Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews has described the revelations of sexual abuse at Dublin’s Blackrock College as “sickening”.
The former minister of state for children, who attended Blackrock in the 1980s, said at the time there “was a strong sense of some priests that you stayed away from and who you took great care not to be isolated with”.
He is calling for the Holy Ghost Order – now known as the Spiritan congregation – to disclose more details about how they dealt with those who abused children, and answer questions about the placing of priests in developing countries after allegations were made against them.
Since 2004, the Spiritans paid out more than €5m in abuse settlement claims and to fund support services after children were abused at schools under its control.
Allegations have been made by past pupils of nine Spiritan schools – including Blackrock College, where 57 people have alleged they were abused on the school’s campus.
Mr Andrews commended brothers David (58) and Mark Ryan (61) for their bravery in coming forward to share their stories of the abuse they suffered in the 1970s and 1980s.
“I think what they’ve done has made it more likely that others will come forward and I would encourage others to come forward,” he said.
“From my experience as a minister, the most important thing for victims is to be believed. Their documentary and testimonies will encourage others that they too will be believed.
“I was in that school in the ’80s and the boarder students were more vulnerable than day students like myself – and yet the Ryan brothers were day students.
“It just shows how victims were targeted regardless.
“At the time, there were things said about priests but it was dismissed as stuff schoolboys said, but in the last 24 hours I’ve heard former classmates begin to share information and their observations back then. It’s sad to hear, and sickening to hear.”Former education minister and Blackrock pupil Ruairí Quinn said it was clear the priests targeted some of the more vulnerable pupils at the school, rather than those who were outspoken and well-known. “It’s a horrible thing and I hope that whatever justice is available is given to the victims,” he said.
“The big thing with all of this in the Catholic Church has been the cover-up of people who were not fit for purpose and should not have been doing that job in the first place.”
The order has made settlements with 12 people relating to abuse at Blackrock.
Some of the allegations also relate to Willow Park School adjacent to the college.
The congregation confirmed it has recently sold lands and property in Dublin and Meath, with some of the funds going towards legal cases and settlements.
This included a site in Blackrock, “community houses that were no longer required” in Kimmage, Dublin, and some land near Navan, Co Meath.
Since the revelations emerged, other people have come forward.
A Dublin man has revealed how he was sexually abused by three members of the Holy Ghost Order while he was a student at Willow Park Junior School and Blackrock College.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Liveline programme, Stephen, who did not disclose his surname, said he received an apology and a financial settlement from the Spiritans in December 2021.
He said the three priests, who are now dead, were not charged to his knowledge.
A spokesperson for the Spiritans said: “We do not at all dispute the accuracy of Stephen’s Liveline account in relation to Frs (Senan) Corry, (Aloysius) Flood and (Gerard) Hannan and we reiterate our sincerest apology and profound sorrow for the harm that he described, the pain and suffering that he outlined and the burden that he has carried.”