Three Offaly schools named in scoping report into alleged historical sexual abuse

There are 16 allegations of sexual abuse at three primary and secondary schools in Offaly.

St Anthony's in Clara run by the Franciscian Brothers, has 11 allegations of abuse and 7 alleged abusers.

The CBS in Tullamore has two allegations of abuse one at primary level and the other at secondary level and one alleged abuser in each case.

St Brendan's NS Birr, run by The Presentation Brothers has three allegations against three alleged abusers.

The information is included in the Scoping Inquiry which the Government set up to inform its response to revelations of historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders.

The report sets out what the survivors of sexual abuse in these schools experienced and the impact on them as children and as adults up to the present day and what they want the Government to do next. The report describe the accounts given as ''distressing and often harrowing to read.''

In total, there are 2,395 allegations of sexual abuse in respect of 308 schools recorded by the religious orders that ran those schools.

The Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee TD, has today (July 8 2025) announced the establishment of a Commission of Investigation into historical sexual abuse in all day and boarding schools.

A Commission of Investigation was the primary recommendation of the Report.The Government has agreed to appoint Mr. Justice Michael MacGrath as the Chair of the Commission.

The Minister said:''Further work is being done to examine the matter of financial redress, and how any future scheme could be funded. This is important to many survivors, that it is viewed as a measure of accountability for those responsible for sexual abuse in schools, and it is important to get this right. All potential levers that can be brought to bear to secure funding from those responsible for sexual abuse in schools must be considered. This is why Government have today agreed to carry out additional work in this area, in parallel with the work of the Commission,'' she said.

She thanked the survivors who participated in the Scoping Inquiry. She said their participation in the Survivor Engagement consultation has opened a national conversation.

''Today is a significant milestone on their journey to finding answers to many of the questions that I know they still have about what happened all those years ago,'' she added.

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