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Extra.ie
29-06-2025
- Extra.ie
The timeline of Br Aidan Clohessy's career of predatory abuse
This week, St John of God brother, former principal at St Augustine's School, Blackrock, and predatory paedophile Br Aidan Clohessy, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison for the indecent assault of six minors. The two main witnesses against him came forward due to previous coverage in this publication, when we revealed Clohessy's identity, which was previously cloaked as 'Brother D' in a 2015 Safeguarding Report into the order. This week, we reveal approx €3m in settlements and fresh victims of abuse in Malawi, where, until 2012, Clohessy was revered in the country's third-largest city, Mzuzu, as a righteous man of God. Brother Aidan Clohessy. Pic: Collins Courts The following timeline details the painstaking, expensive and at times frustrating lengths to which our journalists went to unmask a monster, and to hold to account an order's shocking inaction in the face of mounting allegations, to leave street children in harm's way. These children have now become men and have made numerous sickening allegations, in Irish court documents and to which, given the nature of his convictions, are very likely to be true but which, in any case, St John of God is in no position to deny. 1969: Aged 30, Br Aidan Clohessy is assigned to St Augustine's School for intellectually disabled boys. 1969 – 1971: On an unknown date during these years, Patsy Carville, a pupil who lives at the school, is sexually assaulted by Clohessy in a gym store room. 1972: Clohessy, who becomes known to pupils as Br Aidan becomes principal of St Augustine's. 1973 – 1989: On various dates between these years, Clohessy sexually assaulted five other pupils, including Joe Devine, Gerry Quinn and Wayne Farrell. 1985: THE St John of God (SJoG) order receives its first child sex abuse complaint about Clohessy. It is disregarded and not referred to the gardaí. He continues to abuse. 1991: The SJoG order implements its first-ever code for dealing with abuse allegations. It stipulates that anyone accused of abuse should be suspended or assigned duties that 'remove him from other children or clients' pending an investigation. 1993: Clohessy takes a five-year 'career break' and is dispatched to Malawi by then Irish Provincial, Br Donatus Forkan. Brother Aidan Clohessy. Pic: Collins Courts 1994: In Rome, Br Forkan is elected a general councillor of the order, making him one of the five most senior members globally. 1995: Makaiko Chimaliro, a 12-year-old homeless child in Mzuzu, Malawi, is taken from the streets by Br Aidan to live in his home. He is routinely sexually abused. 1997: Back in Ireland, Clohessy's order receives a second abuse complaint against him relating to St Augustine's. Then-Provincial Br Fintan Whitmore forbids Clohessy from having any contact with children in Malawi. This instruction is ignored and never enforced. Meanwhile, in Mzuzu, John Phiri, an eight-year-old living on the streets, is taken in by Br Aidan, who later begins abusing John when he turns 12. 1999: Br Aidan invites Edward Phiri, an 11-year-old sleeping rough at the Mzuzu bus station, to his home. In the same year another street child, Stephen Chiumia, also moves in. Both are routinely abused. Meanwhile, back in Ireland, then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, below, makes an unreserved State apology to all victims of child abuse in publicly funded institutions such as St Augustine's. This paves the way for the Ryan Commission and a compensation scheme, the Redress Board. 2000: In Rome, Br Forkan is elected First General Councillor – making him the second most powerful member of the St John of God order worldwide. Brother Aidan Clohessy. Pic: Collins Courts JUNE 12, 2001: The Government publishes the legislation to set up the Redress Board. St Augustine's is not initially listed as a qualifying institution. MARCH 28, 2002: The Redress Board legislation is passed by the Dáil with last-minute changes that include St Augustine's for the first time. Now, anyone abused by Clohessy at St Augustine's can be compensated via the Redress Board in secret. He, meanwhile, remains living with and abusing children in Malawi. 2003: Redress Board payments begin to be made in secret to some of those abused by Clohessy at St Augustine's. By now, SJoG has received 10 abuse complaints against him directly. These are separate from any unknown number of complaints about him processed in secret by the Redress Board [a number the order still refuses to disclose]. SJoG writes to Clohessy (in Africa) to tell him 'not to have direct responsibility for programmes attended by children'. This instruction is again ignored and again not enforced. Some of those who received Redress Board compensation make criminal complaints to gardaí. These go nowhere. JULY 16, 2004: Then-Irish Provincial Br Fintan Whitmore testifies before the Ryan Commission. He misleads the inquiry by saying his order never received any abuse complaints until 1996, though the first complaint against Clohessy had been received more than a decade earlier in 1985. He also does not mention that he had instructed him to have no contact with children in 