Numerous allegations of child abuse against former Bishop Eamonn Casey – The Irish Times

Former Bishop of Galway Eamonn Casey was a serial paedophile who abused his five-year-old niece, a new RTÉ documentary has revealed.

The feature-length documentary “Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets” claims there were multiple complaints of child abuse against Casey, who died in 2017 at the age of 89.

In 1992, the Irish Times revealed that Casey had fathered a child, Peter, with American Annie Murphy and paid her £70,000 from Galway diocese funds.

It was the first major sex scandal in the Catholic Church in Ireland. However, the allegations of child abuse against Casey are far more serious than those that led to his resignation.

He was dismissed from public service by the Vatican in 2007 after allegations of child abuse were made against him.

The documentary, which airs on RTÉ One on Monday evening, was filmed with Mail on Sunday reporter Anne Sheridan.

His niece, Patricia Donovan, first publicly revealed that he had raped her when she was five years old and that the sexual abuse continued for many years.

She said on the show: “Some of the things he did to me and where he did them. The horror of being raped by him at the age of five, the violence. And it just went on like that.”

“He wasn’t afraid of getting caught. He thought he could do what he wanted, when he wanted and how he wanted.

“He was almost angry that I dared to fight him, that I dared to hurt him, that I dared to stop him. It made no difference.

“I feel absolutely and utterly betrayed by the church I grew up in.”

The documentation shows that in the diocese of Galway, where Casey was bishop from 1976 to 1992, five complaints were received against him for sexual abuse as a child.

Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets also reveals how the Diocese of Limerick paid one of his accusers over €100,000 in compensation following his death.

The current Bishop of Limerick, Dr Brendan Leahy, who has access to documents relating to complaints in his diocese, says: “I express my deep sadness and regret to all those who have been harmed by clergy abuse, including those referred to in this documentary.

“They deserve our respect, our trust and our support. Without commenting on a specific allegation, I have no reason not to believe any of the allegations made.”

The documentary reveals that Casey ignored Vatican sanctions and continued to practice as a priest, for which he was reprimanded by the then Bishop of Galway, Martin Drennan.

This restriction remained in effect for the last ten years of his life, but was never made public during Bishop Casey’s lifetime.

In 2006, the Irish bishops announced that Casey would return to Ireland from England to retire. By this time, the Vatican had already received at least two allegations of child sexual abuse against him, but prosecutors decided not to press charges.

The Vatican told the program that Casey was “never reinstated in his position despite his efforts and those on his behalf.”

Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets airs on RTÉ One on Monday at 9.35pm and is available worldwide on RTÉ Player.