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A former school tutor, Patrick Sharkey, perpetrated sexual abuse against boys on an extensive scale over several decades. Despite two separate complaints made against him, Sharkey continued to have access to pupils at St Joseph’s High School in Coleraine, where he served as a youth tutor from the 1970s until the 1990s. He was eventually sentenced in June to six and a half years in prison after admitting to 132 counts of sexual and indecent assault involving 19 victims. The school itself closed in 2019.
One of Sharkey’s victims, Eamon McLaughlin, recounted how his parents approached the then-principal Dermot McNally following an assault during a weekend trip in Donegal. According to Eamon, rather than immediately involving the authorities, McNally discouraged them from going to the police, citing the expense of a solicitor. Eamon’s experience was not isolated; another boy who shared the same bed with Sharkey on that night, referred to only as “Jack,” also spoke of enduring abuse on previous occasions. Both boys recalled that despite raising concerns with McNally, no action was taken, a situation echoed by other victims who came forward later.
Several of the victims spoke openly about Sharkey’s manipulation and the emotional trauma they faced. Gary Farren, another man abused by Sharkey after the warnings were given to the school, expressed that had the allegations been properly investigated at the time, further abuse could have been prevented. With McNally now deceased, his perspective is unavailable, but the Catholic Council for Maintained Schools condemned Sharkey’s actions as a grave breach of trust and stated that any report of sexual assault should have prompted immediate involvement of police and child protection agencies.
Colm Sharkey, Patrick’s brother, revealed that their mother made a deathbed plea for him to take action against Patrick. He described how he began reporting his brother’s abuses to the Gardaí during the early 1990s, but the case was initially rejected by the Director of Public Prosecutions due to what they deemed unreliable testimony from young witnesses. Decades later, Colm was present in court during Patrick’s sentencing, alongside many victims who supported each other through the lengthy legal process. Gary Farren emphasized that the solidarity among survivors has been invaluable in their journey toward healing
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