Northern Ireland Child Abuse Inquiry to Hear Victims of Derry Nuns
By Henry McDonald
The UK's biggest ever child abuse inquiry will hear evidence on Monday from victims who were abused in two Derry homes run by Catholic nuns. Based in Banbridge courthouse in Northern Ireland, the historical institutional abuse inquiry will focus on the maltreatment of children in Nazareth children's home and Termonbacca, both run by the Sisters of Nazareth. The order of nuns has already issued an apology to victims at the tribunal. Christine Smith QC welcomed the apology the nuns made at the hearing earlier this month. But the senior counsel for the inquiry added: "This less than wholehearted and rapid response on the part of the congregation has caused considerable difficulties to the work of the inquiry. "The congregation is not the only body whose approach has produced problems. "We do appreciate that this is not always avoidable but we hoped that such late delivery could have been avoided, given the difficulties which it causes for the inquiry." The Derry-based homes are among 13 separate institutions where children were physically and sexually abused. The inquiry will hear from 434 people and will last until June 2015. A representatives of Northern Ireland's Health and Social Care Board also said that if the state had failed in any way it was sorry. Among the state-run institutions under examination was the former boys' home at Kincora in east Belfast where senior staff including a prominent Orangeman ran a regime of sexual abuse and rape during the 1960s and 70s. A number of those who ran the home or were implicated in the abuse were also loyalists working as state agents. The inquiry is chaired by a retired high court judge, Sir Anthony Hart. Contact: theguardian.com
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