Former pupils of Terenure College who were sexually abused by ex-teacher and rugby coach John McClean have called for an explanation from the school about why the abuse continued for decades and was not stopped.
They also expressed their disappointment at the fact no representative from Terenure College or the Carmelite Order was in attendance in court on Friday as McClean (78) was jailed for four more years for abusing 22 boys. He had already been imprisoned for eight years in 2021 for abusing other pupils. All the abuse took place between the 1970s and 1990s targeting pupils at the south Dublin school.
“When I was in Terenure College the dogs in the street were barking about it never mind the pupils in the school,” said Damien Hetherington (62), one of the victims. “And yet it continued and continued and it was allowed to continue so there has to be questions answered about that.”
Head bowed
He added he had waved his anonymity in 2021 so he could give media interviews urging other former pupils abused by McClean, who kept his head bowed in court and did not look up once, to come forward. He said others had come forward, leading to fresh charges and McClean’s second prison term being imposed on Friday.
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“It’s just a pity it wasn’t done 25 years ago, being held accountable,” Mr Hetherington said. “He’s bent over now, he’s an old man now. He is remorseful I’ll give him that, or maybe it’s just shame. I mean, that’s not much good to all these guys; they were lives turned upside down, you know? He can’t look at the men, the lives that he practically destroyed.
“I think he was actively protected by the school, actively protected by the Carmelites and I think he was actively protected by ... I won’t stay ‘the establishment’, but he was in with the big boys through the rugby.”
Two other victims who gave statements, with 20 others, that resulted in McClean’s imprisonment for a second term on Friday echoed those complaints of little or not contact from Terenure College since they disclosed the abuse they suffered there.
One of those men told The Irish Times McClean’s coaching position in Terenure College’s rugby squad gave him great power and made him very hard to challenge at the time he was abusing so many pupils.
“You can’t separate the status of the school and rugby. The two were one and the same. He was the senior coach, so he had the top job in the school,” he said. “I’ve not had contact from the school since I made the statement and the know who I am. They have my address but I’ve heard nothing from them, no apology, nothing. What I feel about the school is, ‘I’ve dealt with that already’.”
The other victim said had somebody acted on the information about McClean in circulation at the time, he would have been removed as a teacher and rugby coach and many boys, now men, could have been saved.
“They prey on the fact you’re too shameful to speak to anyone, especially as a child it’s the terror that prevents you from saying it to anybody. And soon, as you grow older and more mature, then that terror turns into shame that’s always there. And you want to just forget about it.
“And it really wasn’t until I saw Damien Hetherington in the paper two years ago ... that gave me the impetus to come forward. But it still took me a year. I broke out on the drink, I was getting my nightmares back again. That was a horrid year for me but having spoken to the gardaí, that’s when it started to lift. And then meeting my peers here [in court] for the first time yesterday ... it was gratifying, it was like medicine for me. Now I have brothers that share the same journey as I did.”
‘Wreaked havoc’
After the sentencing on Friday, the Carmelite Order issued a statement, which was also posted on the school website, describing McClean as “a serial abuser who wreaked havoc on the lives of the students that he abused in Terenure College”.
“It was a grave failure that he was not stopped, and for this, we are truly sorry,” added the statement, signed by prior provincial Fr Michael Troy.
The order which ran the school apologised again and said counselling and other services were being offered to the victims, praising their courage in coming forward. The statement added the Carmelites co-operated with the Garda inquiries and urged any other victims to come forward.
