Ernest Hemmingway described courage as "grace under pressure". That quality was much in evidence at yesterday's press conference by victims of clerical sex abuse in Ferns.
Mr Colm O'Gorman, Mr Donnacha McGloinn and Mr Pat Jackman, who were abused by Father Seán Fortune, along with Jim and Josie Gahan, whose daughter was abused by Father Jim Grennan at Monageer, were articulate, dignified, generous, even funny.
They were also spontaneous, honest, and forthcoming in a way the church authorities are not. They wanted no heads on a plate, did not seek and had never sought any resignations, and they were "not interested in attacking anybody", as Mr O'Gorman put it.
What they did want was "a full and frank inquiry" because "we can't heal the wound unless it (the abuse) is acknowledged".
Mr McGloinn called on all who had been abused, and relatives of those who may have taken their lives because of abuse, to "come out now".
He knew this would be very hard, especially on families, but people had to "come forward now". They could do so by contacting www.oneinfour.org - a new website they have set up.
He had only told his own family last Christmas about the rape by Father Fortune in 1988. That was after he agreed to take part in the BBC Suing The Pope programme. His family had been devastated, especially his mother, a devout Catholic.
It was only when they talked about their families that the men became emotional. Mr O'Gorman remembered his late father's "huge support" as "the big reason why I'm here today".
And Mr Jackman spoke of his love for the church, his local choir he sang in, and the "four wonderful, young, strong, dynamic priests" in his parish.
He had had to give up his bar job in Wexford town. It had become "untenable" as more and more people came to him, after the first screening of Suing the Pope, with tales of their own abuse. He has his own "demons" to deal with.
Nevertheless, yesterday it was not anger that was evident, just five very impressive people.
