Irvine (Una) v The Sisters of Nazareth
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Colton J |
| Judgment Date | 13 November 2015 |
| Neutral Citation | [2015] NIQB 94 |
| Date | 13 November 2015 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
| Year | 2015 |
1
Neutral Citation No. [2015] NIQB 94 Ref: COL9781
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered: 13/11/2015
(subject to editorial corrections)*
2012 No: 98966
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
________
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
________
Between
UNA IRVINE
Plaintiff
and
THE SISTERS OF NAZARETH
Defendant
________
COLTON J
Background
[1] The plaintiff in this action was born in August 1930 and was in the
defendant’s care at premises at Nazareth Lodge, Ravenhill Road, Belfast, between
1 March 1935 to 25 September 1944.
[2] She alleges that whilst she was in the defendant’s care she was subjected to a
harsh regime which involved physical and psychological abuse. She alleges that she
has suffered personal injuries as a result of that abuse and has brought a civil action
against the defendant seeking damages.
[3] In the course of the hearing I heard oral evidence from Dr Best, Consultant
Psychiatrist, and the plaintiff’s daughter Mrs Kate McCausland.
[4] I also had the benefit of evidence taken on commission from the plaintiff prior
to the trial.
[5] In addition I had the following documentary material:
(a) The plaintiff’s medical notes and records.
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(b) Medical reports from Dr Best on behalf of the Plaintiff and Dr Oscar Daly,
Consultant Psychiatrist, retained on behalf of the defendant, an agreed note of
a meeting between Dr Best and Dr Daly, a medical report from Dr Cochrane,
Consultant Cardiologist, dated 27 October 2014, a medical report from
Mr Millar dated 12 November 2013 on behalf of the Plaintiff, records from
Nazareth Lodge, a statement of the plaintiff made to the PSNI for the
Historical Inquiry into Abuse in Institutions currently being conducted under
the Chairmanship of Sir Anthony Hart and some edited statements from that
inquiry.
[6] I am also grateful to the extremely helpful written and oral submissions I
received from counsel in the case Mr Brian Kennedy QC and Mr Donal Flanagan for
the plaintiff and Mr Turlough Montague QC and Mr Gareth Purvis for the
defendant.
Summary of Evidence
[7] In her evidence in chief under commission the plaintiff explained how she
entered the Nazareth Lodge home in 1935 having been placed there by her mother.
She frankly admitted that she despised her parents and she never reconciled with
them. Generally she described a harsh and cruel regime and made a number of
specific complaints including the fact that she was only known by a number, that the
food was very poor and that she and others had to polish the chapel floor on her
hands and knees in the morning before going to school. She was frequently
punished and verbally abused by a Sister Colman who used a cane and frequently
smacked her with her hands. She claimed that during school she was obliged to
stand in a corner with the word Dunce written on her back, that she was struck by a
Father Agnew, that she had to clean the toilets with a brush without the benefit of
any gloves, that she had to kneel in dormitory at night when it was really cold, that
she was punished when she was caught stealing apples from a nearby orchard, that
on one occasion she was struck by a stick with nails in it after she had been caught
stealing apples and that she was mocked about the fact that her father was a drunk
who would not come to see her or provide her with anything. She also described
circumstances when she was not permitted to go to the toilet and just had to stand
and wet herself before she could get the opportunity to clean herself properly.
Understandably it was difficult for her to remember some of the detail given the
passage of time. She went on to describe her unhappy circumstances after she left
the home where she was subjected to further physical and verbal abuse.
[8] She described how she got married when she was aged approximately 21 and
that she had two daughters. Whilst she had difficulty remembering and that
“everything is black or blank you know in my mind”, she indicated that she took a
nervous breakdown in her twenties and that she attended her doctor who gave her
tablets. She did not receive inpatient treatment but went every day to “Clifton
Street”. She could not remember any other relapses in her psychiatric condition and
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2 cases
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Fosberry (nee Reid) (Ellen) v The Poor Sisters of Nazareth
...in two cases in this jurisdiction, namely Bowman and others v Harland & Wolff Plc [1991] NI 300 and Una Irvine v The Sisters of Nazareth [2015] NIQB 94. [28] In Bowman the court was dealing with claims brought by plaintiffs who were alleging they had developed vibration white finger in the ......
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N v The Superior General of the Sisters of Nazareth, the Bishop of Diocese of Down and Connor and Father Sean Cahill
...was referred involving historical sexual abuse in institutions have proceeded to an un-split hearing: see, Irvine v Sisters of Nazareth [2015] NIQB 94; Larkin v De La Salle Provincialate (supra footnote 1); and McKee v Sisters of Nazareth [2017] NIJB 324, upon which the respondent relied. T......