After a long campaign, the former Industrial School in Taylor’s Hill (known as Lenaboy) is to be handed over to the people of Galway.
Catherine Connolly TD welcomed the news, saying it is “to be welcomed and is a very positive development.”
The Sisters of Mercy decided to hand the former children’s home over to the state in 2009 as ‘compensation’ for the abuse that many children suffered at while at Lenaboy.
But the Sisters didn’t donate Lenaboy, and since 2009, the abandoned building’s condition has deteriorated.
Deputy Connolly has been campaigning for the Sisters of Mercy to donate the building to the Council as compensation for the hurt the institution caused to so many people.
“The reference to the Sisters of Mercy donating the property to the Council is also misleading,” she said.
“This property was identified as far back as 2009 as one of the properties to be handed over in part-compensation for the abuse suffered by so many children.”
Moreover, she said this is a matter she has repeatedly raised on the Public Accounts Committee in an effort to clarify the situation since she became a member.
“It is very important however that the announcement be placed in its historical context.
“This is a decision that has come following a very long and difficult campaign by the survivors who have repeatedly called on the Sisters of Mercy to hand over the property and to let it be used as a place of ‘healing and reconciliation,” Deputy Connolly said.
She also confirmed that she has contacted the City Manager with a view to including the survivors and/or representatives of their families in the consultation process regarding any proposed uses of this building.
