Nuns hid abuse at St Josephs for 50 years

Nuns hid abuse at St Joseph's for 50 years

THE nuns who ran St Joseph's orphanage in Kilkenny knew as far back as 1954 that children in their care were being abused.The revelations come just days after the head of the order refused to apologise to those who suffered sexual abuse in the order's orphanage at St Joseph's Road in the city.Department of education inspector Anna McCabe reported in 1954 that nine girls had been abused by a painter employed by the Sisters of Charity.At the time it was argued by a priest that a court case would bring the convent into disrepute and that the experience would mark the children for life if they were called to give evidence.Following his advice, Ms McCabe agreed no prosecution should be taken.It has also emerged that the nun in charge of the orphanage challenged a paedophile in Dublin about his sexual depravity at St Joseph's more than a quarter of a century ago. Sr Conception has always denied any knowledge of paedophiles working in St Joseph's while she was in charge.Yet in 1977 she went to Dublin to confront child abuser Myles Brady, who sexually assaulted young children in St Joseph's.This was five months after a complaint was made to former Bishop Birch and Sr Conception.The confrontation led to the dismissal of Brady following an assault on a 12-year-old boy in St Joseph's a few days earlier.News of the 1977 confrontation came last week during cross-examination at the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse in Dublin. Sr Conception has always insisted that she knew nothing of sex abuse at the orphanage.Angry reactionFormer St Joseph's resident Ray Noctor, who now lives in Carlow, reacted with anger this week to comments made by the head of the Sisters of Charity, Sr Una O'Neill, to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse about the nuns' lack of knowledge about He said that each time he was abused he reported it to the people in charge but his pleas for protection fell on deaf ears.Separately, a woman now living in Kilkenny has come forward to say that she too told the nuns about the sex abuse in St Joseph's before she ran away from the orphanage.