IRELAND
Irish Independent
On the 20th anniversary of the serial abuser’s admission of his crimes, Liam Collins retraces the scandal that shook Ireland to the top
Liam Collins
July 23 2017
It is high summer in Kilnacrott, Co Cavan. Not even the ominous evergreen trees that surround the one-time Norbertine house and its small graveyard can darken this glorious summer’s day.
On a country road near the village of Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, there is a grotto to the left of the entrance gates, but the statue of the Virgin Mary has been “removed for maintenance” and a sign declares that this is now a ‘Soul Sanctuary.’ Ignoring a garish blue sign tacked to one of the trees declaring ‘Private Grounds’, I cross a stile and walk up the pathway to where the most notorious paedophile in the Irish Catholic church’s sorry history of abuse is buried.
Apart from the distant drone of a tractor saving hay, there is a stillness and silence that belies the harsh reality of one man’s notorious life.
Can you feel evil?
Not on the short walk from the gate to the graveside.
To the left, is the large modern complex bearing a white cross that the priests deserted in 2015, leaving the building now known as Holy Trinity Abbey and, to the right, a rectangular formation of graves.
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