NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV
Some children at residential homes run by Catholic nuns in Northern Ireland were made to eat their own vomit, a lawyer said.
Those who wet their beds were forced to put soiled sheets on their heads by members of a harsh regime which was devoid of love, the UK’s largest ever public inquiry into child abuse at residential homes was told on Monday.
It is tasked with looking into child abuse in 13 church and state run homes in Northern Ireland.
Christine Smith QC, Counsel to the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, said that young people at Sisters of Nazareth properties in Derry were known by their numbers rather than names and many were allegedly subjected to humiliation, threats and physical abuse.
Ms Smith outlined details of the alleged abuse, which included physical assaults using sticks, straps and kettle flexes.
Others involved:
* bathing in Jeyes fluid disinfectant, today more associated with outdoor cleaning jobs like clearing drains
* separation of brothers and sisters, not even telling them if they were in the same home
* locking in cupboards or threatening to send them to a hospital for those with learning disabilities at Muckamore Abbey in Antrim
* forced farm labouring or working in the laundry instead of going to school
*removal of Christmas presents and other personal items
* leaving youngsters hungry through inadequate food or alternately force feeding.
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