Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin

The sexual abuse scandal in Dublin archdiocese is a major chapter in the series of sexual abuse cases in Ireland. The Irish government commissioned a statutory enquiry in 2006 that published the Murphy Report in November 2009.

In his biography of the Archbishop, John Charles McQuaid Ruler of Catholic Ireland, John Cooney relates a number of stories which suggest that the Archbishop had an unhealthy interest in children. The main allegation – that the Archbishop had attempted to sexually assault a boy in a Dublin pub – is based on an unpublished essay by Noel Browne. No reputable historian or journalist supports these claims. Even reviewers who praised the book, including Dermot Keogh, Professor of History, and John A. Murphy, Emeritus Professor of History at University College Cork, have stated that the author should not have included the allegations.

There is a satirical account of the controversy by then Irish Times journalist Kevin Myers in his "Irishman's Diary" on 10 November 1999. There is also an interesting account by Colum Kenny, Associate Professor of Communications at Dublin City University of a meeting he had with the Archbishop as a teenager in the 1960s. Although his attitude to Dr. McQuaid is hostile, he regards Cooney's allegations as absurd.

On 20 June 2009, it was revealed that in 1961 Archbishop McQuaid had established a hostel in Dublin for boys who had been in industrial schools — mainly Artane — and assigned priests to see to their spiritual welfare and to help them integrate into society. In the mid 1960s, one of these priests was the young Diarmuid Martin who went on to become Archbishop of Dublin in 2004 and to take a strong line against alleged clerical abusers.

Whilst archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Ryan continued McQuaid's coverup in relation to clerical abuse. He protected the institution of the Church at all costs instead of caring for the victims of abuse. The 2009 Report found that – "During the period under review, there were four Archbishops – Archbishops McQuaid, Ryan, McNamara and Connell. Not one of them reported his knowledge of child sexual abuse to the Gardaí throughout the 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s."

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