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inquiry, may have been faulty). The council had attempted to obtain a trailer pump, but this had been delayed by the war emergency. There was no pumping equipment and formal, organised structure of fire officers. On the night of the fire, the brigade in
Dundalk was summoned by telephone. By the time the Dundalk Fire Brigade (which was a professional unit) had covered the forty-five or so miles of twisting road, there was nothing to be done. Enniskillen is about ten miles closer to Cavan than Dundalk and the roads are more direct. However, there is nothing to suggest that the Enniskillen Fire Brigade was summoned, even though Northern fire brigades had in the past crossed the border to assist in the South.
85:. This is the claim of the RTE documentary "The Orphans That Never Were." Citing a Cavan local "I have it from a reliable source that one of the reasons the children weren't taken out was because the nuns didn't want them to be seen in their nightgowns." Yet the nature of this reliable source has never been revealed and no direct contemporary evidence of the claim exists. Accounts from the orphans who survived the fire, do mention the nuns avoiding the public due to being in their nightgowns. The official tribunal and inquiry into the fire makes no mention of the nuns refusing to evacuate the children due to fear of the children being seen in their nightgowns.
93:
solution girls were encouraged to jump. Three did so, though with injuries; however, most were too frightened to attempt it. At some point, a local electricity worker, Mattie Hand, arrived with a long ladder, and a local man, Louis
Blessing, brought five girls down. One child left by way of the interior staircase while it was still accessible. One child made it down the exterior fire escape. One child escaped by way of a small ladder held on the roof of the shed. The fire completely engulfed the dormitory and the remaining girls died.
36:
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76:
By this time all of the girls had been moved into one dormitory. At this stage it would have been possible to evacuate all of the children but instead the nuns persuaded the local people to attempt to put out the fire. It has been widely claimed that the reason the orphans were not evacuated was that
92:
By this point it was no longer possible for the girls to get out through the main entrance or the fire escape. The local fire brigade had then arrived but their equipment was not sufficient for this fire. Wooden ladders were not long enough to reach the dormitory windows. In the absence of any other
284:
was set up. The report's findings stated that the loss of life occurred due to faulty directions being given, lack of fire-fighting training, and an inadequate rescue and fire-fighting service. It also noted inadequate training of staff in fire safety and evacuation, both at the orphanage and local
331:
of the inmates. Yet contemporary sources do not mention the nuns attempting to stop the fire brigade. According to contemporary accounts the fire brigade could not access the dormitory due to the massive flames and the insufficient length of their ladders. Further accounts show the nuns encouraged
72:
A fire started in the early morning hours of 24 February 1943 in the basement laundry and was not noticed until about 2 a.m. The subsequent investigation attributed it to a faulty flue. The sight of smoke coming out of the building alerted people on Main Street. They went to the front entrance and
344:
The town did not have any sort of formal or professional fire brigade. Although the stand-pipes connected to the public water main had recently been improved and increased, the apparatus for delivering water was wholly unsuitable – little more than a cart and a hose pipe (which, according to the
335:
Due to the nature of the fire, the remains of the dead girls were placed in 8 coffins and buried in
Cullies cemetery in Cavan. A new memorial plaque was erected in 2010 just inside the convent gates at Main Street, Cavan. The plaque was anonymously donated to the Friends of the Cavan Orphanage
332:
the girls to jump from the dormitory windows, which some did, despite being dressed in a dressing gown. As, according to multiple eye-witness contemporary report, the nuns did try to encourage the girls to escape, it is likely the claim about hiding girls in their nightgowns is false.
607:
326:
It was alleged that the nuns prevented firefighters entering the building in case they saw the girls inside in a state of undress. Also, the structure of the orphanage, with many locked and barred doors, has been compared to a "fortress", presumably intended to safeguard the
597:
88:
Two men (John
Kennedy and John McNally) went down to the laundry to try to put the fire out. The flames were now too intense for this to be possible and McNally only survived by being carried out by Kennedy.
673:
356:. Its safety instructions covered areas for which "a Department of State has any responsibility or for which has power to make rules or regulations in respect of the maintenance of inmates."
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774:
56:
At that time young petty criminals could be educated and learn a trade in a reformatory; however, orphaned and abandoned children were not accorded the same opportunity. The
73:
tried to gain entry. Eventually they were let in by one of the girls (Rosemary
Caffrey) but not knowing the layout of the convent, they were unable to find the girls.