1997, while leaving Clohessy responsible for the care of children in Africa regardless. Asked why his order decided to contribute €1m to the Redress Board despite never having had any arrests or prosecutions for abuse, Br Whitmore tells the commission the indemnity provided by the Redress Board was an 'attractive proposition.' JULY 16, 2006: The Criminal Justice Act 2006 becomes law, making it a criminal offence for people in authority to recklessly endanger children by knowingly placing them at risk of abuse. Brother Aidan Clohessy. Pic: Seán Dwyer 20/05/25 OCTOBER 14, 2006: In Rome, Br Forkan is elected Prior General of the St John of God order, making him the global leader of the organisation. OCTOBER 28, 2006: In an address to the Irish bishops, Pope Benedict, right, focuses on child abuse in the Irish Church. He instructs the bishops to 'establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected, and above all, to bring healing to the victims and all those affected by these egregious crimes. 2007: In order to begin receiving funding from German children's charity Kindernothilfe, Br Aidan lies by signing a false declaration to say he has never been accused of child abuse. He goes on to secure more than €1m for the children's services he is overseeing in Mzuzu, even though his order has instructed him to have no contact with children. MAY 20, 2009: The Ryan Commission report is published. The St John of God order escapes any negative criticism, and St Augustine's is not mentioned at all. Clohessy, meanwhile, remains working with children in Africa as a new complaint relating to his time at St Augustine's is received. 2010: Clohessy and Br Forkan celebrate their Golden Jubilee together. Br Forkan goes on one of his frequent trips to Malawi, staying in Br Aidan's home. St John of God receives a new abuse complaint about Clohessy. Reacting to the publication of the Murphy Commission of Inquiry report into child abuse in Dublin, Pope Benedict issues a pastoral letter to the people of Ireland demanding 'urgent action' from the Irish Church saying 'a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal' has failed to safeguard child abuse victims. 2011: The St John of God order, continues to receive new complaints against Clohessy, dating back to his time as principal of St Augustine's. After carrying out a 'risk assessment' the order concludes Clohessy represents a 'low risk of physical or sexual abuse' because, according to the order, he is 'not in a position of authority over children'. Yet Br Aidan remains living and working with children in Malawi, where no one has yet been informed of the allegations against him or the secret settlements made via the Redress Board 2012: After yet another complaint by a victim who first came forward in 1998, Clohessy is finally withdrawn from public ministry and his access to children restricted. But the reason for his withdrawal is kept secret. No efforts are made to establish if children under his care in Malawi since 1993 were abused. Twenty-seven years after the first 1985 complaint against Clohessy, his order belatedly forwards it to the gardaí. The complaint goes nowhere. 2013: Three more complaints relating to Clohessy's period at St Augustine's are received by his order, and a canonical inquiry is commenced by the Vatican. No one in Malawi, where Br Aidan lived and worked with children for 20 years, is informed of the Vatican investigation. 2014: Another three complaints relating to Clohessy's period at St Augustine's are made. He now faces 20 different sets of allegations from his time at the school. One of the complainants makes a formal garda statement. Clohessy denies any wrongdoing when interviewed by gardaí, and the DPP declines to prosecute at that stage. DECEMBER 2015: An audit by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) is critical of SJoG's management of the complaints against Clohessy. The audit identifies him only as 'Brother D'. It also does not refer to his presence in Africa for two decades. The audit is welcomed by Br Donatus Forkan (who is Irish Provincial again) as evidence that no member of the order has ever been arrested or prosecuted for abuse. JULY 2016: publishes an investigation into €1.6m secret pay top-ups to SJoG executives. APRIL 13, 2017: As part of our continuing SJoG investigations, we inform Br Whitmore that we intend to report his inaccurate testimony to the Ryan Commission. In response, Br Whitmore and his order claim we have libelled him in our questions: 'Please note that our clients demand that you immediately, unequivocally and in writing, without any pre-conditions of any sort, retract these statements and comments and issue an unequivocal apology in writing to Br Fintan Whitmore, the St John of God Order and St John of God Community Services in default of which we expressly reserve our clients' rights to issue defamation proceedings.' APRIL 16, 2017: We publish the story about Br Whitmore's misleading commission testimony. Despite its threat, the order does not sue. Its reaction makes us want to establish the identity of 'Brother D' and track down victims. It quickly becomes clear that Br Aidan Clohessy is Br D. We resolve to prove and publish this. JUNE 22, 2017: We find and speak with former homeless heroin addict and St DWYER Augustine's pupil Con Carroll. He tells how he was abused by SEÁN Clohessy and how complaints to gardaí were dismissed by the DPP. With his help, we locate four other victims in Ireland. OCTOBER 2017: We travel to Malawi and speak with street children Br Aidan was allowed to have control over despite allegations against him. DECEMBER 2017: We confront Clohessy in Dublin. 