeated elsewhere, to the extent that the Brother is easily identifiable. However, the record shows that the Brother was not teaching in Artane at the period in question. This is also a matter of verifiable fact.
Elsewhere in Stolen Lives, certain comments, said to have been made on radio, were attributed to a named spokesperson for the Christian Brothers, claiming that the Brothers rejected all allegations made against them. Such comments were never made.
This most recent airing of a programme containing unfounded, ?????uncorrobated allegations is a matter of great concern to the Christian Brothers. It is deeply worrying that a national broadcaster chooses to deal with very sensitive matters in such a way. - Yours, etc.,
Br J.K. Mullan, Province Leader, Christian Brothers' Provincialate, Cluain Mhuire, North Circular Road, Dublin 7.