
Video: Funeral of disgraced Bishop Brendan Comiskey takes place in Clondalkin
The funeral of disgraced Bishop Brendan Comiskey, who resigned over criticism of his role in investigating allegations of clerical sexual abuse, has been buried today.
The funeral of the 89 year old took place earlier today at the Church of the Sacred Heart on St Johns Drive in Clondalkin, Dublin.
Predeceased by his parents, two sisters and seven brothers, the holy man ended his career in disgrace after the Ferns Report revealed the true extent of the abuse inflicted on kids in the care of the church.
Soon after the report was made public, the Monaghan native retreated from public life as it emerged that Comiskey had failed to protect children from paedophile priests and failed to report allegations that Fr Seán Fortune had abused a number of children.
The Ferns report found that Comiskey had "failed to recognise the paramount need to protect children, as a matter of urgency, from potential abusers".
Born in August 1935, Dr Comiskey was originally from Clontibret in Co Monaghan and was ordained a priest in 1961.
He became Bishop of Ferns back in 1984, aged just 49. He would serve in the role for 18 years, through what is widely regarded as one of the darkest periods of the Catholic Church.
Speaking to the Irish Independent in 2014 about the clerical abuse scandal, he said: 'I did my best and it wasn't good enough and that's it.'
In recent years, Bishop Comiskey had been under the care of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Ranelagh in Dublin.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Man who had conviction overturned for intentionally or recklessly infecting women with HIV is deported
The Ugandan man was deported from Ireland on Tuesday on a commercial flight, it is understood. He was deported because his asylum application was rejected and he was no longer legally permitted to remain in Ireland, sources told the Irish Independent. In December 2023, his conviction for causing serious harm to two partners by intentionally or recklessly infecting them with HIV was quashed by the Supreme Court. The 2018 case was the first prosecution of its kind in this State. The man was sentenced to 10 years in jail. His appeal against his conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in 2022. But the Supreme Court later found there were flaws with how the trial judge guided the jury on the scientific analysis of samples of the virus taken from the three individuals, as well as the personal witness evidence. He denied the charges against him. His 2018 circuit court trial was told he commenced a relationship with both women in 2009 and was 'reluctant' to use contraception and had unprotected sex. A later analysis of the man's medical records revealed that he was diagnosed with HIV in 2008 and had received treatment, advice and medication. The court heard he was advised not to have unprotected sex and was prescribed anti-retroviral medication, which should have eliminated his symptoms and rendered him non-infectious. However, a 2010 screening showed he had a positive viral load, suggesting he was not taking his medication, the court was told. He had pleaded not guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the women on dates between November 2009 and June 2010.


Sunday World
4 days ago
- Sunday World
Father of Kirsty Ward ‘very disappointed' by 15 year sentence handed to killer boyfriend
Today it emerged that former soldier Keith Byrne (34) from Duleek, Co Meath, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison The father of Kirsty Ward, who was murdered in a Spanish hotel two years ago, has revealed that the Spanish Public Prosecutor is appealing the sentence handed down to her former boyfriend. Today it emerged that former soldier Keith Byrne (34) from Duleek, Co Meath, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of Kirsty Ward (36) with time off for the two years he has already spent in custody. Speaking to the Irish Independent outside his home in Dundrum, her father John said that in their family's opinion the judge who imposed sentence had 'moved to a lower band' than what the jury had decided in their verdict last May. 'This should not have happened,' Mr Ward said. Sentencing judge Susana Calvo Gonzalez said in a lengthy ruling that the convicted killer's consumption of alcohol and drugs before he murdered the mother-of-one diminished his cognitive faculties and was a prevailing mitigating factor. 