NORTHERN IRELAND
RTE News
An institutional abuse inquiry in Northern Ireland has heard that gardaí were aware of the activities of paedophile priest Brendan Smyth as far back as the early 1970s.
Confidential documents revealed at the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry in Banbridge show that Smyth asked to be admitted for treatment at St Patrick’s Psychiatric Hospital in Dublin after he came to the attention of gardaí in 1973.
The documents also reveal that Smyth had been diagnosed as a paedophile in 1973.
Medical notes revealed Smyth was prescribed medication in the hope it would have a dampening effect on his libido.
The notes also showed he was regarded as being a “little bit crazy” and having “a screw loose”.
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