Jean Mcconville's Child "Abused at Rubane"

UTV
November 6, 2014

http://www.u.tv/News/Jean-McConvilles-child-abused-at-Rubane/1d5cbbcd-4732-4dd2-b5ef-43b90f193f15

The boys home in Kircubbin, Co Down, ran by the De La Salle order, is currently being investigated by the abuse Inquiry.

Mrs McConville, a 37-year-old widow and mother of 10 children, was abducted in December 1972 from her flat in the Divis area of west Belfast and shot by the IRA, becoming one of the Disappeared. Her body was recovered on a beach in Co Louth in August 2003.

Her disappearance left the children orphaned, and caused the break-up of the McConville family.

Six-year-old Billy McConville ended up at Rubane House in Kircubbin.

On Thursday he revealed he was repeatedly sexually abused and starved at the La Salle Brothers Home.

Before he gave his account, there were tense scenes in the inquiry room.

Mr McConville queried mistakes in his statement and branded the inquiry a kangaroo court.

"This is a nightmare for victims coming here," he said.

"We want to hear what you're saying today," the chairman Sir Anthony Hart responded.

Mr McConville told the inquiry of many, many incidents of alleged abuse he suffered at Rubane - including one incident where he was beaten so badly for two hours that in the end the only place of his body that wasn't bruised was his face and head.

He said that if you didn't do what some staff wanted you were beaten or raped.

Christians looking after young boys - maybe they were Christians, but to me they were devils disguised in that uniform.

Billy McConville, abuse victim

The 48-year-old said that he is now terrified of priests.

"Anyone in the cloth I run away from," he said.

"I don't believe in God because I was forced to go to mass - forced to be an altar boy. After a while I was like a robot - institutionalised - after the things I've seen in there."

Two former Stormont Ministers, Edwin Poots and Alex Attwood, were in the public gallery to hear Thursday's evidence.

Earlier the inquiry heard a statement from a staff member at Rubane who said that allegations of violence against boys were a complete fabrication.

But Mr McConville finished his account by pleading for people to be brought to justice.

The inquiry chairman Sir Anthony Hart reminded him that it's not up to the inquiry to decide if there should be prosecutions, but that any allegations will be passed to police.

Afterwards, Mr McConville told UTV that in the beginning, the abuse was carried out by older boys. Then, when he himself got older, the De La Salle brothers also abused him.

He said that after an incident where he was raped, he squealed for help. A De La Salle brother arrived on the scene, warning the teacher that if he didn't stop interfering with the young boys, he would be put out of the home.

Mr McConville said that he never was.

He said that at times, he thought to himself: "Why me? Why the hell me?"

Now a father himself, Mr McConville said that he had no-one to turn to "because in those days nobody wanted to know."

"My mother [disappearing] was a nightmare - I sort of tried to get over it."

He said his life has been "nightmare after nightmare after nightmare."