Dr Casey ‘should be asked back to jubilee’

DISGRACED Bishop Eamonn Casey should be invited back to Galway next weekend to attend a jubilee Mass which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Pope’s visit, according to the city’s deputy mayor.

Pádraig Conneely said Casey should be invited to Sunday’s event as he was the primary organiser of the Youth Mass which attracted over 250,000 young people to Galway Racecourse in September 1979.

Sunday’s Mass, also at Galway Racecourse, is set to attract several thousand people, and Mr Conneely said it is wrong that Bishop Casey has not been invited.

“The success of that event 25 years ago was largely down to Bishop Casey. He was the main organiser and on the day was the central figure in making it such a success.

“A lot has happened since then which I don’t wish to dwell upon but it is time to put the past behind us and move on. This would be one way of doing that and I believe he should be there next Sunday, or at the very least the Catholic Church should invite him,” said Mr Conneely.

Dr Casey, who is now 75, fled Ireland more than a decade ago when it was revealed he had a love-child after an affair with American Annie Murphy.

His son, Peter Eamon, was born in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin on July 31, 1974, and when he turned 18 demanded his father acknowledge him and fund his education.

Since then Dr Casey has lived in exile, initially in Ecuador and more recently in England. He currently lives in the small coastal village of Staplefield near Brighton, where he is chaplain to a local hospital.

Two years ago, Casey attended a golden jubilee reunion of the Maynooth class of 1951, but has not attended a public function in Galway since he fled, although he has been back for a number of private events.

His hopes of being allowed back to Ireland suffered another big set-back this year when he was convicted of drunk driving in England. He appeared before Mid-Sussex Magistrates in April after being caught with excess alcohol in his blood and was banned for twelve months.

It was his second conviction for drunk driving, having also been convicted in the early 1980’s in London while he was Bishop of Galway.