A retired parish priest has secured leave from the High Court to seek an order restraining his trial on 76 charges of indecent assault on seven young girls on dates between 1956 and 1961.
In an affidavit given to Mr Justice Smith yesterday, the Catholic priest, who is in his late 80s, said the lapse of time between the date of the first alleged offence and the date of the current proceedings was 44 years while the passage of time from the last-mentioned date in the criminal charges was 39 years.
This lapse of time was unconscionable, excessive and unfair and prejudiced his ability to defend himself, he argued. Five witnesses - two parish priests, a nun and two gardai - who could have been available to him for his defence, were now deceased.
The priest said he underwent major heart surgery some years ago and had been told that if he survived, he would suffer from diminished powers of memory and concentration for a number of years. These affected his ability to defend himself and would contribute to his being deprived of a fair trial, he argued.
Many of the offences with which he was charged were alleged to have occurred in "very public places" and on some occasions during "public occasions". The failure to be specific also prejudiced his ability to prepare his defence and be given a fair trial.
Mr Justice Smith, granting a stay of the trial pending the outcome of the judicial review challenge, said there were arguable grounds for believing that the delay in bringing proceedings could be unfair.