Free Children Of The Poor Clares by Mavis Arnold, Heather Laskey Page B

It was found that the fire was probably caused by a defective flue in the laundry and that the loss of life was caused by a combination of circumstances:
     
    1.   Fright or panic resulting in faulty directions being given.
    2.   Want of training in fire-fighting.
    3.   Lack of proper leadership and control of operations.
    4.   Lack of knowledge of the lay-out of the premises on the part of on the part of persons from outside.
    5.   Inadequate rescue and fire-fighting service and absence of light at a critical period.
     
    A note was appended: ‘While we are satisfied that more efficient and safer permanent means of escape could and should have been made available, we are not justified in finding that the absence of these contributed materially to the loss of life in the circumstances of this fire.’
     
    Commenting on the role played by the fire brigade, the report acknowledged that ‘it is unfortunate that the members of the council and its advisers did not give fuller consideration to the rescue aspects. We are satisfied that if they had done so it would have been possible to make a proper and timely effort to save the lives of the children.’ Nonetheless, the tribunal added, ‘we do not wish to suggest that the council was in any way avoiding its duty.’
     
    In considering the evidence of the nuns the report stated: ‘We feel bound to say that having heard the evidence of a number of the children trained and being trained in the institution, the relationship between them and the sisters seemed exceedingly happy, and that their demeanour and conduct… reflected credit on the Sisters in charge. We are satisfied that… the Sisters did not consciously or willingly fail in any duty.’
     
    The nearest the tribunal came in their report to laying blame for the disaster was in its comments on Miss O’Reilly’s actions. Estimating the period of time during which the children could have been safely evacuated to be sixteen minutes from the discovery of the fire, they were ‘satisfied’ that, at the time when Miss O’Reilly returned to the upper two dormitories, it would have been possible for her and the older girls in St Clare’s to have brought the children in both dormitories to safety either down the wooden staircase or through the emergency door exit. ‘Unfortunately, Miss O’Reilly in the excitement of the moment and in a state of fright, failed to do this. She committed a grave and critical error of judgement. The circumstances were such as may have frightened a very timid person. She lost her head.’ The report later recommended that the Department of Education should have a veto over the appointment of any teacher in an institution where ‘such a person is proposed to be given charge of children at night.’
     
    Finally, the report recommended that the rules for industrial schools and other government-regulated institutions should include provisions for proper fire escapes and more effective fire drill, and made proposals for covering the country with a modern fire-brigade network.
     
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    During our researches in the 1970s, we found many people in Cavan and elsewhere who remembered the fire. They remained aware that members of the tribunal avoided the questions at the heart of the disaster: why did the nuns fail to get the children out of the dormitories themselves? Why did they not give immediate orders to others to do so while there was still time?
     
    All the people to whom we spoke in the town, and all the girls we met who had spent their childhood in the orphanage, both before and after the fire, always had the same answer. They said that the first reaction of the Sisters, before they realised the seriousness of the situation, was to prevent themselves or the girls being seen in their nightwear. For this reason, it was believed, the girls were to be kept out of the way, and Miss O’Reilly was instructed to leave them in the dormitory. Thus it is possible that the