'He (Byrne) never even offered that as a defence in the trial,' Mr Ward told the Irish Independent, before saying that his family 'feel very disappointed' by the sentence. Keith Byrne Adding that the leniency of the sentence is now being appealed by the Spanish authorities, Mr Ward said that his family had known about the sentencing judgement for four weeks. After Byrne's conviction private prosecutor Estela Cortes called for a 30-year-sentence for the murderer, and Mr Ward said this sentence is what the family think is appropriate in the case. When asked about the trial process earlier this year in the Spanish city of Tarragona, Mr Ward said he found it 'dreadful'. He said that Byrne has shown 'no remorse' and that throughout the three week trial where he sat near Kirsty's family in court he appeared 'very confident and very self-assured". 'We have not gained anything by what has happened,' Mr Ward added. Sentencing judge Susana Calvo Gonzalez ruled the fact that Byrne and his 36-year-old partner had been in a stable eight-month relationship made the crime more serious. Public prosecutor Javier Goimil, a domestic violence specialist, dismissed Byrne's court claim that Ms Ward took her own life during his closing speech to the jury on the final day of the murder trial. He claimed the former soldier decided "you're mine or you're nobody's" and strangled his girlfriend to death with a hair straightener power cord because she wanted out of their relationship. Kirsty's mother Jackie Ward gave evidence during the trial in April. Ms Ward said her beloved daughter's trip to Spain was a 'make or break' holiday. She told the court that she found out after her daughter's death that she was going to leave him. She recalled her daughter's state of mind in the lead-up to the incident in the four-star hotel on July 2, 2023. "She was not herself. She was not happy the morning she left," she said. "I could tell as her mother when she left that there was something not right. "I said to my sisters, 'I really wish she wasn't going away this week', and I don't know why I said that, but I know she was not in a good place and she was not happy." Asked if her daughter had confided that she was having problems with Byrne before the holiday in the Costa Dorada resort of Salou, she said: "I didn't know it at that time. She didn't say anything to me going. "But I knew it wasn't right. I didn't like him. I didn't trust him. "Afterwards, I found out from friends and colleagues she worked with that there were issues, that she had decided it was the make-or-break holiday, that she was going to leave him." She was asked whether she thought her daughter could have died by suicide, to which she replied: 'She did everything for her son. She would never, ever leave him. She would never do that to him.' In the aftermath of the murder Byrne was remanded in custody after he appeared before a special court in Tarragona that deals with violence against women in a closed hearing. Just over a week later he claimed that he had no involvement in Ms Ward's death in a video, brazenly shot in his prison cell. In the video in which he addressed a number of family members and friends directly, the murderer said: 'Obviously you know that I didn't do it because (inaudible) found the girl dead,' he said. 'The truth will come out', he said, before claiming that Ms Ward was dead for a number of hours before he found her. 'And then the newspapers will all eat their words but listen I love you all very much and just keep this video because everyone will watch it. I love you right, with all my heart,' Byrne continued. The video ends with Byrne blowing a kiss and saying 'see ye all soon' - not once in the recording did he mention his victim by name. Murder victim Kirsty Ward News in 90 Seconds - July 24th


Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Teenager due in court in Westmeath after string of cars targeted in multiple criminal damage episode
The suspect, who is in his late teens, was arrested by gardaí yesterday following a string of incidents that took place in Kinnegad over the course of Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday morning. It's understood gardaí are also investigating attempts were made to break-in to a number of the cars which were targeted with inquiries ongoing into a vehicle which was the subject of an unauthorised taking episode. The Irish Independent understands gardaí were able to make significant headway with an investigation that kicked into action shortly after the alarm was raised. Those efforts saw gardaí quickly establish a definite line of inquiry which resulted in the man's arrest. He was subsequently questioned by detectives and later charged ahead of an anticipated court appearance in Mullingar this morning. 'Gardaí investigating a number of incidents of criminal damage that occurred in Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath on Monday night (July 21) and the early hours of Tuesday (July 22) arrested a male in connection with this investigation,' a garda spokesperson confirmed. 'The man, aged in his late teens, was detained at a Garda station in Westmeath under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. 'He has since been charged and is due to appear before Mullingar District Court on Thursday morning, July 24 2025.'