Man abused by former GAA official is awarded €272,910

A man who suffered chronic post-traumatic stress disorder after he was sexually abused as a child by his national school teacher, a former Ulster Council secretary of the GAA, has been awarded €272,910 damages by a High Court jury.

The award was made against Michael Feeney (73), of Ballybay, Co Monaghan, who pleaded guilty in November 2000 to charges of sexual abuse and was jailed for three years.

After hearing evidence on Tuesday from the 56-year-old victim, a father of two, and from a psychologist and a psychiatrist, and submissions yesterday from counsel for both sides, the jury began to consider their verdict.

They decided to award the man €136,910 damages for personal injuries to date and into the future and a further €136,000 in aggravated damages.

Earlier, during his closing address to the jury, Seán Moylan SC, for the plaintiff, said that while the case was about compensation, it was also about lost innocence, lost childhood, and a life spent in rage. Forty years later, his client was still suffering because of the actions Feeney had carried out on him.

Even up to last Tuesday morning, Feeney was still hiding behind the law - in that he was pleading the action for damages was brought outside the legal time limit - and not accepting responsibility in the matter, counsel said. In those circumstances, the plaintiff was entitled to aggravated damages.

Roderick O'Hanlon SC, for Feeney, said the jury was being asked only to assess the amount of damages due. Feeney had acknowledged he was liable and should compensate for the injuries the plaintiff suffered.

After the jury decision, Mr Justice Éamon de Valera gave judgment for €272,910 and also awarded costs to the plaintiff.

The court was told the plaintiff, who has serious health problems, was a pupil at Ballybay boys' national school from 1956 to 1958.

He said that in the course of teaching, Feeney would sit beside him in his desk and fondle his genitals. He was unable to discuss the abuse with his family or anyone else and only told his wife about it in 1996 when criminal proceedings against Feeney were initiated. As a child he had difficulties passing water and felt the pains he was getting then were because of what Feeney did but he felt unable to tell anyone. He later lost a kidney.

Evidence was given that the plaintiff suffered from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.