DUBLIN (IRELAND)
RTE [Dublin, Ireland]
September 7, 2024
By Ailbhe Conneely
When the Series Producer of RTÉ’s Doc on One first sat down to record an interview with Mark Ryan in London two years ago, it was a step into the unknown.
Mark was the first point of contact for Liam O’Brien on a documentary which would be broadcast just months later with the title ‘Blackrock Boys’.
Following his meeting with Mark, it became clear to Mr O’Brien as he started digging that events were occurring “behind the scenes” at a bigger scale in relation to the Spiritans.
Weeks later he interviewed David Ryan who revealed further details and “the depravity of what had occurred”.
“It was almost confessional, they both spoke for an hour, they were ready to tell their story,” he said.
Following the broadcast of ‘Blackrock Boys’, RTÉ’s Liveline programme was inundated with calls.
Victims and survivors of alleged historical abuse at schools around the country told their stories and a garda investigation followed.
Two years on, the brief executive summary of the Scoping Inquiry into allegations of abuse at religious run schools noted that it stemmed from David and Mark’s story and the ‘Blackrock Boys’ documentary.
The non-statutory inquiry enabled Senior Counsel Mary O’Toole and the team to work swiftly from March 2023 and deliver a final report to Minister for Education Norma Foley in June this year.
There was an expectation that it would be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday, however, there was less clarity regarding its publication.
The decision was to get it to survivors that day.
The principal recommendation of the Scoping Inquiry was that a Commission of Investigation be established into alleged sexual abuse at schools, and this was agreed by the Cabinet.
The allegations were made about 884 distinct alleged abusers.
Distressing
The accounts given by survivors to the scoping inquiry – who in some cases told the full extent of their experiences for the first time – are distressing and difficult to read.
On Tuesday evening, Minister Foley, who had spoken to David Ryan early that morning, held a press conference.
When she addressed victims and survivors, she became visibly emotional.
As someone who has worked in the education system for 30 years, she said she found it difficult to comprehend what happened, adding that it was a fragment of the trauma and suffering that survivors experienced every day.
When it came to outlining further details on a Commission of Investigation, she was reluctant to reveal her thoughts prior to the establishment of a “high-level team”.
She also did not rule out widening the scope of the investigation to State schools. She was asked if this would lengthen any investigation.
Minister Foley suggested that interim reports, sampling or modules running side by side may need to be considered to “expedite it as quickly and respectfully as possible to ensure all peoples voice are heard.”
Harrowing
The word “harrowing” has been used repeatedly to describe what is contained in the report.
Appalling childhood sexual abuse is described by those who spoke to the inquiry team.
It extended beyond school campuses to other locations including in homes by adults associated with their school who had gained their family’s trust, “only to abuse that trust egregiously”.
The number of children who attended special schools that were allegedly abused is difficult to comprehend.
Seventeen special schools recorded 590 allegations involving 190 alleged abusers.
The head of Inclusion Ireland, Derval McDonald, described it as heartbreaking.
“We are calling for specific supports for people with intellectual disabilities to access justice,” she said.
The most vulnerable were allegedly targeted by those in power, but in some cases even when adults challenged that power, they were batted away.
One woman, whose brother attended a special school in the late 1970s, said her sibling told his parents what was happening.
She said they confronted the priest about the alleged abuse, who told them their son was lying. They removed their son from the school and approached a legal firm about the allegations.
They were told that they were up against the Catholic Church, they were never going to win. “Just walk away”, they were advised.
Their daughter said they were devastated by what had happened.
There were no last rites or church funerals for either of them. They turned their backs fully on the institution that had turned its back on them.
Their son’s life was destroyed. His sister told me that he was haunted by his past and died two years ago.
While David and Mark Ryan’s story helped many to come forward, it is estimated that victims and survivors could extend to tens of thousands.
The publication of the Scoping Inquiry report led to an unprecedented number of calls to One-In-Four this week and yet, it is likely that it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
As pointed out by CEO Deirdre Kenny, the scoping report represents just a fraction of the real picture in terms of alleged victims.
If a Commission of Investigation widens its scope to State run schools, it is difficult to comprehend the potential numbers.
‘Endemic in our society’
Catholic bishop Kevin Doran issued a statement on Thursday noting that while the report related specifically to religious-run schools, “it would be naive in the extreme to suggest that child abuse was not also a reality in other schools, whether Catholic or of any other tradition”.
He added: “Sadly, sexual abuse, has been endemic in our society”.
Few are naive to the realities of sexual abuse in society; however, power was abused by members of the dominant moral institution at the time and as is evident from the Scoping Inquiry report, lives have been left in tatters.
Asked for his reaction to the report, the Pope’s representative in Ireland Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor pointed out that as a diplomat he was “strictly precluded from making any comment on the acts of government of a state to which I am accredited”.
He added: “This respect extends also to any evaluative comment on the circumstances that have given rise to a specific act of government. The Holy Father, as a Head of State, maintains that same protocol of respect.”
Minister Foley said there was a “moral duty” on everyone to play their part regarding redress.
The Catholic Education Partnership which is a significant group including bishops’, orders and School Management Associations responded.
Acknowledging the significance of the investigation, it said it was committed to working with stakeholders and the State in upholding their “moral, civic, and statutory responsibilities”.
It is clear from the statement it is awaiting the terms of reference of the Commission of Investigation which are expected in the coming months.
Two years on since he first met Mark and David Ryan, Liam O’Brien finds it impossible to get his head around the scale of what has emerged and that a national crime task force unit has been assigned to it.
“What set Mark and David’s story apart was that they were two brothers who didn’t know about (the abuse of) each other, they were open about the abuse, and we don’t often hear that. It can be gratuitous, it’s uncomfortable, but they were so articulate”.
This month marks the one-year anniversary of Mark Ryan’s unexpected death.
For David, it has been an emotional week which he has described as “a roller coaster”.
He expressed gratitude that Minister Foley checked in with him throughout.
He also welcomed the increase in the number of victims and survivors that contacted One-In-Four this week, because he said he promised Mark that he would keep the issue in the spotlight.