A Contested Legacy: The Kennedy Committee Revisited

Prior to the publication of the Ryan Report in 2009 which revealed the abuses experienced by children in the nation’s reformatory and Industrial Schools only two Committee of Enquiries had been conducted to explore the care and education provided by the schools. The first of these was the Cussen Report of 1936. The Report argued that poverty was the central determinate of Irish children being placed in care and voiced some concern regarding the provision of, what we would now term, special needs education in the schools but was largely uncritical and supportive of the system . The second and more critical report was produced by The Commission of Enquiry into Ireland’s Industrial and Reformatory Schools Chaired by District Justice Eileen Kennedy which published its report in 1970. This paper will explore the establishment, investigation, recommendations and legacy of the Kennedy Committee.