Organisers of a silent demonstration in memory of victims of clerical abuse in church-run institutions will leave children’s shoes piled at the Dáil railings following the march.

The Catholic Church and Irish Government covered up decades of brutal sexual abuse and beatings by priests and nuns on thousands of children in state care, one of the most damning reports on clerical abuse revealed today.

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell came under increasing pressure last night to fully explain his role in the controversial 128 million Church indemnity deal.