Jesuits confirm 10 allegations of abuse by paedophile priest Marmion at Limerick's Crescent College

Paedophile priest Joseph Marmion. Picture: RTÉ

The Jesuit order has confirmed that it is aware of 10 allegations of either sexual or physical/emotional abuse by paedophile priest Joseph Marmion while he was a teacher at Crescent College in Limerick City in the 1950s and 1960s.

It is the first confirmation by the Jesuits of the number of allegations against Marmion in respect of Crescent College, which was also known as Sacred Heart College SJ, and previously located at The Crescent, in Limerick.

The order said all allegations against Marmion have been reported to the gardaí as well as to Tusla.

However, gardaí have not responded to questions submitted to the Garda Press Office on September 12, October 4, and November 16, asking if they were investigating these allegations.

A spokesman for Tusla said it does not comment on “specific details of individual cases in the public domain”.

The Department of Education said it “does not have an investigatory role in relation to alleged child protection concerns”, and if it receives concerns about child protection, it passes these “to the relevant authorities”.

The Jesuit Order named Marmion as a paedophile in March 2021 and is aware of a total of “149 allegations in total regarding 43 Jesuits”.

Its spokeswoman said these allegations stretch back “over 80 years” and that it has paid out €7.4m in compensation to victims, including “legal, medical, and counselling fees”.

The compensation scheme for survivors of Marmion’s abuse offers applicants payments ranging from €10,000 to in excess of €75,000.

Any applicant “accepting a settlement ... waives his right to pursue a claim against the Jesuits (or its schools) or any individual member of the Jesuit Order, their servants or agents for all claims, losses, or damages arising out of the circumstances identified in his application”, the scheme’s criteria states.

The Jesuits stated in March 2021 that Marmion “abused boys sexually, emotionally, and physically while he was on the teaching staff at Belvedere College in the 1970s”.

Instead of contacting the gardaí then, the Jesuits removed Marmion from Belvedere, placed him on sabbatical in Paris with the Jesuit Community Saint Francois Xavier for a year, and then assigned him to Gardiner Street Jesuit Community, Dublin. In 1990, Marmion was appointed chaplain to St Vincent’s Private Hospital.

The Jesuits admitted that “these subsequent appointments should not have been made”.

Marmion died in 2000 aged 75.