Remains of Bishop Eamonn Casey removed from Galway Cathedral crypt

Bishop Eamonn Casey pictured in 1979.

The remains of the late Bishop Eamonn Casey have been removed from the crypt at Galway Cathedral, the Diocese of Galway has confirmed.

In a statement on Saturday, the Galway Diocesan Office said that, with the “assent and cooperation” of members of Bishop Casey’s family, and following prayers for the dead, his remains were moved from the cathedral crypt and "entrusted to their care".

The diocese did not specify the exact date of the disinterment.

Eamonn Casey died in March 2017 at the age of 89 and was interred in the crypt at Galway Cathedral.

In July 2024, the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora said that “time and space” were needed “to consider and consult” on his interment following the emergence of allegations of sexual abuse against the former bishop.

That statement came after the broadcast of the RTÉ documentary Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets, which revealed that the Church had received four separate complaints of childhood sexual abuse against Bishop Casey, as well as one additional “child safeguarding concern.”

The programme also disclosed that the Catholic Church paid a six-figure settlement to one complainant after Casey’s death, and that the Vatican secretly banned him from celebrating Mass publicly in 2007.

The documentary also featured an interview with one of Bishop Casey’s five accusers — his niece, Patricia Donovan.

Ms Donovan said she was raped and sexually assaulted by Bishop Casey from the age of five, with the abuse continuing for more than a decade. She said some of the assaults occurred in Galway Cathedral and at the bishop’s residence in the city.

A 'deeply felt' matter

In its most recent statement, the diocese said the matter of Bishop Casey’s interment at Galway Cathedral was “deeply felt” and had affected many people in different ways.

It thanked the public for their "understanding of the situation, for their patience and for their respect as this process was undertaken and brought to a conclusion".

The diocese also said that in recent months, "significant consensus emerged around the unique role of a Cathedral as a place of unity rather than division, healing rather than hurt and peace rather than disquiet".

It also said it was the express wish of Bishop Casey’s family that the arrangements for his final resting place remain private.

"The members of Bishop Eamonn’s family involved ask that their earnest desire for privacy be respected at this time," the statement added.

"We pray that God will continue to draw all those who have been affected by this matter into his healing love."

Eamonn Casey served as Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh from 1976 until his resignation in 1992.

That year, it was revealed that Casey had defrauded the Galway Diocese of £70,000 to support a son, Peter, whom he had fathered with American woman Annie Murphy in the early 1970s.