A ST NINIAN’S SURVIVOR WRITES

Encouraging words from Doogster 61, a St Ninian’s survivor:

I also attended a residential school in Scotland, andI am happy to say my litigation against Brother Benedict, St Ninians Gartmore is now at the stage of financial negotiations with their insurers. I will keep you informed of the eventual outcome.

I believe one of your followers, Tam B. requested to talk to me in person.You can pass my email onto him.  If I can be of any assistance to him, it would be my pleasure Pat.

I am fully aware of the barriers and pitfalls you encounter when you are trying to obtain information and the mislaid, destroyed, fire damaged, perished,disappeared, dissolved, evanesced, evaporated, disintegrated, dissipated, discarded, discontinued, mice eaten, moth attacked, removed with demolition companies, sent to the school board, sent to the Archdiocese of Glasgow, sent to the Vatican, sent to the Home Office, it,s in the National Archive Libraries, the social work sevices have them, the DLS have them, its data protection, no access for 75 years, official secrets act, redacted, redacted, redacted etc. etc!

Think you get my drift Pat.

So yes after many many years of profound digging, I eventually found some of the documents that were relevant to pursue my litigation. The conviction of Michael Murphy (Brother  Benedict) has undoubtedly assisted in my pursuit. 

Therefore if I can be of any assistance to my fellow survivors I will be only to willing and  glad to help. This includes all of your followers. 

I know how frustrating and upsetting this will cause to some people who encounter the shield of covercy. Yes its demanding and extremely exhausting,  but the satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment is truly consoling to compliment yourself in not taking no for an answer! Well done you!

I will attempt to find every piece of information that will provide the laws to bring these perpetrators to justice.

So i say to your readers and followers Pat, dont cede in your persistence for justice and if i can, -you can. Keep your faith and keep fighting until you can fight no more. Say to yourselves, “i will never be beaten again. Ever!”

My sincere thoughts to all my fellow survivors, and I wish you every success in our quest!

My sincere empathy to the friends and families who have sadly passed and didnt get the opportunity to witness the emergence of  disbelieved truth, justice, and punishment these bastards truly have self merited.

BROTHER CYRIL – ST JOHNS

This info in from an Old Boy. Hope someone can help.

I boarded at St John’s in the 90’s. I was involved in brother Cyril’s Court case, in 95, and subsequent not guilty verdict. I Google his name regularly to see if anything has ever happened to him. I would be very happy to talk about this creature. I am still in contact with some of the other boys and we have often wondered if tgere is anybody else out there

Cyril was headmaster at St John’s when I boarded there in the 90s. I was a witness at his two trial’s. The first was a mis-trial and the second not guilty

I was invoked in Brother Cyrils trials if you wanted to talk.

ST JOSEPH’S IPSWICH TEACHER REMEMBERED & THE OPUS DEI CONNECTION

Francis Carolan has died just before facing four charges of abuse in April.

Below are some recollections from one Old Boy about this teacher from the early 1990s.

The Opus Dei recollection I find interesting.  So a few thoughts on that organisation first.

In my own and other’s experience, St Joseph’s teachers had (have?) connections with neo-masonic Catholic organisations. In my era, the St Joseph’s teacher abusers  I encountered were members of, or connected with, the Knights of St Columba whose crimes I have featured on this site and are currently being looked at by Operation Hydrant. In another notorious case (late 1950s), an ex-St Joseph’s teacher, known from his violence, ran away with a young boy, promising that he would become the youthful leader of an exciting new order of Catholic Knights.

It would be almost reassuring if one was to conclude they’re just patriarchal organisations and Catholic women were never involved. But, of course, it’s well known that women can be members of Opus Dei, too. There was Ruth Kelly who was a practising member of Opus Dei and a minister for education. Given their warped ‘mortification of the flesh’ practises, I find that singularly unhealthy. In my era, leading Catholic women in Ipswich were members of or connected with the Catholic Women’s League, which is closely associated with the Knights of St Columba.  My experience of these ladies and their practises was very unpleasant.

Beyond St Joseph’s, there are other unhealthy stories of Catholic Knights that I’ve come across: Papal Knight, and probable member of the Knights of St Columba, Jimmy Savile being the prime example which no one has ever investigated.  I doubt it will be featured in the forthcoming Netflix drama.

