The Sunday Times

Some buildings have savage histories. Histories that can leave a place - the bare walls having absorbed too much sadness - in need of a kind of architectural exorcism. For almost a century, troubled boys were brutally chastened and subdued in the former industrial school at Letterfrack, Co Galway. These days, the tragic atmosphere that dogged the buildings of St Joseph's reformatory is being gradually dispelled. The buildings belong to Connemara West, a community owned and managed rural development company that was established in 1971. The complex is home to Letterfrack furniture college which is part of the Galway Mayo Instutute of Technology; to furniture technology, conservation and restoration facilities; and to a range of community services, including Connemara Community Radio, which broadcasts for 10 hours each day.