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MARY RAFTERY AND FALSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST GARDAI
Added to www.alliancesupport.org on February 3, 2007The witch-hunt involving false allegations of child abuse was first directed against the Catholic Church but has since spread to every section of society. A year or two ago I was speaking to a nurse who did not particularly approve of what I am doing. However she told me that even female nurses have to take care never to be alone with children. I was slightly surprised (nothing REALLY surprises me nowadays) because I thought that women would be fairly safe. However not even the Gardai are safe from false allegations of child abuse.
The first two news items underneath refer to a teenager who accused a Garda of rape because she was "besotted" with him! It is indicated that she suffers from mental illness. However, since when have mentally ill people made false sexual allegations against Gardai? Only since they have been given the idea by leading journalists and abuse activists.
The third item indicates how an attack by Mary Raftery on the Sisters of Charity ended by involving two Garda Sergeants who had volunteered to help children in St Joseph's orphanage in the 1970s. (No wonder that it is so difficult to get volunteers to work with children today!)
In a court case in February 2005 Raymond Noctor claimed that he had told Sister Conception about sexual abuse at a 1975 meeting which was also attended by Bishop Peter Birch and by Sergeant John Tuohy and Sergeant Eddie Geraghty who were working in a voluntary capacity in St. Josephs. This claim was rejected by Justice Finnegan in his judgement dated 1st March 2005. Two days later Mary Raftery repeated the allegation in her column in the Irish Times. She did not disagree with Justice Finnegan. She simply ignored his judgement!
Mary Raftery was acting out of hatred of the Catholic Church. However her thuggish allegations inevitably involved lay people also, including the Gardai. In the 1960s and 70s Bishop Birch did a great deal to draw lay people into the work of the Church, especially in its services to the poor and the marginalised in society. The influence of Mary Raftery and her like has been entirely destructive.
Rory Connor
1st February 2007
(1) Sentencing of Woman who Falsely Claimed Garda Rape Adjourned
Irish Independent, 18 May 2004 by Ralph Riegel
SENTENCING of a young woman who had lodged false rape and sexual assault claims against a veteran garda was adjourned yesterday so that the judge could determine what treatment might be available to her.
Judge Sean O'Donnabhain remanded Eleanor Kelleher (21), to appear again before Cork Circuit Criminal Court today for sentencing on a charge of levelling a false rape claim against the garda.
Judge O'Donnobhain said he also wanted to determine whether the psychiatric condition Ms Kelleher has been treated for could be linked to her offence against the garda.
The court heard that she had been fantasising about him and had a fixation about setting up home with him.
The false claims by Kelleher (21), of Aisling, Killard, Blarney, Co Cork, sparked a huge Garda investigation in Cork and resulted in a transfer for the married garda while the case was being examined.
The 21-year's old false and malicious allegations were only discovered to be untrue when she claimed she had been sexually assaulted by the garda in his home and then pointed out the wrong house to investigating officers.
In the course of her detailed claims against the garda, she gave a specific physical description of him which also proved to be totally inaccurate.
Last month, she pleaded guilty before Judge O'Donnabhainin to making false statements to the gardai contrary to Section 12 of the Criminal Law Act.
The court heard that she had a long-term fixation with the garda and made up the false claims because she wanted him to leave his wife and children for her.
Inspector Denis O'Shea said the defendant, who was then 18, arrived at a garda station with her mother in 2001 and levelled serious claims against the serving garda.
The garda and the Cork station to which he is attached cannot be identified by direction of Judge O'Donnabhain.
(2) 'Besotted' Teenager Lied that Garda had Raped Her
Irish Independent, 29 April 2004 by Ralph Riegel
A CORK teenager who fantasised about a garda made false rape and sex assault claims against him in the hope he would abandon his wife and children for her.
The false claims by Eleanor Kelleher, now aged 21, of Aisling, Killard, Blarney, Co Cork, sparked a huge investigation - and resulted in a humiliating transfer for the married garda while the case was being examined.
The woman's allegations were only discovered to be untrue when she claimed she had been sexually assaulted by the garda in his home, and then pointed out the wrong house to investigating officers.
