By Mary Murphy
The Kingdom
February 6, 2010
http://www.the-kingdom.ie/news/story/?trs=mhcwojauau
 |
HELEN McGonigle was just six-yearsold when she was first assaulted by notorious paedophile priest Brendan Smyth in the US state of Rhode Island.
And, she claims, it was her Kerry connections and strong family links to the church that allowed the manipulative Smyth to enter her life.
42-years on, McGonigle is now a US-based solicitor and vocal advocate seeking justice for all victims of clerical abuse. But she still continues to count the cost of the evil Smyth’s abuse of members of her now devastated family which saw her older brother and sister both die as a result of drug overdoses.
Reflecting this week on a very turbulent time in her childhood, when she spoke to The Kingdom from her US base, McGonigle said it can be traced right back to her ancestry. Her grandfather Cornelius O’Connor was born in Ballyhorgan, Listowel while her grandmother Mary Ellen (Nellie) Moyneaux was also from Listowel.
"It was because my grandmother, Nellie from Listowel, was living with us at the time in Rhode Island that Smyth initially formed a relationship with my family," McGonigle told The Kingdom.
"They were able to converse in Gaelic – something foreign to us in the US," she added.
"Being from a family of clerics. Nellie encouraged my mom to have the house blessed. That was how Smyth first came to our house – to bless it and leaving behind a crucifix which I’m certain is from his Norbertine Abbey at Kilnacrott," she recalled on Monday.
Smyth moved quickly to exploit the family and he ruthlessly targeted the young children in the house.
"It was our Irish roots and connections to the clergy that resulted in Smyth becoming a part of our lives," she said.
Six-year-old Helen was only a schoolgirl in 1965 when Smyth was sent to the parish in East Greenwich Rhode Island, but she could never have imagined the dreadful impact his arrival would have on her and her family.
It left a lasting legacy not only McGonigle who was abused over a four-year period from 1967 to 1971 but her sister Kathleen who was also sexually abused by the monster cleric while he was supposedly preparing her for the sacraments.
The abuse didn’t emerge, however, until 2005 when Kathleen took her own life, at the age of 48, by overdosing on anti-depressants.
Helen McGonigle also blames Smyth for the death, also by overdose, of her brother Gerard, who she describes as a collateral victim of the abuse.
Her mother, Margaret, also spent time in a mental institution before her death as a result of the stress brought on the family by the abuse perpetrated by Smyth.
"It was because I observed my sister rapidly deteriorating and feared for her life that I began my investigation into the past about our childhood in Rhode Island," McGonigle revealed.
She had repressed the memory of Smyth’s abuse, but as soon as she lifted the lid she found herself re-living not only her own abuse and her sister’s experiences but also those of a number of local children targeted by the notorious paedophile.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.