A report published by the Jesuits that names 15 deceased members against whom complaints of sex abuse were made includes details of how many were moved to new roles even when they had admitted abusing children.
Among the places the 13 priests and two brothers worked were Belvedere, Gonzaga and Clongowes schools in Dublin, and the Mungret and Sacred Heart schools in Limerick, as well as the Gardiner Street Parish in Dublin 1.
Some of those named worked in the United States, Canada, England, Africa and Australia, and were moved abroad despite having been the subject of child sex abuse complaints in Ireland.
The complaints range from the 1950s to the early 1990s and include allegations of abuse at primary and secondary schools and of boys and girls.
“I am conscious that today will be a painful one for many people, most especially for those who have suffered abuse,” said the order’s Provincial, Fr Shane Daly.
“The Jesuits are taking the opportunity to convey a message to any person who, as a child, was harmed by any Jesuit, that should you wish to make contact, we are ready to hear from you.”
The names and details of the abuse allegations are published on the order’s website, along with details of how to get in contact with its safeguarding service.
The publication comes after a working group examined the files of 37 deceased Jesuits and identified 14 that should be identified. A further name was added by the order when additional information became available.
In relation to Fr Diarmuid Ó Péicín (1916-2008), the order revealed that the superior of an order of nuns complained about alleged sexual abuse of schoolgirls by him during a school retreat in 1964.
One of those named, Fr Rupert Coyle (1896-1978), was headmaster at Belvedere College. Fr Finbarr Lynch (1933-2022) was assistant headmaster at Belvedere’s junior (primary) and senior (secondary) schools.
One woman who said she was abused when she was aged 10, while living in Clonskeagh, Dublin, by Brother Douglas A Pill* felt “thrown” by the publication of the 15 names, which, she said, she found both “triggering” and liberating.
Pill approached her mother and asked if Clodagh would work with him in the gardens at the Jesuit Centre at Milltown Park, where the abuse took place, she said.
She said she believed Pill “didn’t care if it was boys or girls” and targeted her because she was vulnerable, having been born in St Patrick’s Mother and Baby Home in Dublin, after which she was adopted.
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She was glad the Jesuits had published the names, she said, and hoped it would help other people who had been abused.
The Jesuits said the naming of abuser Fr Joseph Marmion in 2021 had led to many people who had been abused coming forward, an experience that was repeated after the 2024 publication of a document about Marmion, which included the naming of two other Jesuits. Fr Paul Andrews and Fr Dermot Casey.
This led, the order said, to consideration as to whether others should be named, lest there were other child victims who would choose to come forward.
Sexual Abuse Support Services
National Sexual Violence HelplineTelephone: 1800 778 888
Towards Healing: The Towards Healing Counselling and Support Service provides support and counselling for adult men and women who have experienced physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect in childhood, perpetrated by a priest, brother, religious sister, or volunteer or employee of the Catholic Church. Relatives of survivors of abuse are also supported.
Website: www.towardshealing.ie
Helpline: 1800 303416 (Rep of Ireland)
Northern Ireland Helpline: 08001026172
Hearing Impaired Text Line Number: 089 4556422
Note: This service is funded by the Catholic Church in Ireland. However, Towards Healing is independent of the church in relation to its policies, procedures and the manner in which the service is provided.
*This article was amended on February 13th, 2025
