Bishop denies knowing of abuse claims

The Bishop of Clonfert has denied claims he had known that a priest he had moved from his parish due to child sex allegations had gone on to abuse children elsewhere.

Bishop John Kirby said media reports claiming he knew of the all-eged abuse and that he had lied about the extent of his knowledge of the case in statements last month were “inaccurate”. The Irish Times reported it had independent verification that Bishop Kirby had been aware of the abuse since the mid 1990s.

It is claimed the priest was moved to a new parish after he had admitted to Bishop Kirby in Oct 1990 that he had abused a boy. The priest was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1994 for sexual abuse in Galway, and it was claimed that he told the bishop in the mid-90s he had abused 17 children in the diocese after he been moved by the bishop following the first allegation.