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	Call to Address Child Abuse Revelations in "Broad Light of Day" Leitrim Observer July 1, 2009 http://www.leitrimobserver.ie/news/Call-to-address-child-abuse.5420112.jp Well known author and priest, Fr Liam Kelly has called for the issue of child abuse to be "looked at in its totality and in the broad light of day" following the revelations of the Ryan Report. Speaking at the unveiling of a memorial plaque to renowned author, the late John McGahern, on the grounds of the former Presentation Brothers College, Carrick-on-Shannon, Fr Kelly recalled how McGahern had addressed the issue of abuse of children, most notably in his second novel, 'The Dark', published in May 1965. "I think it is significant that we are unveiling this plaque here at a time when the country is still reeling from the Ryan Report which outlined the horrific abuse of children in institutions run by the religious orders here in Ireland. John McGahern wrote about the abuse of children in his fiction, most notably in his second novel, The Dark, which was published in May 1965. The country wasn't ready to hear about the abuse of children then. Instead the church and state conspired against him. His book was banned and he was sacked from his teaching job," noted Fr Kelly. "And now 44 years after The Dark was published and just over three years after his death, the issue of child abuse is very much out in the open." While he said that McGahern and his peer's positive educational experience at the Presentation Brothers College, Carrick-on-Shannon had been a far cry from the abuse experienced at the institutions which were the focus of the Ryan Report, he acknowledged the reality of the suffering inflicted on children in other areas was something which had to be addressed. Fr Kelly pointed out that the abuse of children happened not just in the institutions run by the religious orders, but "it happened and was still happening in homes and communities across the country today". "It is an issue that needs to be looked at in its totality and in the broad light of day. If the issue is faced honestly then we can hope that 'the dark' days are over and that children can now look forward to a brighter and better future," he said.
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