11-06-2025
Canon Patrick McEntee: Priest found guilty of eight counts of historical abuse
A priest has been found guilty of eight counts of historical indecent assault against five young Patrick McEntee, 71, from Esker Road in Dromore, County Tyrone faced a total of nine counts of indecent assault dating back to the late who was a teacher at St Michael's College in Enniskillen, had denied all the was found not guilty on one charge of indecent assault.
Canon McEntee was charged with four counts of indecent assault on one male between 1988 and was also a single count of indecently assaulting a second male between 1980 and were a further four counts of indecent assault against three males that occurred between 1978 and prosecution told the court that during the late 1970s into the 1980s Canon McEntee abused young boys who were pupils at St Michael' priest took the boys, who were aged between 11 and 17, into his private quarters where some of the boys were made to sit on his knee or touched jury was told it would have to decide if the priest's action "was pastoral care or sexual deviance".
Victims speak of priest's abuse
During a police interview, Canon McEntee denied ever having touched boys in the way described saying the allegation was "outrageous".During his second police interview Canon McEntee provided a written statement saying he "categorically denied the allegations" and then refused to answer police the trial at Dungannon Court, the jury heard from the five men who accused Canon McEntee of inappropriate told how he was abused "weekly" by the outlined how he'd been made to sit on the priests' knee as he sang the "horsey horsey" nursery rhyme and was touched on his bottom.A third complaint outlined how Canon McEntee had brought a young boy into his personal quarters after he had been "messing about" in class, and how the priest took his trousers down and assaulted him.
Accounts 'chillingly similar'
The prosecution said that the accounts from the five witnesses were "chillingly similar".Mr McHugh KC asked the jury "why has lightning struck not once but five times".Canon McEntee told the trial that he was "bewildered" by the trial heard that Canon McEntee was a man of "good character" with no prior defence team pointed out inconsistencies in some of the accusations, using pictures to dispute recollections of the priests' private quarters, what the floor covering was and where windows were defence also questioned why some of the accusations were only made after newspaper reports about allegations against Canon McEntee had been the trial, two past pupils told the court that Canon McEntee was an "complete gentleman" who "embodied Christian values" and was well-respected among the pupils and teachers at St. Michaels.
'Significant' sentence
Originally from County Monaghan, Canon McEntee taught religious studies at St Michael's and was college president from 1994 until has been a priest for more than 45 years and has been the parish priest of St Davog's in Dromore since March 2023, the Diocese of Clogher announced he had been granted a leave of absence while an alleged safeguarding issue was McEntee was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing in Richard Greene told McEntee that he would face "a significant custodial sentence".
