A RETIRED Garda sergeant who investigated claims of child sex abuse in Wexford has explained the circumstances in which no prosecution followed complaints that a priest abused schoolgirls preparing for Confirmation.
The abuse was serious but no prosecution followed, according to the sergeant who investigated the complaints.
He took statements from seven girls, aged 11 and 12, detailing abuse which took place in 1988 on the altar of the local church in the parish of Monageer near Enniscorthy.
The priest interfered with the sixth class girls and made them touch him on the altar when he was giving them Confirmation instruction. He would bring one on the altar and tell the others to keep their heads down. Despite the evidence, the investigating gardai were never given a direction to prosecute.
The complaints against Father Jim Grennan, who died in 1994 had been validated by the South Eastern Health Board, which passed the file on to the gardai.
Retired Sergeant Jim Reynolds now says that while stationed at Ferns, Co Wexford, he took statements from the girls in sixth class of Monageer national school.
It is believed the file into the investigation is now missing. A spokesman for the Garda Press Office said it would not comment on a specific investigation. He did say the decision not to proceed with the case was made "by local Garda management". The file was not sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Father Grennan left the parish after the abuse was investigated but he returned less than two months later and attended the Confirmation ceremony at which _ the Bishop of Ferns, Dr Brendan Comiskey, officiated.
The parents of one of the girls left the church in protest. Mr Jim Gahan, whose daughter was abused, said they were shocked when they saw the priest.
"We were given an assurance by the South Eastern Health Board that he would not be present at the Confirmation. Then we saw him walking up the church behind the bishop. There was no way we were going to stay with our daughter so we walked out," Mr Gahan said.
Mr Gahan confirmed that Sgt Reynolds took a statement from his daughter. "Myself and my wife were present when they took the statement. But nothing was done about it afterwards," Mr Gahan said. "The truth has come out eventually but we had to wait a long time. Our daughter was abused by that priest."
The chief executive of the South Eastern Health Board, Mr John Cooney, says the staff at the sexual abuse unit in Waterford Regional Hospital had concluded that sexual abuse took place after the allegations were reported by the school principal in Monageer. A copy of the board's report was passed to Dr Comiskey when he wrote requesting it.
Mr Cooney said that the board had informed the bishop of the allegations because he was manager of the school and also the priest's superior. Mr Cooney confirmed that a further case of abuse by the priest of a young boy was brought to their attention. An investigation by the health board and the gardai was under way when the priest died. The boy has received counselling from the South Eastern Health Board.
Sgt Reynolds says he was instructed to immediately send the handwritten statements he had taken from the girls to Garda headquarters in Wexford, without typing them up. He was also told not to send a separate report on the case. No direction was subsequently given to him in the case.
"We should at least have been given a direction to prosecute or not. The disturbing thing for me is that it might be felt now that we did not do our job. We did what we were told but in hindsight we might have done things differently."
Supt Vincent Smyth, also now retired, said there was not sufficient evidence to prosecute.
He said a "thorough and diligent" Garda investigation had taken place in Monageer on foot of a communication from the health board. He said that all families concerned were interviewed but "no firm evidence was forthcoming".
The health boards communication was not considered "sufficient evidence in itself to proceed with the case", he said.
Supt Smyth told The Irish Times in the past week "If anyone was discontented with my action or inaction they should have made contact. There was ample time. I was satisfied with my inaction because I felt there was no scope for criminal prosecution at the time. On recollection I have nothing to fear.
"I also want to make it quite clear that Bishop Comiskey had not interfered in any way in the investigation. He never got in touch with me about it, as has been suggested."
But Mr Gahan whose daughter was abused, said that at the time the parents were too intimidated to take any further action. "There was very little you could do against the might of the law and the church. This community was split over these allegations. We got very little support. But the truth has come out eventually. It has been very difficult. We lost a 12 year old daughter in a farm accident afterwards and we got hate mail saying it served us right for attacking the church."
Chief Supt Jim Doyle, who is retired as well, said Supt Smyth had spoken to him about the case immediately he became aware of it but prior to the statements being taken.
"I advised him to go away and investigate the matter. I didn't inquire after that about what happened. I assumed there wasn't a case. My job as chief superintendent involved administration, transferring members and advising people on how to do their job. I would not have been involved in something like this," Chief Supt Doyle told The Irish Times.
He added that at no stage had he been contacted by Dr Comiskey about the investigation.