93 child abuse complaints against Joseph Marmion made to Jesuits

Past pupils described 'relentless' abuse by Fr Marmion and an atmosphere of 'terror'. Picture: RTÉ

Some 93 complaints of child sexual abuse and physical and emotional abuse against former priest and teacher Joseph Marmion have been received by the Jesuit Order in Ireland.

The Society of Jesus in Ireland published a narrative record of the abuse carried out by Fr Marmion, who died in 2000 at the age of 75.

Fr Marmion taught at Belvedere College in Dublin, Clongowes Wood College in Kildare, and Crescent College in Limerick.

However, close to 80% of the past pupils who engaged with the independent restorative justice facilitators were former pupils of Belvedere College.

Of the 93 complaints of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse against Fr Marmion since 1977, 70% were perpetrated while he was a teacher at Belvedere College.

Some 14 complaints relate to Crescent College, 14 to Clongowes Wood College, and 65 to Belvedere College.

The report highlights the emotional, physical, spiritual, and sexual abuse of young boys perpetrated by Fr Marmion over many years and the range of “devious methods” he employed.

Past pupils described “relentless” abuse perpetrated by Fr Marmion and an atmosphere of “turmoil, terror and chaos”, with one past pupil describing him as a bully and a “complete psychopath”.

Of the 93 complaints of abuse against Fr Marmion since 1977, 70% were perpetrated while he was a teacher at Belvedere College. Picture: Leon Farrell/ RollingNews.ie

The report acknowledges that the failures of Fr Marmion’s superiors enabled his abuse to continue.

“Because of the decision to conceal Fr Marmion’s sexual abuse of boys when it was confirmed in 1977, those who were abused were denied acknowledgement, validation, and support until 2021,” it reads.

The Society of Jesus in Ireland issued a public statement naming Joseph Marmion as a sexual, emotional, physical, and spiritual abuser while a teacher in Belvedere College between 1969 and 1978.

Since the statement was released and up to September 2023, 87 past pupils who had been abused by Fr Marmion made complaints.

“What is remarkable is the variety of manifestations of abuse that Fr Marmion engaged in, which included physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual violence in multiple forms,” it reads.

The public statement issued in March 2021 came 44 years after a complaint was first made by the parent of a pupil of Belvedere College in 1977 that Fr Marmion had sexually abused a boy during a school trip to Vienna that summer.

The lack of documentation of Fr Marmion’s abuse over his 57-year career “reflects a culture that, out of a misguided notion of respecting the institution and the perpetrator rather than those who had been abused...” it reads.

The report notes that between 1945 and September 2023, 117 complaints of child sexual abuse were received against 44 Jesuits, including Fr Marmion. Of the 44, 22 had one complaint made against them and 22 had more than one complaint made against them.

Two deceased priests who had complaints against them were also named in the report.

A complaint of child sexual abuse made against Fr Paul Andrews was received in 1991 and repeated in 1994, while 17 complaints of abuse relating to events dating from the 1950s through to 1977 were received against Fr Dermot Casey.

Fr Casey was director of St Declan’s Special School in Dublin from 1958 to 1977 before Fr Andrews took over until 1994.

The report states that Fr Andrews had knowledge of Fr Marmion’s crimes, but he did not share this knowledge with his superiors when he held a senior role.