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598:"They lived as prisoners, and died in a tragic fire Heather Laskey and Mavis Arnold exposed the truth about a 1943 industrial school blaze which killed 36"
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The Poor Clares, an enclosed contemplative order, founded a convent in Cavan in 1861 in a large premises on Main Street. In 1868 they opened an
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system. In 1869 a school, attached to the convent, was established and became known as the St. Joseph's
Orphanage & Industrial School.
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28:, Ireland. 35 children and 1 adult employee died as a result. Much of the attention after the fire surrounded the role of the
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Report of the tribunal of inquiry into the fire at st. Joseph's orphanage, Main Street, Cavan, 23 Feb. 1943
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Report of the tribunal of inquiry into the fire at st. Joseph's orphanage, Main Street, Cavan, 23 Feb. 1943
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Report - Tribunal of
Inquiry into the Fire at St. Joseph's Orphanage, Main Street, Cavan
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386:. Official publications. Vol. P.6144. Dublin: Stationery Office. 17 September 1943
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293:
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written by the secretary to the inquiry, Brian O'Nolan, better known as the author
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The one adult who died was 80-year-old
Margaret Smith, who was employed as a cook.
536:"Tribunal of Inquiry into the Fire at St. Joseph's Orphanage, Main Street, Cavan,
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797:
778:
668:
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The Dublin Fire
Brigade: a history of the brigade, the fires and the emergencies
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Mary
Elizabeth and Susan McKiernan (16 and 14 years old, respectively, from
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152:
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29:
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300:, later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and presidential candidate.
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Over concerns about the causes of the fire and the standard of care, a
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Ellen and Harriet Payne (8 and 11 years old, respectively, from Dublin)
133:
Katherine and Margaret Chambers (9 and 7 years old, respectively, from
32:, the order of nuns who ran the orphanage, and the local fire service.
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occurred on the night of 23 February 1943 at St Joseph's Orphanage in
631:"Remembering the 35 girls who died in a Cavan orphanage fire in 1943"
228:
207:
141:
113:
82:
49:
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Jolly, Alice (2020). From Far Around They Saw Us Burn. Ploughshares.
419:. Dublin City Council Series. Jeremy Mills Publishing. p. 236.
296:, and one of the counsel representing the Electricity Supply Board,
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Josephine and Mona Cassidy (15 and 11 years old, respectively, from
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Josephine and Mary Carroll (10 and 12 years old, respectively, from
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197:
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Frances and Kathleen Kiely (9 and 12 years old, respectively, from
176:
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Bridget and Mary Galligan (17 and 18 years old, respectively, from
748:"Life in Cavan orphanage destroyed by fire was 'cruel' – survivor"
664:"Life in Cavan orphanage destroyed by fire was 'cruel' – survivor"
127:
78:
835:
Fire Protection Standards for Public Buildings and Institutions
722:"Orphans died because nuns didn't want them seen in nightgowns"
566:"Orphans died because nuns didn't want them seen in nightgowns"
354:
Fire Protection Standards for Public Buildings and Institutions
106:
448:
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issued a forty-seven-page fire safety recommendation entitled
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From the Department of the Taoiseach Files on Cavan Fire 1943
25:
16:
1943 deadly fire at St. Joseph's Orphanage in Cavan, Ireland
814:
Coe, Jonathan (24 October 2013). "Clutching at Railings".
412:
781:
by Dara Kelly, Irish Central Newsletter, 13 August 2015
288:
This finding has been disputed by many, including in a
772:
Forgotten fire that devastated Cavan orphanage in 1943
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Margaret and Mary Lynch (10 years and 15 years, Cavan)
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The grave containing the remains of the 36 victims.
60:sought to address this by the establishment of the
944:
348:In 1950, as a direct result of the inquiry, the
105:Mary and Nora Barrett (12-year-old twins from
81:" for the girls to be seen in public in their
250:Bernadette Serridge (5 years old from Dublin)
67:
43:
475:"Female Schools and Orphanage, etc. Cavan"
237:Philomena Regan (9 years old from Dublin)
224:Ellen Morgan (10 years old from Virginia)
896:Seanad Éireann Cavan Fire Inquiry—Motion
661:
530:
528:
526:
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413:Geraghty, Tom; Trevor Whitehead (2004).