'I don't think anybody is guilty until they're proved guilty,' he tells us. 'Innocent until proven guilty,' he adds. JANUARY 21, 2018: We name Br Aidan Clohessy as 'Brother D', an alleged paedophile, and outline the decades-long inaction that allowed him to continue to be in a position of power over children despite the allegations. Joe Devine, a former St Augustine's abuse victim who is unable to read or write, sees a photo of Clohessy on our front page. He and other victims, including Patsy Carville, right, come forward as a result of the coverage. Shortly afterwards, a Garda criminal investigation is launched. AUGUST 2018: Pope Francis visits Ireland and meets child abuse survivors. He tells them that priests who abuse children and those who cover up for them are nothing more than 'filth in the toilet'. JANUARY 4, 2019: Clohessy is interviewed voluntarily but under caution by gardaí. He denies abusing Patsy Carville and Joe Devine. 2021: Tired of waiting for a criminal prosecution, some St Augustine's victims begin to lodge civil cases in the High Court against Clohessy and SJoG. In an unprecedented legal move, Dublin law firm Coleman Legal also launches civil actions in Dublin on behalf of Br Aidan's victims in Malawi. The order will go on to settle these cases privately rather than let the cases be heard in open court. JUNE 9, 2021: Clohessy is interviewed, under caution, about another victim, Michael Duignan, right, who has come forward. Clohessy again denies everything. JANUARY 24, 2022: Another St Augustine's victim, Wayne Farrell, contacts Despite reporting his abuse to his local Garda station in 2018 when he saw our coverage, his case has been ignored. Now, five years later, we refer him to the garda team prosecuting Clohessy, and he becomes the State's lead witness. FEBRUARY 28, 2022: Clohessy is charged with multiple counts of indecent assault relating to four victims from St Augustine's. They include Joe Devine and Patsy Carville, who both came forward after they saw Clohessy's photo in the Mail on Sunday. His lawyers secure a court gagging order to prevent the charges from being reported publicly. MAY 7, 2022: A campaign of intimidation by parties in Malawi loyal to Br Aidan is launched against victims in Mzuzu. Victims are directly threatened with violence and offered cash to withdraw their complaints. In Dublin, St John of God condemns the intimidation. JUNE 20, 2022: Clohessy attends Blackrock Garda Station to be interviewed under caution about Wayne Farrell and Gerry Quinn. He denies everything. JUNE 25, 2022: and other media groups successfully apply to the Dublin Circuit Court to have the gagging order lifted. Clohessy is named in relation to the charges for the first time. OCTOBER 13, 2022: Clohessy is arraigned, and a trial date is set for November 2024, which is over two years away. NOVEMBER 7, 2022: An RTÉ Documentary On One: Blackrock Boys is broadcast. It sparks a renewed focus on historical abuse in religious-run schools and a Scoping Inquiry, which includes St Augustine's, is ordered by the Government. FEBRUARY 21, 2023: Clohessy is further charged with fresh counts against two new victims, including Wayne Farrell. SEPTEMBER 3, 2024: The Scoping Inquiry report is published. It confirms 112 allegations of abuse, involving 29 alleged abusers, that took place at St Augustine's. Many of the allegations relate to Clohessy. The Government approves a new Commission of Investigation into religious-run schools as recommended by the Scoping Inquiry. In the same week the report is published in Ireland, St John of God's lawyers negotiate settlements with more than a dozen victims in Mzuzu, without admitting any liability. APRIL-MAY 2025: After repeated adjournments and delays, two separate but back-to-back abuse trials against Clohessy begin at the Courts of Criminal Justice in Dublin. Due to recent changes in the law, he can't be named until convicted. He pleads not guilty, forcing his victims to testify in court even though St John of God has already paid civil settlements to most of them. Jurors remain ignorant of these pre-trial settlements. MAY 13, 2025: Clohessy is found guilty of 10 counts of abusing Gerry Quinn, right, and four counts of abusing Wayne Farrell in the first trial. MAY 30, 2025: Clohessy is found guilty of five additional counts of abuse against four others, including Joe Devine and Patsy Carville, in the second trial. JUNE 23 & 24, 2025: Clohessy is sentenced to four years for abusing Gerry Quinn and Wayne Farrell by Judge Elva Duffy. The next day, he is sentenced to a further 16 months for abusing Patsy Carville, Joe Devine, Michael Duignan and one other by Judge Martin Nolan. His total sentence is five years and four months. He informs the court he will not appeal the verdict of either trial. He is sent initially to Mountjoy Prison, where his prison number is 126787.
