A 43-year-old man whose life was blighted by sexual and physical abuse at a Sligo orphanage in the 1960s has settled his claim for damages against the nun in charge of the institution.
In one of the first cases of its kind to be taken in the country by a former inmate of a residential institution alleging abuse by other residents, Mr Patrick Morgan (43), Maugheraboy, sued Sister Paul Flannigan of the Sisters of Nazareth Order for damages.
The court in Sligo was told that Mr Morgan's life had been blighted by the physical and sexual abuse he had suffered at the hands of two older boys who had been put in charge of the junior infants at the Nazareth House by the authorities there.
The alleged perpetrators, now in their 50s, are currently living in London and were interviewed as part of a Garda investigation into complaints made by Mr Morgan, but the Director of Public Prosecutions directed that there be no prosecution in the matter following a review of the file submitted.
Mr Morgan's High Court case was settled yesterday morning as the plaintiff was about to continue his evidence before Mr Justice Declan Budd.
The State defended the action on behalf of Sister Flannigan having taken over the case only on Friday last as part of the indemnity deal struck between the Government and the country's religious orders.The plaintiff, who was born in Newry, Co Down, in 1960, lived the first two years of his life in the Nazareth House, Portadown, Co Armagh before being brought to the Order's orphanage at Church Hill, Sligo, where he spent the next 15 years.
It was there that Mr Morgan, as a five-year-old boy, was subjected to "the most vile and gross sexual and physical abuse" committed by two boys who were aged approximately 15 at the time. It was claimed that the authorities at the Nazareth House had placed the older boys in a position of responsibility for the junior infants and, as such, were responsible for the acts of abuse.
Mr Morgan's senior counsel, Mr Edward Walsh, also alleged that another inmate had made complaints about the abuse on behalf of the plaintiff to Sister Paul. "The plaintiff's life has been blighted as a consequence of what happened to him in this orphanage," said Mr Walsh.
The court heard that when aged five, Mr Morgan was seriously sexually abused by an older boy in the dormitory which was shared by up to 24 inmates. He was also subjected to serious sexual abuse by another older boy and the assaults had such a significant effect on him that he now exhibited many characteristics of post traumatic stress disorder.
The perpetrators of the abuse, said Mr Walsh, had been put into positions of authority by the defendant and, as such, were liable for the acts of those individuals. Complaints were actually made on behalf of the plaintiff to the defendant, said Mr Walsh. Sister Paul Flannigan - or Sister Paul of the Cross - had been specifically told by another inmate about the acts of the abuse, claimed Mr Walsh.
He pointed out that the order of nuns were in locus parentis, on a 24-hour a day basis for the care of plaintiff, unlike a schoolteacher.
The defendant, he pointed out, had her room at the end of the dormitory where the plaintiff slept and many acts of abuse took place in the immediate vicinity of that location. "Clearly the activities had to have been noticed and come to the attention of the defendant," said Mr Walsh.
In fact, later on, action was taken against one of the perpetrators who was removed from the close proximity of the junior boys.
This older boy was described as being very evil with a frightening appearance and it was stated that his removal was for "insubordination".
In relation to the allegations of physical abuse, Mr Walsh said it wasn't mere reasonable chastisement.Mr Gerry Clarke SC (defending), said it would be his submission that the claim in relation to physical abuse was statute barred.
Mr Walsh replied that the type of beating suffered by the plaintiff and which was outlined to the court had an overt sexual connotation. Nazareth House was described by Mr Walsh as an emotionally sterile place and the plaintiff had a very hard life there. Serious abuse took place in 1965, 1966 and 1967 by the two senior boys in charge of the juniors.
Mr Morgan, a member of the permanent defence forces who served five tours in Lebanon, "had bottled it all up for nearly 40 years" until he was finally able to confront it.