Jim, I thought the "Raggy Boys" school was taught by the Irish Christian Brothers (not the brandy-making Christian Brothers of France & U.S.). The Jesuits have had a reputation for high academic standards. If sure there were brutal teachers in every religious order in my parents' time - strictness was considered a virtue, and the difference between strictness and brutality can be very hard to detect.
There's no doubt that the Christian Brothers of Ireland (and Canada) had a reputation for brutality. (Wikipedia)

-Joe-