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186:Mary Kelly (10 years old from Ballinagh)
158:Mary Harrison (15 years old from Dublin)
34:
339:
945:
867:Arnold, Mavis; Heather Laskey (2004).
540:, The Stationery Office, Dublin, 1943"
433:
253:Teresa White (6 years old from Dublin)
629:Aodha, Gráinne Ní (20 January 2018).
628:
519:
247:Mary Roche (6 years old from Dublin)
1003:Scandals in the Republic of Ireland
813:
546:from the original on 16 August 2015
505:Arnold, Mavis and Laskey, Heather.
308:Judge McCarthy was sent to inquire,
240:Kathleen Reilly (14 years old from
161:Elizabeth Heaphy (4 years old from
13:
860:
676:from the original on 27 March 2018
662:Hilliard, Mark (3 February 2018).
643:from the original on 27 March 2018
610:from the original on 27 March 2018
578:from the original on 27 March 2018
14:
1014:
988:History of Catholicism in Ireland
889:
321:Flann O'Brien & Tom O'Higgins
316:So it had to be caused by a wire.
39:The site of the orphanage in 2007
983:Fires in the Republic of Ireland
304:In Cavan there was a great fire,
206:Ellen McHugh (15 years old from
101:The following 35 children died:
973:1943 in the Republic of Ireland
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256:Rose Wright (11 years old from
168:Mary Hughes (15 years old from
140:Dorothy Daly (7 years old from
840:Department of Local Government
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350:Department of Local Government
227:Mary O'Hara (7 years old from
196:Mary Lowry (17 years old from
175:Mary Ivers (12 years old from
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696:"The Orphans That Never Were"
509:, Appletree Press Ltd (1985),
371:
366:2002 Mecca girls' school fire
112:Mary Brady (7 years old from
96:
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7:
998:Public inquiries in Ireland
869:Children of the Poor Clares
842:. 1950. pp. Foreword.
507:Children of the Poor Clares
359:
77:the nuns did not think it "
58:Industrial Schools Act 1868
10:
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958:1940s disasters in Ireland
312:If the nuns were to blame,
68:Events of 24 February 1943
483:. 1 April 1864. p. 2
953:1943 disasters in Europe
44:History of the orphanage
22:The Cavan Orphanage fire
993:History of County Cavan
871:. Appletree Press Ltd.
796:8 November 2020 at the
929:53.991909°N 7.359652°W
816:London Review of Books
777:28 August 2018 at the
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277:
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963:1940s fires in Europe
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268:Aftermath and inquiry
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934:53.991909; -7.359652
606:. 23 February 2013.
340:Response to the fire
310:It would be a shame,
925: /
791:An Irishman's Diary
574:. 5 November 2006.
804:, 14 February 2013
800:by Frank McNally,
702:. 22 February 2013
480:The Dublin Builder
455:on 1 November 2013
278:
54:William Hague Jnr.
41:
849:978-0-946841-71-4
728:. 5 November 2006
603:Irish independent
571:Irish independent
426:978-0-946841-71-4
62:industrial school
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441:"The Cavan Fire"
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491:– via
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453:the original
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170:Killeshandra
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932: /
459:20 November
390:29 November
200:, Co Cavan)
149:Drumcassidy
135:Enniskillen
121:Castlerahan
30:Poor Clares
968:1943 fires
947:Categories
917:53°59′31″N
838:. Dublin:
515:0862819172
487:7 February
372:References
181:Co Wicklow
97:Casualties
83:nightgowns
920:7°21′35″W
700:RTE Radio
400:Footnotes
229:Kilnaleck
208:Blacklion
142:Cootehill
114:Ballinagh
50:orphanage
794:Archived
775:Archived
680:26 March
674:Archived
647:26 March
641:Archived
614:26 March
608:Archived
582:26 March
576:Archived
544:Archived
360:See also
329:chastity
319:—
290:limerick
219:Co Sligo
198:Drumcrow
191:Virginia
177:Kilcoole
153:Co Cavan
757:19 June
732:19 June
706:19 June
550:10 June
445:Scannal
215:Dromard
128:Belfast
875:
846:
513:
423:
163:Swords
107:Dublin
79:decent
384:(PDF)
26:Cavan
873:ISBN
844:ISBN
759:2023
734:2023
708:2023
682:2018
649:2018
616:2018
584:2018
552:2014
511:ISBN
489:2022
461:2013
421:ISBN
392:2013
449:RTÉ
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820:35
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