The inescapable conclusion is that if you’re a member of these various secretive Catholic organisations, there’s a good chance you’ll get away with your abusive crimes. As an academic study has shown (previously featured on this site), there is a strong transgenerational element which suggests it’s still going on today. 

 RECOLLECTIONS OF CAROLAN

Carolan boasted to us that he’d sign off letters to parents with the letters FOAD. If questioned he would say it was “for our almighty deity”, but it was actually fuck off and die. He was apparently a member of Opus Dei, and had met the Pope.

Frank Carolan was a scary man. Hitting us on the back of the head with bibles, but mostly he was a psychological bully. Incredibly nice on one hand (I had a band in the 4th/5th year and he allowed us to rehearse in his classroom after school, and store our instruments), and then he’d turn on you and reduce you to nothing. 

He was my housemaster in birkfield before he disappeared one night in spring 1993. Never did anything physical to me, but we were all terrified of him and there were allegations at the time. 

FORMER ST JOSEPH’S TEACHER AWAITING TRIAL FOUND DEAD

Francis Carolan, the teacher who was due in court in April to face abuse charges, is dead. The details of the case are in the newspaper account below.

https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/crime/former-ipswich-teacher-found-dead-before-trial-8804604

ST NINIANS GARTMORE – DE LA SALLE SCHOOL. ANOTHER SURVIVOR WRITES

Brother Thadeus has been described before. IIRC he was the DLS headmaster who covered up the torture of a child.

Hi doogster I like yourself I was in St Ninnians Gartmore and was abused by Bootsie brother Thadieus Makenna and Mr Shine. I’ve given my statement to Police Scotland and also the child abuse inquiry. I will be attending the inquiry at the end of the year or at the start of the following year. I’m pleased to say that the brothers from hell will be next on the inquiry list. I have been trying for years to get legal aid but its always been refused someone on the board believes that the Da la salle brothers have nothing to do with the abuse. So my day will come when I can give my evidence. Lady Smith must make these people own up to what they have done to children like me and yourself. I would be hoping to speak to you in person.

BROTHER SOLOMON/ MIKE MERCADO latest news

Here’s the latest newspaper article about Mercado.

https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/crime/st-josephs-housemaster-paid-18k-following-abuse-allegation-8795634

A Catholic boarding school housemaster accused of sexually assaulting a child was given a pay-out worth £58,000 today, we can reveal. 

Brother Solomon, also known by his lay name Mike Mercado, taught at St Joseph’s College on Belstead Road in Ipswich for the first time in the 1950s, and left in 1961.  

It was formerly run by the De La Salle order of monks and has been hit with allegations of historic sex abuse in recent years. It has been under independent ownership since 1996. 

(The article continues with further information about the case)

I did wonder who brokered the deal which seemed, from Mercado’s letter, to have been about ensuring his silence. Was it the Knights of St Columba whom past posts have clearly shown were called in to prevent scandal.

The only element I would add to the article at this stage is that there is now confirmation that Solomon was in DLS Jersey for one year in the early 1960s.

I’m pleased about this because I was the only pupil from that era who could remember he was sent to Jersey. It was believed at the time – amongst us 11 year old schoolboys – Jersey was some kind of reformatory for sexual predators. With typical gallows humour, we thought it was funny! No one else could recall it in recent years but it left a strong impression on me at the time. I dread to think why! This article confirms my memory was correct.

It also ties in with past posts on this blog where another DLS Old Boy heard a conversation about DLS monks – under suspicion – going to Bournemouth and then Jersey and – if necessary – escaping to France.

A De La Salle ratline for their predatory monks to escape justice. Pre Ryan Air, a ferry ratline would have made sense.

As I’ve related before, Brother Kevin used the ratline to escape to France where he seemed to have spent a year.

From memory, there was only one case of Solomon’s abuse at Ipswich. This involved caning perversions and a group of boarders. I’m sure there were more cases, though, because we all knew he was a predator. But at Beulah Hill there were endless allegations about his vile and violent behaviour, which may have later led to the death of one pupil , a poet,who had a troubled life

Currently the DLS claim they don’t know anything about them, even though they have currently appointed an independent investigator to look into the cases on this site. I’ve never heard from the investigator, so I’m starting to feel suspicious. Is this yet another DLS cover-up?

This man really was a monster. There’s more about him in the pipeline and a cursory ‘Sorry’ just ain’t enough.