NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Independent
Michael Browne
PUBLISHED
22/03/2015
A former leading IRA man, who was a security chief for X Factor boss, Simon Cowell has accused Sinn Fein of helping to cover up the sexual abuse of “hundreds” of schoolboys by a now-deceased priest.
Brendan Curran, a former Irish Army-trained sniper – who was jailed aged 18 in 1973 for 15 years for attempting to murder a British soldier – made the sensational claims as he announced his resignation from Newry and Mourne District Council at a meeting last week.
Mr Curran said he was prevented 10 years ago from exposing the allegations by a leading well-known Sinn Fein figure.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent after the tumultuous council meeting, Mr Curran said: “This priest is dead now, but he was in every school in the Newry area for years and abused children in every one of them. People have been coming forward.”
“I raised it with the Republican movement 10 years ago and was told to drop it; it was a negative story, to drop it; it was a negative issue.”
Mr Curran added: “The leadership was aware of this being raised.”
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