The Ferns Report

The Ferns Report (2005) was an official Irish government inquiry into the allegations of clerical sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns in County Wexford, Ireland.

The Inquiry was set up by the Government of Ireland to identify complaints and allegations made against clergy of the Diocese of Ferns prior to April 2002, and to report upon the response of Church and Civil Authorities. The Inquiry did not concern itself with the truth or otherwise of the complaints and allegations made, but entirely with the response to those allegations. The Inquiry recorded its revulsion at the extent, severity and duration of the child sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated on children by priests acting under the aegis of the Diocese of Ferns. The investigation was established in the wake of the broadcast of a BBC Television documentary Suing the Pope, which highlighted the case of Fr Seán Fortune, one of the most notorious clerical sexual offenders. The film followed Colm O'Gorman as he investigated the story of how Fortune was allowed to abuse him and countless other teenage boys. O'Gorman, through One in Four, the organisation he founded to support women and men who have experienced sexual violence, successfully campaigned for the Ferns Inquiry.

The Ferns Report was presented to the Irish government on 25 October 2005 and released the following day. It identified more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against twenty-one priests operating under the aegis of the Diocese of Ferns. Eleven of these individuals were alive in 2002. The nature of the response by the Church authorities in the Diocese of Ferns to allegations of child sexual abuse by priests operating under the aegis of the diocese had varied over the forty years to 2002.

Among the facts revealed were:

Among the allegations made were:

The Inquiry contacted the mother of a young woman who said that Bishop Eamonn Walsh who, as Apostolic Administrator, assumed control of the Ferns Diocese (following Comiskey's resignation) became aware of an allegation early in 2004. He called to see her daughter and urged her to make a formal statement, which she did. Walsh reported the matter to the Metropolitan for the Diocese of Ferns, Desmond Connell, Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin. A report on the matter was prepared for the Vatican. Comiskey was not interviewed during the preparation of this report. The report concluded that a delict had not been committed as regards the behaviour alleged but the fact that, under the influence of alcohol, Comiskey was alleged to have acted in such a manner was something that needed to be addressed to ensure that no repetition of such behaviour could take place.

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