Fachtna Murphy: thorough

GARDAÍ have interviewed over 200 people, including senior members of the clergy and former gardaí, in their wide-ranging criminal investigation into clerical sex abuse in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin.

Nine months ago, garda commissioner Fachtna Murphy ordered a full garda investigation into the handling by church and state authorities of child sex abuse, detailed in the Murphy report. Assistant commissioner John O'Mahoney, based in Galway, is leading the investigation. A team of gardaí at Harcourt Square have been working full-time on interviewing all the victims and alleged perpetrators detailed in the Murphy report as well as former gardaí accused of not properly investigating allegations against the clergy. A source told the Sunday Tribune the investigation could go on for at least another year and senior garda management was committed to maintaining the necessary garda resources until the inquiry was completed.

The Murphy report concluded there was "no doubt" clerical child sexual abuse was covered up by the archdiocese and other church authorities. The report was scathing about some former gardaí for failing to properly investigate allegations of clerical abuse. It also found that "the state authorities facilitated the cover-up by not fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure that the law was applied equally to all and allowing the church institutions to be beyond the reach of the normal law enforcement processes".

It is understood gardaí have interviewed victims of clerical sex abuse detailed in the Murphy report, witnesses to this alleged abuse, members of clergy and former gardaí. However, the garda inquiry is not nearly complete as the Murphy report is extensive.

When O'Mahoney completes his investigation, he will furnish a report to the garda commissioner. Murphy will then consult with the DPP to determine if criminal liability or prosecutions arise. A source said the investigation was progressing well and would not be rushed.

Among the main findings of the Murphy report were that all archbishops and many of the auxiliary bishops in Dublin handled child sexual abuse complaints badly. None of the four archbishops reported their knowledge of abuse to gardaí "throughout the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s".

Announcing the garda probe into the matter in November, commissioner Murphy said: "The focus of this examination will be to establish whether those failings amounted to criminal behaviour."