Cardinal Desmond Connell

Desmond Connell was ordained priest by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid on 19 May 1951. He served as Archbishop of Dublin from March 1988 to April 2004 - immediately before the present incumbent Diarmuid Martin. (He was appointed Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in February 2001). The then retired Cardinal was heavily criticised in the Report by Judge Murphy in November 2009 on how authorities in the Archdiocese had dealt with allegations of child abuse.

Cardinal Connell had in fact, tried to balance the needs of genuine victims of child abuse against the rights of accused priests to be considered innocent until proven guilty. (His successsor was to ignore the latter consideration).

In an article in the Irish Times on 9 April 2002, Frank McNally wrote:
Dr Connell's final riposte as he left the room was almost a cry of pain. "You people," he began, before correcting himself with a sigh. "I'm very sorry, I shouldn't say 'you people'. But you come along and treat us as if we were utterly indifferent to what was going on. And I have gone through agonies over this thing."

Archbishop Desmond Connell on the Media, Politicians and the Church - 15 February 1996

Archbishop Connell - Irish Times 22 December 1997

Father Ivan Payne and Archbishop Connell - January 1998

Connell - Hostility to Church - Irish Times Nov 1998

Church of Ireland Gazette `Astonished' Partner Travels with Ahern, Irish Times - 11 December 1998

Prof John A. Murphy on why Archbishop Desmond Connell was Created Cardinal, Sun Independent - 28 Jan 2001

Cardinal Defends Marriage (Bertie Ahern and Celia Larkin) - 15 May 2001

Cardinal Apologises For Remarks on Church of Ireland Archbishop Empey - 1 November 2001

Connell - I Am As Human As Any of You - Irish Times 9 April 2002

Connell's Calvary, Sunday Business Post - 14 April 2002

Cardinal's Apology 'Pretaliation' as per Liam Reid in Sunday Tribune - 6 October 2002

Cardinal Connell's Statement following Prime Time Programme [Cardinal Secrets], 18 October 2002