Irish journalism missed the âblindingly obviousâ reality of clerical sex abuse for years until a new generation of reporters began to tell the stories that would go on to engulf society, the veteran broadcaster Vincent Browne said.
Speaking at the launch of Patsy McGarryâs memoir Well, Holy God, Mr Browne praised the former Irish Times correspondentâs role at the forefront of the journalism that would ultimately deliver the truth.
âUs journalists, for the most part, didnât notice what was going on,â he told a large audience at Dublinâs Mansion House on Tuesday. âWe didnât [get the story] and I canât explain why we didnât because it was so blindingly obvious.â
Listing off various scandals Mr Browne described how they had been allowed to go largely unexposed in a society âbrainwashedâ by the omnipotence of the Catholic Church.
âHappily other journalists came along in a different generation and they filled in for us…but the most persistent person in holding the Catholic Church to account was Patsy McGarry.â
Mr McGarry spent over 25 years as Religious Affairs Correspondent of The Irish Times, during which he reported on numerous controversies in an era of systemic institutional abuse and cover up. His time corresponded with the unfolding of scandals including the clerical assault of children; industrial schools; mother and baby homes; and Magdalene laundries.
The memoir is an account of his early life and later work, and at the event Mr McGarry praised the bravery of survivors, many of whom were in attendance.
One in particular, Marie Collins, recounted the pain of stepping forward to tell her story, and explained how it could not have been done without the courageous journalism exemplified by McGarry and others. âThe church leadership thought that its power and authority would silence the survivors. But they reckoned without journalists like Patsy.â
