A terminally-ill man, who gave his testimony to the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB) from his sickbed in England had "finally found some kind of peace", his brother said yesterday.
The ill man's brother said he was "beaming" yesterday, the morning after he gave his testimony to the four-person team from the RIRB, which travelled to hear his testimony on Tuesday evening. The board had initially refused his request to give his testimony from his sickbed.
The 48-year-old, who alleged he was sexually and physically abused while in the care of St Joseph's Industrial School in Co Galway in the 1960s, was diagnosed with aggressive pancreatic cancer six weeks ago and is said to have just weeks to live.
"It was so important that he be allowed give his testimony. He had been holding this in like a ball for all these years, never believing anyone would believe him, and now he's let it go. It has finally happened. He is radiant."
Meanwhile, a London-based support group for victims of religious abuse is planning a protest outside the Irish Embassy in London later this month calling for the establishment of a branch of the RIRB in Britain.
The sick man's brother, who was in Dublin on Tuesday to meet the RIRB, said the only reason it took the unprecedented step of travelling to hear his brother's testimony was the publicity he had generated through the press. He said he would be joining the protests in London on November 27th. The group will stage two protests - outside the Irish Embassy in Grosvenor Square and also outside the Irish passport office in Kensington.
Mr Ronald McCartan, co-founder of the collective and a former resident of Artane Industrial School, said there were "hundreds and hundreds of former residents of industrial school and institutions run by the religious living in England".
"I would appeal to the RIRB to bring their board to England where up to 60 per cent of the victims are living.
"If they can have sittings in Cork and Galway, I can't see why they can't come to England. Many of the victims are now old and ill. I mean, I'm 58 and I'm one of the youngest," he said.
Mr Colm O'Gorman, of the One in Four group, said the board should examine the level of demand for hearings in Britain, adding that he put the
