The niece of Bishop Eamonn Casey has spoken on camera for the first time about how she was raped by her uncle when she was aged five.
Patricia Donovan, the late bishop’s niece and one of his accusers, said the sexual abuse continued for years.
Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets, which airs tonight on RTÉ, investigates the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations against the former Bishop of Galway, who died in 2017.
Ms Donovan told RTÉ she felt “so absolutely and completely and utterly betrayed by the church she was brought up in”.
“Some of the things he did to me, and where he did them. The horror of being raped by him when I was five, the violence. And it just carried on in that vein,” she said in the documentary made in conjunction with the Irish Mail on Sunday.
“He had no fear of being caught. He thought he could do what he liked, when he liked, how he liked. He was almost, like, incensed that I would dare fight against him, that I would dare try and hurt him, I would dare try and stop him. It didn’t make any difference.”
Ian Elliott, the former chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, described Bishop Casey as a “sexual predator” and “offender”.
Mr Elliott told the investigation he found Ms Donovan’s account of what she has been through “entirely credible”.
“The fact of the matter is that individuals have come forward and spoken about numerous sexual activities, some consensual, others not. Many involved very young people,” he said.
“That is wrong and there is no justification for that, and it should have been stopped. Those that have been distressed and hurt should be helped and supported by the church. That is a major priority.”
Bishop Eamonn Casey. Photo: Brian Arthur/ Press 22
Casey, born in Co Kerry, served as bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh from 1976 to 1992, and was seen as a progressive voice within the church.
He resigned in 1992 when it was revealed he had an affair with a young American woman, Annie Murphy, with whom he had a child.
He was sent to do missionary work for several years in South America and then ministered in England.
In 2019, the Galway Diocese received the allegation of child sexual abuse against Casey from Ms Donovan. However, the diocese also confirmed it had records of “five people who had complained of childhood sexual abuse” against him at the time.
These independent accusations relate to alleged events in every Irish diocese where Casey worked.
By early 2006, the Vatican had received at least two allegations of child sexual abuse against him.
Bishop Eamonn Casey. Photo: RTÉ
The Vatican has now confirmed for the first time that Casey was formally banned from public ministry in 2007, following allegations, which included his niece’s complaint.
Despite his resignation in 1992, he remained a bishop until his death and claimed his removal from ministry was unjust.
RTÉ’s investigation also revealed how the Limerick diocese paid more than €100,000 in settlement to one of Casey’s accusers after his death.
Casey consistently denied all the allegations of child sexual abuse made against him and was never prosecuted despite complaints being reported to An Garda Síochána.
Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets will air at 9.35pm tonight on RTÉ Oneand on the RTÉ Player
Helplines: If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, click here for more information https://www.independent.ie/service/helplines-40487532.html