Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin (Murphy Report): findings and what happened next
How the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin and State authorities handled complaints of clerical child sexual abuse from 1975 to 2004.
- Country
- Ireland
- Type
- commission of inquiry
- Chaired by
- Judge Yvonne Murphy
- Report published
- November 2009
Implementation, as of 22 December 2021The State apologised in 2009. This record does not yet track implementation of the individual recommendations.
What the inquiry found
- The commission found that four successive archbishops responded to abuse complaints with "denial, arrogance and cover-up" over about 30 years.2
- The commission found an "obsessive concern with secrecy and the avoidance of scandal" in the archdiocese.2
- The commission found that the State facilitated the cover-up by allowing Church institutions to be beyond the reach of normal law enforcement, and that some senior gardaí referred complaints to the archdiocese.2
- The commission examined a sample of 46 of the 102 priests against whom complaints were made between 1975 and 2004.2
What happened next
- Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern published the report and the government apologised for the failures of State agencies.2,1
- Archbishop Diarmuid Martin apologised and said no words of apology would ever be sufficient.2
Read the report: www.gov.ie/en/publication/13804-report-by-commission-of-investigation-
Sources
- Government of Ireland (gov.ie), Report by Commission of Investigation into Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin (22 December 2021)
- Child Rights International Network, Ireland, Church routinely covered up child sexual abuse for 30 years (30 November 2009)