FR TONY Walsh was best-known for his Elvis act as part of the All-Priests Show, a groin-thrusting, hip-shaking performance. It was good-humoured, light entertainment in the parish halls of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
But for three boys, whose childhoods were destroyed over three decades ago, it had the most horrible connotations.
Yesterday, former priest Tony Walsh (57) was jailed for 16 years for abusing three young altar boys in Ballyfermot, Dublin. One of the boys was repeatedly raped over several years between the age of seven and 12; and he indecently assaulted the two other boys.
Sentencing him yesterday, Judge Frank O’Donnell labelled Walsh a “serial offender” who had inflicted a “life sentence” on one of his victims.
“It is difficult to imagine more reprehensible circumstances than a priest in confession setting about the sexual abuse of a young boy,” the judge said. “This is a gross breach of trust, and that’s putting it mildly.”
The abuse of one of the boys, “David” (not his real name), involved Walsh tying him up with the cords from his vestments before raping him. When the boy started to cry in pain, the priest turned up an Elvis record to drown out the noise. Later, he told the boy he would “burn in hell for all eternity” if he told anyone.
Through their dignified victim impact statements, the three men yesterday revealed how the abuse has scarred them and continues to damage their lives.
“Following the abuse, I turned to drink and drugs to numb the pain,” David said. “My trust was gone towards people . . . When I was around 16, I attempted suicide. It was the first of numerous attempts.”
Another victim, “Noel”, told how his parents refused to believe him when he disclosed he was being abused. Their response devastated him. “My mother said: ‘How could you say that about a man of the cloth, a man of God?’ My father gave me a hiding which started in the kitchen and finished in the bedroom.”
The third victim, “Tim”, said the abuse has left him distrustful of men and he freezes under pressure; he cannot rid himself of the memories.
“I remember lying face-down, while Mr Walsh lay on top of me, making gyrating movements . . . I remember thinking, ‘When will this be over, when can I leave?’”
Following the sentencing, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin said he hoped the finality of the legal process would help bring them some sense of justice, healing, closure and hope for the future. “I can only unreservedly apologise to the victims of this man for what they endured and for the way in which the diocese failed them.”
For victims like David, the legacy of abuse feels like a life sentence. Still troubled, he admitted himself into a psychiatric hospital last night.
“I have been diagnosed as suffering from severe bouts of psychotic depression...” he said. “Because of all this, I will be on medication for the rest of my life.”