In the course of her detailed claims against the garda, she gave a physical description of him - which also proved inaccurate.
Yesterday, she pleaded guilty before Judge Sean O Donnabhainin Cork Circuit Criminal Court to making false statements to the Gardai contrary to Section 12 of the Criminal Law Act.
The garda and the station to which he is attached cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The court heard that she had a long-term fantasy about the married garda and made up the claims because she wanted him to leave his wife and children.
Inspector Denis O'Shea told the court that the defendant - then aged 18 - claimed that she had been raped, sexually assaulted, and assaulted by the garda over a five-year period.
Throughout the probe, the garda vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
When Ms Kelleher was finally confronted with discrepancies in her statement, she admitted the allegations were untrue.
Insp O'Shea said the garda was held in very high regard by the force and had been subjected to "false and malicious claims."
"He is a very proud family man. He is rated very highly by the Garda Siochana and he is very respected in his community where he is deeply involved in voluntary groups and sporting associations," he added.
Tim O'Leary BL, for the defence, pointed out that Ms Kelleher had attended an acute psychiatric unit on a number of occasions and was now on strong anti-psychotic medication.
He submitted that sentencing should be adjourned until a detailed psychiatric report was available to the court.
Judge O Donnabhain warned that the false claims were "very, very serious" and said he also had to bear in mind the suffering the garda was put through.
He adjourned sentencing until May 17, and directed that a psychiatric report be available then.
(3) Mary Raftery, Sister Stanislaus and Accusing the Gardai
Irish Times, 22 December 1999 - Suffer the Little Children
Sir - In relation to the recent controversy regarding whether or not Sister Stan knew about sexual abuse in Kilkenny in the late 1970s I would like to put the record straight.
I was the childcare worker referred to in the States of Fear programme and in the book Suffer the Little Children, who resigned from St. Joseph's Kilkenny in 1977.
I did not tell Sr Stan at any stage that children were being sexually abused in St. Joseph's because I myself was unaware that sexual abuse was occurring.
It was in 1995/1996 that I got my first inkling that children had been sexually abused in 1977, almost 20 years after it is alleged that I told Sr Stan.
It is my belief today, as it was then, that Sister Stan did everything she could in 1977 regarding the children in St. Joseph's.
Yours etc
EDWARD MURPHY
Westfield
Kilkenny
COMMENT:
On several occasions Mary Raftery has claimed that Sister Stanislaus failed to take action on a complaint of sexual abuse made to her concerning St. Joseph's, Kilkenny in the 1970s. When faced with the evidence of Edward Murphy, Mary Raftery said that her claim is based on a statement made by Sister Stanislaus to the Garda in 1995. Sister Stan has repeatedly explained that, in her statement she was she was speaking about sexual abuse with the wisdom of hindsight, but that she had so such suspicions at the time. Mary Raftery appears to believe that Sister Stan told the truth in her statement to the Gardai but subsequently told lies about it. Does she believe that social worker Edward Murphy is also lying? Or maybe she think that he did not know about sexual abuse in 1977 but Sister Stan did?
In the case of Raymond Noctor -v.-The Attorney General and Others, the President of the High Court accepted that the nuns did not know about sexual abuse in the 1970s. Raymond Noctor claimed that he told Sister Conception about sexual abuse at a meeting which was also attended by Bishop Birch and by two Garda Sergeants who were working in a voluntary capacity in St. Josephs. The judge did not accept that such a meeting took place. Among other things, he pointed out that in 1995 one of these Sergeants took the initial statement from Raymond Proctor in relation to sexual abuse and this statement makes no reference to the alleged meeting 20 years before.
The judgement of Justice Finnegan is dated 1st March 2005. Two days later Mary Raftery repeated her allegations against Sister Stanislaus and Sister Conception. She did not take issue with the judgement of Justice Finnegan. She simply ignored it!
Does Mary Raftery believe that Sergeant Tuohy and Sergeant Geraghty were also lying when they denied that the meeting had taken place? She does not say this in her article. Is she afraid of a libel suit or could it be that her hatred is directly SOLELY against the Catholic Church?
(from www.voicesemerge.org and www.alliancesupport.org)