In a revelation that casts more doubts on the life and reputation of the late Eamonn Casey, a second woman has emerged to claim she had an affair with the former bishop, now cast in disgrace. The late woman, who reportedly had an intimate liaison with Casey while he was serving as a priest in London in the 1960s, was particularly upset that Casey did not recall her when they met in later years. This was revealed in a new memoir discussing the decline of the Catholic Church.
The woman’s attempt to reconnect with him, allegedly known to a high-ranking cleric, was perceived as an elaborate scheme to impede Casey’s re-entry into public ministry in Ireland. Casey was forced to step down as bishop of Galway in 1992 after it came to light he had a child with Annie Murphy, an American divorcée and distant relative. Their son, Peter Murphy, was born in 1974.
Upon his abrupt resignation, Casey took refuge in Ecuador, later served as a hospital chaplain in England, and eventually retreated to a rural district of Co Galway in 2006. However, in the prior year, he was relieved from public service owing to his adult niece, Patricia Donovan’s allegations that he sexually harassed her in her childhood. Donovan recently broke her silence last month in a TV documentary, asserting that her uncle assaulted her at the age of five.
Casey consistently refuted claims of abuse, yet the recent revelations regarding the grave nature of accusations against him raised fresh concerns about the church’s response. Along with Ms Donovan, three other individuals have lodged independent allegations of abuse against him.
Despite Casey being withdrawn from public service by the Vatican, he was neither discharged nor absolved of the allegations of abuse. He was questioned by the police, though no charges were put forth. In 2017, he was honoured with a grand church funeral with the attendance of 11 bishops and numerous priests.
His relationship with Ms Murphy marked the first significant scandal that shook the church, prior to the onslaught of subsequent abuse cases and hidden secrets that damaged the credibility of the clergy.
McGarry narrates the story of a woman from the London incident who confronted him after Casey retreated to Co Galway in light of his early-stage Alzheimer’s. The conversation took place privately, and thus could not be openly discussed by McGarry at the time.
Having received her education within a convent in Ireland, the woman had moved to London in her youth. The controversial relationship between her and Casey developed when she was in her late teens and early twenties and he was in his late thirties to early forties. Their association terminated once he exited London to take up the position of bishop of Kerry, though sporadic communication persisted.
McGarry, who had been debating why Casey hadn’t been reintegrated into public service, met the woman and questioned if bishop of Galway at the time, Martin Drennan, was conscious of their meeting. She affirmed this, leading McGarry to conclude that the bishops were apprehensive of reinstating Casey, due to the potential of past transgressions resurfacing and casting a shadow over their decision.
Despite suspecting that Drennan was attempting manipulation through this woman, McGarry conceded that it was probably justified and plausible that there were further hidden discrepancies in Casey’s past.
Martin Drennan, the bishop mentioned, passed away in 2022.