PacemakerA man who claimed a paedophile priest groomed and abused him at a school in Newry city is to receive £170,000 in damages.
It forms part of a settlement reached in his High Court action over historic physical and sexual assaults inflicted by the late Fr Malachy Finegan.
He will also be given a written apology from the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, his lawyer disclosed.
The 57-year-old man, who cannot be identified, sued the Diocese of Dromore and the Board of Governors at St Colman’s College in Newry over failures to protect him from the priest.
“Malachy Finegan took a vulnerable boy at a vulnerable time in my life, groomed me and then abused me for his own pleasure,” he said after the case settled.
Referred to as CA, he was a pupil at St Colman’s between 1979 and 1985.
During that period Finegan, who taught and worked at the college, molested him under the guise of providing pastoral care, it was claimed.
The priest was accused of a long campaign of child sexual abuse but never prosecuted or questioned by police about claims made against him.
Finegan died in 2002, but in 2018 it emerged that the Diocese of Dromore had settled a previous claim made by one of his alleged victims.
At that stage, the Board of Governors at St Colman’s condemned the physical, sexual and emotional abuse inflicted by Finegan who also served as the school’s president.
Abuse ‘almost cost me my marriage and family’
In court on Monday, lawyers announced the resolution reached in CA’s lawsuit following negotiations.
Mr Justice Rooney was told the action is to be stayed on agreed terms, which include the plaintiff having his legal costs.
Solicitor Claire McKeegan of Phoenix Law, who represented CA, later confirmed: “The terms of the settlement include a payment of £170,000 in damages.”
She said her client is also to receive a letter of apology from Archbishop Eamon Martin on behalf of the diocese.
The settlement does not involve any admission of liability by either defendant.
Speaking outside court, CA described the life-long impact of the abuse he endured.
“I’ve suffered high levels of anxiety, nightmares and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and it almost cost me my marriage and family,” he said.
The man also claimed victims of the priest had been treated “appallingly”.
He added: “I’m able to move on, but I’m left with questions on so many levels about why no action was taken to stop Finegan at the time.”
Meanwhile, four other legal actions related to the campaign of abuse were adjourned until later this week.
