The Rape Crisis Network yesterday accused poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh of trying to deliberately confuse allegations about sexual exploitation of boys in Nepal with his gay lifestyle.
In a statement this week, Mr Ó Searcaigh said he was sorry if his gay lifestyle had offended anyone, but said it was "distasteful and untrue" to suggest that he in any way coerced or preyed upon young men in Nepal.
However, Fiona Neary of the Rape Crisis Network said the poet's sexuality had nothing to do with what appeared to be the "sexual exploitation and grooming" of 16-year-old boys trapped in poverty. "To deliberately and intentionally confuse the sexual exploitation of boys in a poverty-stricken country with a 'gay lifestyle' is insulting to gay men and women, and a ploy to confuse matters," she said.
"Had his sexual exploitation involved 16-year-old girls, whom he befriended outside their place of education while providing much-needed money for their education to continue, the Rape Crisis Network would be issuing the same statement."
He had used the "appearance of an apology" to continue to blur the boundaries.
Mr Ó Searcaigh has insisted that his relationships in Nepal have always been open, loving and above board.Allegations about the poet's relationships with teenage boys in Nepal first surfaced following the screening of Fairytale of Kathmandu, a documentary on the poet's charitable work in Nepal.