A priest who indecently assaulted two 12-year-old boys he taught in St Mary's College, Rathmines, Dublin, has been jailed for 15 months by Judge Elizabeth Dunne at Dublin Circuit Criminal.
Father Henry Maloney (61), of Ardbracken House, Co Meath, pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault between September 1971 and June 1972.
Defence counsel Mr Patrick Gageby SC told Judge Dunne that his client pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity and realised the seriousness of the offences.
He also said that there was strong evidence before the court which suggested that there was low risk of the defendant committing such offences again.
Judge Dunne said that Maloney was in a position of trust and that these were appalling offences. She took note of certain mitigating factors but said that she found it difficult to see how a custodial sentence could not be imposed.
Det Garda Margaret Morrell told prosecuting counsel Mr Pat O'Connell that the defendant was a teacher in St Mary's College, where the incidents occurred, from 1968 to 1973.
During his time there he trained the school's junior rugby team, she said. After one training session he started to ask the first victim about rugby before he put his hands down his shorts and felt him. His second incident occurred in early 1972 when the defendant called the boy to a side door after a game of football, Det Gda Morrell said.
He took him to his bedroom and began to ask him how he was getting on at school. He grabbed the boy around the neck before pulling his trousers down. The boy then felt a sharp pain in his rectum.
Det Garda Morrell also said that in a separate incident he pulled down the trousers of a second boy whom he taught in his history class.
The second victim, who is now 40, told the court he remembered cycling home that day determined that his parents would never hear of the incident. He also said that following the offence he underwent a severe personality change.
He said he did not get on with his parents and had problems in his family life. The case came to light in 1995 when the second victim made a complaint, through a solicitor, against Maloney.
He subsequently told his supervisor who informed the gardai.