DROMORE (UNITED KINGDOM)
The Irish News [Belfast, Northern Ireland]
December 22, 2025
By Conor Coyle
The PSNI has previously used a policy of Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND) to refuse to answer whether deceased Catholic priest Malachy Finegan had been used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary as an agent
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has received a fresh challenge from a clerical abuse victim to reveal whether a prolific paedophile priest had been a protected RUC informer.
The PSNI has previously used a policy of Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND) to refuse to answer whether deceased Catholic priest Malachy Finegan had been used by the RUC as an agent.
However, following the final publication of the Kenova Report into the actions of the British agent known as Stakeknife last week, Mr Boutcher said the report made a “compelling case” for the reform of NCND and that “absolute secrecy cannot be guaranteed for agents who commit serious crimes”.
Depraved priest Finegan was a former president of St Colman’s College in Newry, abusing boys under his care and later did so as parish priest of Clonduff in Hilltown, Co Down.
It is believed that around 12 young boys were targeted at St Colman’s by Finegan, who died in 2002, while many more were physically assaulted.
Five former pupils who claimed Finegan groomed and abused them at St Colman’s received combined damages of £1.2m at the High Court in Belfast in October, while several more victims have received six-figure settlements to be paid by the Diocese of Dromore and the Board of Governors at St Colman’s College in Newry.
Tony Gribben, one of those victims who received an apology from the Catholic Church and a six-figure sum for the historic sexual and physical assaults he suffered at the hands of Finegan, has written to the Chief Constable to challenge him to confront allegations that the priest had received state protection.
Mr Gribben represents the Dromore Group, a group of survivors of clerical sexual abuse and their families, and had previously challenged the PSNI on its NCND policy in a judicial review, which was rejected by the High Court.
In the letter to Mr Boutcher, seen by the Irish News, Mr Gribben said the continued use of NCND in the case of “Ireland’s most prolific clerical child sex abuser” raised questions over how Finegan’s abuse went “undetected” for three decades.
“Finegan goes down as Ireland’s most prolific clerical child sex abuser. The question is how did Finegan manage such a sustained campaign of sexual violence against young boys? And how did he go undetected by the NI police for 30 years despite so many red flags?,” the letter asks.
“We are particularly concerned that in 2019, the Police Service of Northern Ireland informed KRW Law it could ‘neither confirm, nor deny’ (NCND) that during the Troubles Finegan was an informant. And by inference, Finegan would have had cover to pursue his sexual interests.
“In its efforts to get to truth, transparency and accountability for the sexual and other human rights’ violations of young boys during the dark period of the Troubles, The Dromore Group continues to seek answers regarding Finegan’s extended period of sexual abuse and particularly on his relationship, if any, with the Northern Irish security machine.”
Mr Gribben went on to welcome the Chief Constable’s comments on the need for reform of NCND, a policy he believes is an “affront to justice and democracy”.
“The Dromore Group welcomes your recent announcement on the need for reform of NCND policy in response to Kenova, as regards public confidence in policing and government.
“As it stands, the Dromore Group sees the NCND policy of the PSNI as an instrument to further undermine those sexually abused as children. It also considers the NCND policy and practice as an affront to justice and democracy.”
Solicitor Kevin Winters of KRW Law, who acts for Mr Gribben, said the PSNI should “take the lead” on its own policy of neither confirming nor denying whether Finegan was an informer.
“The issues around Malachy Finegan and whether he was an informant have not gone away,” Mr Winters said.
“This is a deeply sensitive issue for all of the victims of clerical abuse. While I welcome the Chief Constable’s comments around reform of NCND, the PSNI should take the lead in their own cases where they continue to use this policy.
“Tony and other victims of clerical abuse deserve greater transparency and accountability in how they were allowed to suffer such abuse.”
A spokesperson for the PSNI said: “A letter has been received by the office of the Chief Constable. Time will be taken to consider its contents and a response to its sender given in due course.”
Mr Boutcher said, following the publication of the final Operation Kenova report last week, that he had been frustrated by the “disproportionate and totemic” use of NCND by the UK government.
Scappaticci led the IRA’s internal security unit, which was linked to dozens of murders and abductions, many of which were allowed to proceed even though his military handlers were fully aware of what was happening.
“I am also frustrated by the Government’s failure to support our efforts to address the disproportionate and totemic approach to the way the ‘Neither Confirm Nor Deny’ or NCND policy – on the identification of state agents – is applied to Troubles-related cases, preventing families from receiving information that, both morally and legally, they are entitled to.
“The Kenova final report makes a compelling case for reforming the application of NCND. It sets out that absolute secrecy cannot be guaranteed for agents who commit serious crimes and that those who do should not be protected at the expense of justice, accountability and public confidence. “The implications of NCND are profound. Its blanket application and the failure to depart from it in exceptional cases such as Stakeknife: denies victims and families the truth and thereby perpetuates their suffering; fuels conspiracy theories; hinders investigations and prosecutions; undermines trust in policing, the criminal justice process