Haunting Cries: Stories of child abuse in Catholic Ireland

‘I hear people say now, “Oh, this is an historical thing.” It’s not historical for me. I can reach out my hand and touch it.’
Survivor of child abuse at Daingean reformatory

In their own words, survivors of institutional abuse outline how they suffered years of mistreatment while incarcerated in industrial schools throughout Ireland.

Their experiences reflect what happened to thousands of children who were locked up in institutions run by religious orders. Their stories also illustrate the power of the human spirit and the extraordinary survival instincts of those who endured these schools.

Written by Karen Coleman, one of Ireland's finest broadcasters and journalists, this important book highlights the full scale of the physical, emotional and sexual abuse that took place in Irish religious institutions.

Haunting Cries brings this tragic tale of systemic abuse up-to-date to include the publication of, and fall-out from, the Ryan Commission Report and the set-up of the Residential Institutions Redress Board.