BELFAST (UNITED KINGDOM)
Belfast Telegraph [Belfast, Northern Ireland]
December 21, 2023
By Alan Erwin
A man who claimed a paedophile priest subjected him to years of sexual and physical abuse at a Co Down school is to receive £500,000 in damages, the High Court heard today.
The settlement was reached in an action over alleged historical assaults by the late Fr Malachy Finnegan.
The plaintiff, who is not being named, sued the Diocese of Dromore and the Board of Governors at St Colman’s College in Newry.
Proceedings centred on alleged attacks on him over a five-year period while a pupil at the school during the 1980s.
A statement of claim said he was targeted and groomed by Finnegan for the purposes of an abusive sexual, physical and emotional relationship.
He was sexually assaulted in a series of locations, including the vestry, priests’ corridor and lounge, the nuns’ chapel and the President’s business office, according to court papers.
Finnegan also allegedly choked the plaintiff, punched and slapped him on multiple occasions, and threatened him not to make any disclosure.
Lawyers for the man said he believes the priest surreptitiously put vodka in his fizzy drink before molesting him.
He lived in constant fear during his time as a student at the college, became suicidal and even considered burning down the priests’ chapel.
It was alleged that the assaults became less frequent when Finnegan moved on to abuse a younger boy as a replacement.
Since leaving the school the plaintiff has spent several years unable to work due to his psychological injuries and trauma.