Gardai are probing allegations of abuse against members of the Irish Spiritans over a 50-year period.
The Sexual Crime Management Unit – part of the Garda Protective Services Bureau – is leading the investigation. It manages complaints and allegations against religious orders.
Since Monday’s broadcast of the Documentary on One programme on RTE One, which related details of abuse against two brothers at Blackrock College, more people have made allegations against Spiritan Order members. Gardai appealed to victims of abuse to contact them and said their case will be dealt with sympathetically and sensitively.
Read more: Alleged Blackrock College sex abuse victims claim paedophile ring operated there
The Spiritan Order say the number of people who have come forward to make allegations are “single figures but expected to rise”. None are against any members of the order outside of the 77 who already had allegations against them.
The Spiritans previously said more than 233 people have made allegations of abuse against identified Irish Spiritans in ministries in Ireland and abroad. The allegations also include claims by 57 people who say they were abused as children at Blackrock College in Dublin from the 1970s. A total of 77 priests have had allegations made against them. Four are still alive.
On the RTE documentary, two brothers claimed they were each separately sexually abused on the grounds of the college from the ages of 12 to 17. The brothers alleged that their abusers were from the community of the Holy Ghost Order, which is now known as the Irish Spiritans.
The Order has paid out over €5million in compensation to 12 victims since 2004, the Spiritans’ current Provincial leader Fr Martin Kelly said. Meanwhile, Blackrock College apologised to victims of sexual abuse.
In a letter to parents, principal Alan MacGinty said the school would work diligently to ensure the highest standard of care for all students and staff. He expressed sympathy to past pupils, their extended families and friends who suffered such “harrowing and life changing experiences”.
He said it was a shameful period in the school’s history that it deeply regretted. The letter also contained a statement from Fr Martin Kelly C.S.Sp, head of the Spiritan Order in Ireland, who also apologised to victims and survivors of abuse.
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