Natural Causes

Christopher O’Driscoll was seventeen. The HSE knew about him since he was ten. Since then, he had been in and out of care facilities, an when they were full, bed and breakfasts, or hotels. On May Day weekend last year, he had nowhere to go. The administrators had shut down their computers, closed their offices,… Continue reading Natural Causes

Open the books

A Garda who investigated one of the most notorious clerical child abusers in Ireland has called on the Catholic church to “open its books” about child sexual abuse. Retired Garda Martin Ridge was a key player in the investigation which led to the conviction and jailing of Fr Eugene Greene for twelve years in April… Continue reading Open the books

Moving On

There’s a report in the Donegal News of an interview with Philip Boyce, bishop of Raphoe, regarding the fallout from the Murphy report. It’s worth looking at what he says. Boyce described the report as “shameful, horrific and beggars belief, it is hard to say anything else about it.” Boyce then described how one of… Continue reading Moving On

Priorities

Yesterday, the government published the Murphy report, the results of an investigation into the sexual abuse of children in the Dublin diocese, and how complaints were handled. This is not the first such report. The Ferns Inquiry was published in 2005. Earlier this year Ryan looked at institutional child abuse. So after the initial rage… Continue reading Priorities

Who Pays The Piper

I was educated by the State. The State paid for to build the schools I was taught in, designed the curriculum, paid my teachers’ salaries. But the first school I went to wasn’t a State school. It was owned and operated by the Catholic church. We’re so used to ‘national schools’ which aren’t owned by… Continue reading Who Pays The Piper