Scores of priests from the Armagh archdiocese refused to attend an annual gathering led by under-pressure Catholic primate Cardinal Sean Brady in Donegal last month, the Sunday Tribune has learned.

In a move which will be interpreted in some quarters as a blatant snub to Brady's authority, just 70 of the 138 priests of the archdiocese attended the annual three-day diocesan get-together at the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran three weeks ago.

A spokesman for Brady confirmed that "approximately" 70 priests attended the gathering, which he claimed was "comparable with other years in terms of attendance".

However, other well-placed sources disputed this assertion and said the level of attendance was the lowest in at least five years.

They noted that members of the clergy within the archdiocese were typically expected to take part unless they are unable to do so for health or other legitimate reasons.

The Sunday Tribune also understands that non-attendance at the event was particularly evident among younger priests in the archdiocese, suggesting that there may be a growing divergence between these priests and their older counterparts when it comes to accepting Brady's continued leadership.

Brady's spokesman described it as an "excellent conference in terms of participation" and said it was "generally acknowledged to be one of the better conferences due to the relevancy of its content to the ministry of the contemporary priest".

"The theme for the gathering was 'putting on the mind of Christ' especially as it applies to the life of the priest… [it] included guest speakers Dame Nuala O'Loan, Fr Donal Dorr, Fr Paschal McDonald and Sr Una Agnew," he said.

However, the low attendance is understood to reflect significant anger within the Catholic primate's own archdiocese in relation to Brady's decision to remain in his post as a "wounded healer", following revelations about his involvement in a 1975 canonical inquiry into child sex abuser Fr Brendan Smyth.

Earlier this year, Brady announced that he would not be resigning, and instead defended his role at the meeting where a boy (10) and a girl (14) who were abused by Smyth were forced to take a vow of silence.

There is also understood to be significant anger among some priests at the way Brady has handled the cases of two priests in the archdiocese, Fr Sean McEvoy and Fr Oliver Brennan. Both priests have been the subject of concerns about child safeguarding issues, and have been asked to step aside from their posts.

"There is no comment on any priest beyond that in the public domain," Brady's spokesman said when asked about this issue.

Fr Brendan Smyth pleaded guilty to 74 charges of sexually abusing children between 1958 and 1993. Sentenced to seven years in prison, Smyth died in jail in 1997. Brady was a priest and a teacher in Kilmore when he was asked to interview two children, under oath of secrecy, by the then bishop Dr Francis McKiernan.