The late Manus O’Riordan submitted a letter to the Irish Times which comprehensively demolished O’Toole’s account of de Valera’s speech on the burial of Roger Casement in Glasnevin. The “paper of record” as is its wont, refused to publish it. O’Riordan’s father Mchael, formerly of the IRA and a hero of the International, Brigade, was interned by Dev, and a lesser man than Manus might have let any slights on Dev go unchallenged. And Manus was hardly a fan of Archbishop McQuaid, who had forbidden the faithful to vote for the Communist Michael.
This week O’Toole repeated an unsubstantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by the late Archbishop, admitting it was unsubstantiated, but in such a way as to smear McQuaid.
But O’Toole went further. He said that McQuaid had appointed a paedophile priest to a Crumlin parish. Crumlin is O’Toole’s home patch
In fact the appointment was made by Archbishop Dermot Ryan who succeeded McQuaid in 1972 and died in 1984.
The IRISH TIMES was supportive of Ryan. I mentioned to a priest friend of mine, a good pastor, a conservative but not very intellectual man in the Lancaster Diocese, that Ryan got a good press.
“He’s a shit, and most of the priests in Dublin think so” he said. Father Dave, who died a few weeks ago, was not given to rude language, or condemnation of anyone.
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