Saturday, July 27, 2024

Garda Commissioner orders allegations made against Bishop Eamonn Casey be re-examined

The Garda Commissioner has asked that allegations of sexual abuse made against the late Bishop Eamonn Casey be re-examined.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has requested that the Garda National Protective Services Bureau examine the original investigation file into claims of child sexual abuse made against the former Bishop of Kerry and Galway.

The Garda National Protective Services Bureau is a specialist unit whose remits includes sexual crime investigations.

The statement from the Garda Press Office says directions by the DPP are a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

An RTÉ documentary, made in partnership with the Irish Mail on Sunday, revealed this week that at least five complaints of sexual abuse had been made against Bishop Eamonn Casey who died in 2017.

His niece, Patricia Donovan alleged that he abused her from the age of five.

Bishop Casey consistently denied allegations against him.

He was never convicted of any sexual crimes and remained a bishop until his death in March 2017.

Dr Casey resigned as Bishop of Galway in 1992 after it was revealed that he had fathered a child in the 1970s during the period when he was Bishop of Kerry.