Brothers of Charity Galway 1965 to 1998: Health board inquiry documents abuse allegations by children with intellectual disabilities against eleven brothers; in 1969 the provincial took an accused brother out of the country before police could question him

The Brothers of Charity, a Catholic religious congregation, run services in Galway for people with intellectual disabilities, including the Holy Family School with residential care. At the order's request the Western Health Board investigated allegations of abuse from 1965 to 1998 from 1999 onwards; the report was completed in 2007 by Kevin McCoy. 21 complainants made 27 allegations of sexual abuse against 16 men and six allegations of physical abuse; eleven of the accused were brothers, one of whom was serving a prison sentence for sexual offences against former pupils. Most complainants said they had stayed silent at the time because no one would have listened. Until 1993 there were no written procedures for handling allegations. When police wanted to question a brother in 1969, the provincial by his own account took him to Dublin that same evening and then to England. The report expressly makes no findings on the culpability of any individual.

Period

1965-1998 (33 years)

Country

Ireland, United Kingdom

Institutions

Brothers of Charity
Holy Family School Galway
Kilcornan Centre Clarenbridge

Category

Violence, Sexual abuse, Cover-up

Level of evidence

A Primary source · what does this mean?

Background

Response of the Church

1. From 1965 to 1993 there were no written procedures for handling allegations. In 1969 a pupil reported abuse by a brother to a school inspector from the Department of Education; the inspector informed the superior and the provincial. The provincial at the time stated that after an anonymous call saying police wanted to question the brother the next day, he drove him to Dublin that evening and arranged his transfer to England, where staff knew nothing of the allegations. Through his solicitors the brother stated that on the same day he was sent to the order's psychiatric hospital in Waterford, stayed there until 1971 and was then transferred to Britain. The order's records of the incident are missing.
   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2

   „This is the period when no written procedures existed.“

   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.1

   „official said that the child made an allegation of sexual abuse to him against a brother“

   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.1

   „him by car to Dublin. He said that he then oversaw his transfer to England, where he was“

   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.1

   „children. He said that staff in the English Centre were unaware of the allegations against“

   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.1

   „sent to the Brothers of Charity Psychiatric Hospital at St. Patrick’s, Belmont Park,“

   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.1

   „He stated that the records relating to the event are“

2. Allegations were handled internally in other cases too. An accused man at the Kilcornan Centre was moved to a retirement home two days after a report; none of the incidents was reported to police or the health board at the time. A lay worker faced three allegations from the late 1970s; a manager considered the first unfounded, partly because the man was a family man, kept no record, and the worker continued working in the service.
   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.2

   „Adult K was removed from Kilcornan to a retirement home two days after the incident“

   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.2

   „None of the incidents concerning Adult K were reported to Gardai or“

   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.3.1

   „The manager knew the accused was a family man“

   Evidence: Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board), Kap. 9.2.3.2

   „The nurse related that Adult T continued to work in the Brothers of Charity Service.“

Original documents to read

1. Government report
   Kevin McCoy im Auftrag des Health Service Executive (früher Western Health Board): Report of Dr Kevin McCoy on Western Health Board Inquiry into Brothers of Charity Services in Galway, 1 January 2007. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.