NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
By Deborah McAleese
PUBLISHED
25/06/2015
Paedophile priest Brendan Smyth threatened to punch another cleric who warned him to stay away from children.
Smyth told Fr William Fitzgerald he was going to “knock (his) head off” when confronted with allegations that he had sexually abused young boys and girls, the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIAI) heard yesterday.
Fr Fitzgerald, who is a member of the Norbertine Order which Smyth belonged to, said that the notorious child abuser turned angry when he told him he was not welcome to assist in altar service.
“I told him that ‘in view of rumours about your sexual activities I will not have you near these kids under my watch’,” Fr Fitzgerald told the court.
He added: “He told me ‘I’ll knock your head off’, and I said ‘make my day, you b*****d’. I’m 18 inches taller than him.”
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