IRELAND
Irish Independent
Edel Kennedy
and Brian McDonald
BISHOP Eamonn Casey is to return to Galway in the immediate future to work and see out his retirement, the Irish Independent can reveal.
Fourteen years after he fled Ireland following the revelation he had fathered a son by Annie Murphy, the 78-year-old cleric is set to finally face the people of Galway.
While he has returned anonymously to Ireland on rare occasions during his self-imposed exile, he is understood to have decided to stay away from Galway in particular for fear of re-igniting the controversy or causing offence.
But now, following sustained contact with senior Church figures, the Irish hierarchy has decided the time is right and has approved his return to his former diocese. It is understood that Dr Casey will be based in a south Galway parish.