St. Vincent's Industrial School, Goldenbridge

St. Vincent's Industrial School, Goldenbridge, popularly known as Goldenbridge, was an industrial school in Dublin, Ireland. It was run by the Sisters of Mercy.

The Sisters of Mercy were founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin in 1831. In 1855, Cardinal Cullen invited the Sisters of Mercy to provide a rehabilitation service to women who had been incarcerated in Mountjoy jail, by educating them and preparing them for final release. The convict refuge was opened in 1856. The Sisters continued with this work until 1883.

In 1880 a building within Goldenbridge convent was certified as an industrial school and named St Vincent’s Industrial School. It opened with an initial intake of 30 girls. In 1883 the convict refuge was converted into an industrial school. About thirty sisters were housed in the convent at Goldenbridge, which housed a large national school and a laundry which closed in the 1950s. Few of the sisters worked in the industrial school. The industrial school closed in 1983.

Throughout the early 20th century, the Industrial School would receive children from the Dublin Police Court system, who had been convicted of crimes under the Industrial Schools Act 1868 and the Children Act 1908. These crimes fell into the categories of homelessness, wandering, destitution, begging, lack of proper guardianship, and non-attendance at school. Children as young as three years old would be sentenced to incarceration in an institution until their 16th birthday.

In March 1941, Dr. McCabe carried out a general inspection and found that the School was ‘well kept’ and satisfactory in all areas. There is no General Inspection Report for 1942. The next inspection took place on 27 January 1944 and she commented that the premises were ‘very well kept, clean and tidy’ and most areas were found to be ‘satisfactory’, but she found that the ‘children looked far from being neat and tidy’. She said that their clothes were ‘tattered and untidy’ and their blankets were ‘thin and worn’.

The General Inspection Reports of the 1940s criticised the food and diet of the children; in particular, insufficient quantities of milk and butter were given during the war years. The Department of Education had allotted certain rations of milk and butter for children in industrial schools, and these quantities were not adhered to in Goldenbridge.

Dr McCabe’s General Inspection Reports from 1948 until her retirement in 1963 were, without exception, very positive. The General Inspection Reports after Dr McCabe’s retirement continued to be very favourable about the living conditions in the School. Dr Charles Lysaght, who carried out a General Inspection of the School on 21 March 1966, commented that it was ‘well run’: the premises were clean and in ‘good repair’ and the accommodation consisted mostly of modern buildings with ‘excellent dormitory accommodation’.

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