IRELAND
Wexford People
By Maria Pepper
May 27 2017
A new Netflix documentary series ‘The Keepers’ which was released last weekend, has broadcast harrowing descriptions of sex abuse allegedly carried out by the deceased American priest, Fr. Joseph Maskell who spent over three years living in Wexford where he worked as a psychologist for the former South Eastern Health Board.
During his time in Wexford from approximately late 1994 to 1998, Fr. Maskell lived in Castlebridge and worked for about eight months as a clinical psychologist for the SEHB (now the Health Service Executive) which referred children to him for assessment. He later spent about three years in private practice at an office in Common Quay Street.
During his stay, the Diocese of Ferns became aware of his activities and contacted the Archdiocese of Baltimore for information, subsequently notifying the SEHB and the gardai about the risks of him having access to children.
The HSE has refused to release any information about Fr. Maskell due to a data protection policy relating to current and former employees although at the time, it informed the Diocese that Fr. Maskell had given an assurance not to work with anyone under the age of 18.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.