A Catholic diocese in the north Midlands has apologised to parishioners of a deceased priest for his sexual abuse of an unknown number of children.

Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois Francis Duffy said he had been deeply moved by the accounts of trauma suffered by victims of the late Fr Brendan Hynds.

Hynds served as Administrator of Ballymahon, Co Longford between 1960 and 1972 and as parish priest of Cloghan, Co Offaly from then until his retirement in 1987. He died in 1993.

Bishop Duffy also told mass goers in both parishes he was grateful to survivors for their courage in making their experience known.

According to a statement on the diocesan website, the bishop said that recently he had received an unspecified number of "historical allegations" of child sexual abuse against the late priest.

He said the betrayal of the trust of a child is an appalling act but noted that the priest died over 20 years ago and "so cannot respond to these allegations."

No information was issued to media but the statement was published on the diocesan website last Sunday.

The bishop invited anyone with "a safeguarding concern regarding Fr Hynds" to contact the diocese's Designated Liaison Person, or Towards Healing, a free and confidential church-funded helpline and counselling referral service.

He indicated those with concerns might prefer to report them to the local state-run Child and Family Agency, also called Tusla, or local gardaí.