An historian researching a fire at an orphanage in Cavan Town in which 35 children and a member of staff died, says the truth of what happened may never be known. Dr Pauric Garty, a senior lecturer in Public Policy at Munster Technological University, also says rumours that policies of the enclosed order of nuns who ran the orphanage hampered rescue efforts can not be proven.
35 girls aged between five and 17 years of age perished on the third floor of St Joseph's Orphanage in the centre of Cavan Town in the early hours of February 24th 1943. 80-year-old cook, Margaret Smith, also lost her life in the blaze.
Cavan Town did not have a full-time properly equipped fire service at the time and the first people on the scene concentrated on putting the fire in the basement out when hindsight would dictate the children in the third floor dorm should've been brought to safety first. On top of this, the wooden ladders used by rescuers were not long enough to reach the third floor.
Dr Garty says those are the known facts of what has to be one of the most tragic incidents to happen in County Cavan. Reports that the Poor Clare nuns running the orphanage prevented men from entering the burning building because they may see the young girls in their nightwear simply cannot be proved.
However, Dr Garty says it's possible, the Poor Clare nuns in the enclosed order, may have feared they would be in violation of their vows by letting members of the public into their property (listen below):
