Colm O’Gorman to contest General Election for PDs

The director of the One in Four support group for victims of child sex abuse is to stand for the Progressive Democrats at the next General Election.

Colm O'Gorman is expected to announce later today that he will be contesting the election for the PDs in his native Wexford.

Mr O'Gorman is a leading campaigner on behalf of the victims of clerical sex abuse.

He himself was sexually abused by Fr Sean Fortune in the diocese of Ferns in the early 1980s and received a substantial settlement from the Catholic Church three years ago.

Last weekend, Mr O'Gorman addressed the PDs' annual conference, where he was praised by party leader Mary Harney for revealing the truth about clerical abuse.

However, he will face a stiff challenge to win a PD seat in Wexford as the party has not contested an election in the constituency since 1989, when it won just over 1% of the vote.