BishopAccountability.org
	O'Gorman Poised to Stand for PDs By Brian Dowling and Fionnan Sheahan Irish Independent April 26, 2006 http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3? ca=39&si=1604225&issue_id=13963 THE founder of the One-In-Four organisation Colm O'Gorman is poised to become an election candidate for the PDs in Wexford. There was intense speculation last night that Mr O'Gorman's candidacy could be unveiled within a matter of days. His late father Sean was a former Fianna Fail county councillor and contested general elections in the sixties and seventies. PDs sources were tight lipped last night. At the PD conference last weekend, Mr O'Gorman spoke at an afternoon session but remained as a guest of honour for Tanaiste Mary Harney's keynote leadership address. He sat in the front row alongside PD founder and former leader Des O'Malley. Significantly Ms Harney singled him out for his courage for speaking out about clerical sex abuse in the Diocese of Ferns. PD sources pointed out that Ms Harney had recently signalled that the party was seeking to attract high-profile candidates for the next general election. Asked whether Mr O'Gorman will be confirmed as a candidate for the PDs a spokesman for the Tanaiste said he could "neither confirm nor deny" this.~ The spokesman would make no further comment on it. Mr O'Gorman could not be contacted last night. However, news of his imminent declaration was circulating widely in political circles in Wexford in recent days. Last week, Ms Harney revealed that the party was "head-hunting" a number of named candidates. It is understood that Mr O'Gorman was among those on the target list. The party hopes to contest up to 20 seats in the next general election seeking to build on its existing eight Dail seats. Four of the outgoing five TDs in Wexford are seeking re-election - Fine Gael's Paul Kehoe and Dr Liam Twomey, elected as an independent in 2002 but who later joined the party, Brendan Howlin of Labour and Fianna Fail junior minister, John Browne. Former Wexford hurling manager, Tony Dempsey, is the Fianna Fail TD who is standing down. The PDs will be hoping to capitalise on any resistance to Dr Twomey's decision to join Fine Gael and the space created by Mr Dempsey's decision to step down. Mr O'Gorman, who has a high national and local profile, is based in Gorey, one of Ireland's fastest growing towns. That should give him a solid base from which to start. Three years ago he settled his action for negligence against the Diocese of Ferns for ˆ300,000. In the statement at the time the Apostolic Administrator of Ferns, Dr Eamon Walsh, acknowledged and sincerely regretted the distress, trauma and hurt caused to Mr O'Gorman by the acts of sexual abuse by the late Fr Sean Fortune. The bishop also acknowledged the failure of the bishop at the time to recognise and act on the threat posed by the late Fr Fortune to Mr O'Gorman. Mr O'Gorman was sexually abused by Fortune between 1981 and 1983. He sued the Diocese of Ferns for negligence claiming Bishop Donal Herlihy knew at that time that Fr Fortune posed a risk to him.
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