Irish Daily Mirror
24-06-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ex-school principal jailed for indecent assault gets extra jail time
A former school principal jailed for indecently assaulting two students has been told he will spend a further 16 months in prison for indecent assaulting another four boys. Aidan Clohessy (85) was jailed yesterday for four years for indecently assaulting two boys in the 1980s. He was convicted of 19 counts of indecent assault in relation to six boys following two separate trials at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last month. Today, Judge Martin Nolan imposed sentence in relation to the second trial, in which Clohessy was convicted of five counts of indecently assaulting four boys. Two of these counts of indecent assault related to one boy, with one count each in relation to the other three boys. All of this offending took place between 1969 and 1986. Clohessy was acquitted of three further counts of indecent assault. After hearing facts yesterday, Judge Nolan adjourned the case overnight to consider sentence and the defence's submission in relation to the totality principle. Judge Nolan said the indecent assaults were 'undoubtedly very serious' for the injured parties, noting that many of the incidents described were 'obviously physical chastisement as well'. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week He said the aggravating features included that Clohessy was in a position of trust which he betrayed. The judge also noted that the injured parties were vulnerable and said Clohessy 'took advantage of their vulnerability'. He said there was some 'small mitigation', including Clohessy's age. Judge Nolan said if this was a standalone trial, and Clohessy was younger, he would impose a sentence of between three and four years. But, the judge said the court had to take into account the totality principle and that Clohessy is already serving a sentence. He imposed a 16-month sentence, which is to run consecutive to the four year sentence imposed yesterday. This means Clohessy's has received a global sentence of five years and four months for his offending against the six injured parties. A member of the Order of St John of God, Clohessy was the principal of St Augustine's School, Blackrock, Co. Dublin from the early 1970s until 1993, when he was appointed to lead a mission in Malawi. Clohessy, with an address at the Hospitaller Order of St John of God, Granada, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, voluntarily returned to Ireland in 2013. The six boys were all pupils of the school. Some were boarders at the school, which catered for boys with mild to moderate learning disability at that time. The injured parties were aged between 10 and 13 when Clohessy's offending took place. The abuse primarily took the form of inappropriate touching, the court heard. In the first trial, Clohessy was convicted of 14 counts of indecent assault - 10 in relation to one boy and four in relation to a second boy on dates between 1983 and 1985. The court heard that some of the complainants had no objection to being identified. Yesterday, Clohessy was handed a sentence of four years in relation to the offending against these two injured parties. Imposing sentence yesterday, Judge Elva Duffy said Clohessy was 'living a life full of good deeds during the day', but was also 'an ogre' who carried out 'what can only be described as atrocities at night time, when no one could see that behaviour'. Victim impact statements were read to the court on behalf of all six injured parties during the two separate sentence hearings. They outlined how the abuse affected the men's mental health, relationships, education and later employment opportunities. In a statement read by his wife to the court, Gerard Quinn addressed Clohessy directly. 'Brother Aidan, I don't forgive you but I don't judge you anymore. That responsibility does not belong to me. 'One day, you will stand before the man you chose to serve. One day, you will stand before your maker, and on that day, you will be handed your judgement.' Another man said he struggled to learn his wedding vows or to read his children a story. Clohessy denied wrongdoing when interviewed voluntarily by gardai, but acknowledged that corporal punishment was used in the school, including by him. He told gardai this included striking boys on their bare buttocks, but said this was only for the most serious offences and only of those boys who were residents at the school. The investigating gardai agreed with Ronan Kennedy SC, defending, that his client was co-operative during the investigation and has been subject to adverse publicity. Mr Kennedy said Clohessy lives 'a humble and quiet existence' and supports other members of the religious community who have significant health issues. A medical report and two testimonials were handed to the court on Clohessy's behalf. Mr Kennedy asked the court to take into account his client will find custody more difficult due to his age and health issues. He submitted that his client would have to live with the stigma of being a sex offender and has already been subject to negative publicity. 'In many respects, he was already condemned and judged in the court of public opinion before he was ever tried in this court,' Mr Kennedy said.
