Late, 1960s, my mother & some neighbours we're interviewed by RTE television in their tenement rooms about the effects of crime in the community. My young brother standing besides my mother must have been in a hurry to get on the telly he has his jumper on inside out. My mother

tell of having 16 children, I know some died weeks after they were born. The RTE cameramen zooms in on a framed photo of a baby sitting on a chair, my second youngest brother Christy. It's funny when I think about it now, he was on the run from the police. He had been given

7 years to Artane Industrial School for stealing Rosary Beads from Mitchell's Rosary Bead factory in Waterford Street, Dublin. The factory was owned by the family of Charles Mitchell the famous RTE newscaster. Mitchell's were good people to work for, they looked after their

(Children across the road from Mitchell's Bead factory)

workers. My brother was aged around 9 years old, escaped from Artane Industrial School within two weeks of been sent there. He made it back home to Corporation Buildings. My fathers friend a Docker, Jemmy Gunnery who

on the Docks with my father. My father who was dying. Jemmy gave him a promise he would look after his family when he passed on. Jemmy was planning to brake him out from Artane. Word was sent to him, he only lived underneath us. He came into the room to talk to Christy, telling

him he was going to take him over to a family in England and he could come home when he was aged 16. My brother didn’t want to know ”I'm not going to England. I'm staying here with my mother.” Jemmy told him, ”the police are going to come and raid the room and there going to get

you and take you back to Artane” Jemmy left the room to let him think it over. Within a short time, the police came in and capture him and took him back to Artane Industrial School. Jemmy told my mother, ”leave him for a week then go see him.” (photo, my father left & Jemmy)

We went to Artane to visit him. We were met by two Christian Brothers, ”What do you want here?” My mother said, ” I'm here to see my child.” ” He's no longer with us we sent him to, Letterfrack, in County Galway. My mother started crying, ”Now get of the grounds” one of the

Christian Brothers, to her. She was in shock. We walk away. In Corporation Buildings we told Jemmy where Christy was, he said off all the Industrial Schools in Ireland, Letterfrack is the worst of them all, there's no chance of rescuing him from there.” The years moved on

Christy had made several attempts to escape but was captured by local farmers and handed back over to the Christian Brothers. Four years had gone by, Christy had been transferred to another Industrial school in County Tipperary. It was from this Industrial School we would rescue

him. We hid out in the ruins of the Rock of Cashel till night fall, Jemmy said, “he’s missed now, the police will be checking out Dublin Reg Cars.” During the night we arrived back in Corporation Buildings, Jemmy took us up to a safe house. It was there that Pauleen took us in

the room. Christy had 3 years more to go in the Industrial School. Jemmy came up with a plan to dress Christy up as a girl. Pauleen gave him his first dress belonging to her daughter Sandra. He would spend the next 2 years staying in different tenement rooms. (Safe house marked)

The police were raiding my mothers room on and off for two years looking for Christy. He was eventually captured by the police in his last year of freedom. The Christian Brothers didn’t want him back, he was too much trouble. For his last year they put him into Marlborough House

Detention centre and from there into St Patrick’s Institution for teenagers. Jemmy had a number of women who would hold children till is was safe to move them on. Jemmy only helped families who wanted them out of the Industrial Schools. When children escaped on there own they

sometimes hid out on the rooftops of Corporation Buildings. Jemmy and his wife Cidie would send them up some food. (Photo, some of the women who helped escaping children including my mother and sister in-laws.) Jemmy son gave me a role of cine film of his father after moving

out of Corporation Buildings in 1970 it shows him with surrounded by his grandchildren. By the 1970s most of Ireland’s (Gulags) Industrial Schools we’re closing down. Most of us that went in these places can never forget the horrors we went through. My mother never knew.

Some of the policemen turned a blind eye to going after escaping children. Still working on my book and film script of the story.