THE HIGH Court will this morning consider publishing chapter 19 of
the Murphy report following the jailing yesterday of former priest Tony
Walsh for 16 years, four suspended, for the sexual abuse of three boys.
On
October 15th, 2009, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan of the High Court ruled
chapter 19, which deals with abuse by Tony Walsh, and 21 other
references to him, should not be published pending the outcome of three
court cases then pending.
The Murphy report investigated how
clerical child sex abuse allegations involving 46 priests in Dublin’s
Catholic archdiocese were handled by church and State authorities
between 1975 and 2004.
Chapters 19 and 20 of the report were withheld
when it was published on November 26th, 2009, pending the outcome of
proceedings involving Walsh and another man.
Proceedings in the other
case are ongoing.
Yesterday, in the Circuit Criminal Court, Walsh
was sentenced to 16 years on 17 counts of sexual abuse, including five
counts of buggery on one boy.
Walsh was put on the sex offenders
register for life and will undergo two years’ probation supervision on
his release.
In 1996, Walsh was convicted on 19 counts of abusing
six victims and sentenced to 10 years, which was reduced to six years on
appeal. He was released in 2001.
In a statement last night,
Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said the archdiocese
“failed” the children abused by Walsh “and was too slow in recognising
that . . . was a predatory paedophile”.
Even when the extent of his
paedophile activity was identified “this dangerous man was allowed to
continue in ministry for many years with the consequent damage visited
on children”.
“I can only unreservedly apologise to the victims of this
man for what they endured and for the way in which the diocese failed
them,” Archbishop Martin said.
He hoped the “finality of the legal
process will help bring them some sense of justice, of healing, of
closure and hope for the future.”
Welcoming the verdict last night
“David”, now 38, who was subjected to the most serious abuses by Walsh,
said he felt the sentence was “just and fair” but should have been
consecutive rather than concurrent.
He told The Irish Times that,
following his abuse by Walsh, he was a drug addict from the age of 12 to
21.
He began with his mother’s Valium and Prozac, graduating to
crack cocaine and heroin. He went to Coolmine and has been clean since.
He has attempted suicide “five times”. Once he jumped off a bridge and
missed a train. He has slashed his veins. He has taken drug overdoses.
He has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital “seven or eight times”.
He admitted himself when the trial ended last month, and last night.
He
has three children from two relationships. “Every relationship I have
finishes because of a lack of trust . . . I can’t trust love.” He had “a
huge problem determining my sexuality. I thought that maybe I was gay.”
He wondered about this until a few years ago when, through counselling,
he was clear he was not gay.
He believes he has attended court 37
times as Walsh exhausted the judicial review process in an attempt to
have the trial stopped.
He expressed particular gratitude to
recently retired Det Garda Brendan Walsh and Det Supt Gabriel O’Gara for
their “steadfast and consistent support” since he first went to the
Garda in 1993.
He was “extremely sorry” for Walsh’s parents and
siblings and “what they too have been subjected to” and felt “no malice
towards the church”.
He met then archbishop of Dublin Desmond Connell in
1999 at a curate’s house in Ballyfermot.
Archbishop Connell
“cried” and promised David whatever support the archdiocese could offer.
“To date they have stood up to that promise,” he said.
He is also
grateful to Angela Copely of the Ballyfermot ResourceCourt Centre, the
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, and Dr Ivor Browne.
SIC: IT/IE