Burning of Connemara Orphanage during Civil War

jonniebgood1

In the past 2 months there has been arguments in the Irish times letters section about a story (opinion based) that they ran on an incident from the civil war. I wonder what do folk following this forum know of this incident:

PROTESTANT orphans – some as young as five years old – were burnt out of their care home in Connemara by “Republicans” and then dramatically rescued by a British gunboat 90 years ago this year. They are among the many forgotten victims of the Civil War. Could any still be alive? In Britain’s House of Lords on July 26th, 1922, Hansard reported an emotional debate during which Lord Carson deplored “everyday life in Ireland, where outrages, slaughter, and every kind of criminality proceed apace”.

......

Given the convulsions gripping the newly-established Irish Free State, and government-imposed press censorship, the matter received relatively little attention here. However, The Irish Times reported, from London, on questions asked in the House of Commons about what one MP described as a “dastardly outrage”.

In August 1922, an appeal to assist the orphan boys was published in the Times of London. On November 8th, The Irish Times reported that “As a result of that appeal, an offer was made to house and educate the children at a well-known Australian institution, founded and supported by private munificence, the Burnside Homes, Parramatta, near Sydney.”

And so, the following day, less than five months after their evacuation from Ireland, the unfortunate boys took to the high seas again.

Arranged by the Migration and Settlement Office at London’s Australia House, 23 Irish children accompanied by a matron sailed away aboard the steam-ship Euripides .

The “lucky” orphans arrived in Sydney just in time for Christmas. On Saturday, December 23rd, 1922, The Sydney Morning Herald , reported that the boys “ranged in ages from 5 years to sixteen” and were of “a splendid type of sturdy, well-mannered, and well-behaved Irish boyhood”.

The paper reported that the boys would live in the care home although the older ones would be “placed with suitable guardians on the land” as “most of the boys intend to become farmers, having received farm training at the orphanage in Ireland”.
From http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0109/1224310004476.html

The facts would seem to be for whatever reason these children had to be rescued and were shipped to Australia as an escape. That is not pleasant to consider but then this was in civil war times. What are peoples views on this- Do we know of specifics on the incident, was it retaliation or what was the justification or reasoning behind it?

thecommietommy

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

In the past 2 months there has been arguments in the Irish times letters section about a story (opinion based) that they ran on an incident from the civil war. I wonder what do folk following this forum know of this incident:


The facts would seem to be for whatever reason these children had to be rescued and were shipped to Australia as an escape. That is not pleasant to consider but then this was in civil war times. What are peoples views on this- Do we know of specifics on the incident, was it retaliation or what was the justification or reasoning behind it?

It's already been discussed on Politics.ie in much greater detail than you'll ever get on this little forum It runs to 476 at last count

The Burning of Ballyconree [boys'] Orphanage, 1922
http://www.politics.ie/forum/history/179522-burning-ballyconree-boys-orphanage-1922-a.html

jonniebgood1

thecommietommy wrote: »

It's already been discussed on Politics.ie in much greater detail than you'll ever get on this little forum It runs to 476 at last count

The Burning of Ballyconree [boys'] Orphanage, 1922
http://www.politics.ie/forum/history/179522-burning-ballyconree-boys-orphanage-1922-a.html

Ah now, the reason for discussing it here would be to avoid the bickering over response letters, etc. as per your link. I read through that discussion before my OP, hence my request for "facts" and "specifics on the incident", as opposed to political overview or discussion of the people expressing views on the incident as opposed to discussing the incident.

jonniebgood1

This story was updated yesterday in the Irish times.

Letters and emails to The Irish Times in recent weeks suggest the boys were well-cared for. Susan Farrell, for example, said her late father had “often described his time at Burnside as ‘a new heaven and a new Earth’ ”.

As far as is known, none of the boys ever returned to Ireland, and many seem to have lived happy and fulfilled lives in Australia. All are now presumed deceased. But they passed on memories of their childhood in Ireland and the burning of the orphanage. Those for whom records have been found were not natives of Connemara but were transferred to Ballyconree from different locations in Ireland.

Some of their families are actively engaged in the complex, and often frustrating, task of researching their roots, and are anxious to contact long-lost relatives in Ireland.

Meanwhile, the fate of Connemara’s Protestant orphan girls remains unknown. Although their orphanage was not attacked, the British authorities also evacuated the girls and staff as a precautionary measure.

They were taken to Devonport by the Royal Navy in July 1922 and, with the assistance of Lady (Nancy) Astor, the MP for Plymouth, were provided with temporary accommodation. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0319/1224313529074.html