A COUNSELLOR, who is on leave from the priesthood, has sued the head chaplain at a Dublin hospital for defamation of character.
Ciarán Dalton, a former chaplain at Connolly Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown, Co Dublin, has claimed in the Circuit Civil Court that Fr Martin Geraghty had slandered him.
Fr Dalton alleged Fr Geraghty had told a lay chaplain, Caroline Mullen, that money was missing from a fund that had been built up from collections at Masses and that he, Fr Dalton, had taken it.
Ms Mullen told the court Fr Geraghty had passed on this information to her “with a smirk on his face”. Fr Geraghty, who lives in Phibsborough, has denied he made such a statement and told the court yesterday he had never bad mouthed Fr Dalton. He had never spoken in such terms to anyone about Fr Dalton.
Fr Dalton, who resides in Blanchardstown, told the court he had legitimately obtained money from the fund to pay for a two-year counselling course at Trinity College Dublin, where he had obtained a masters degree and had been one of only two graduates to obtain first class honours.
Fr Geraghty said he was head chaplain at the hospital and the fund had been lodged in the Bank of Ireland in his name. It was used for defraying expenses of chaplains who attended day courses, conferences or retreats and for buying gifts for patients. It was funded by collections taken up at Masses in the hospital.
Fr Dalton had obtained leave of absence from the priesthood in 2007 and there had been a tea and buns farewell party for him. Later Fr Geraghty had noticed a large sum of several thousand euro had been paid out of the fund.
Fr Geraghty told Judge Joseph Matthews he became nervous and frightened about the withdrawal and had gone to Bishop Ray Field, his boss and an auxiliary bishop in the Dublin archdiocese, about what he should do. He had been advised to “regularise” the fund and have the money paid back.
The bishop had advised him to deal with two accountants associated with the archdiocese and they had carried out an investigation. It had been discovered the money had been paid to Trinity College and vouched for.
Fr Geraghty said he had telephoned Fr Dalton about the money and Fr Dalton had said, “What’s behind all of this?” He knew he was not going to get anywhere with Fr Dalton and had gone to the bishop about the matter. He was surprised by the size of the withdrawal. It was for a few thousand euro and he was concerned about it. He told the court the fund had been started about 20 years ago when chaplains were paid very poorly. They were now appointed and paid by the Health Service Executive. The money was collected at Saturday and Sunday Masses in the hospital and lodged in the bank.
Fr Geraghty said there was more than €6,000 in the fund up to two weeks ago when the new manager at the Blanchardstown hospital directed it be discontinued and broken up among various charities.
The HSE had not been aware of its existence until the matter of the alleged defamation had occurred.
He told Judge Matthews he had worked in many other hospitals, both in Australia and Ireland, as chaplain and had never known of such a fund anywhere else.
He denied he had been operating “a slush fund” or that he had run at the last minute to the bishop to “cover his tracks”.
Judge Matthews is expected to deliver his judgment on the €38,000 defamation claim by Fr Dalton today.