This article is from page 3 of the 2006-03-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
THE Bishop of Killaloe has urged victims of institutional abuse to come forward, after an abuse victim was jailed last week for threatening hospital staff with a fake gun.
Dr Willie Walsh was speaking after homeless man Oliver Boylan was jailed for two years for threatening staff at Ennis General Hospital with an imitation firearm.
Boylan’s barrister told Ennis Circuit Court that his client suffered from ‘horrendous physical and sexual abuse’ in an orphanage in Dublin in the past, and had been unable to deal with this.
The Bishop allowed Boylan to sleep in a shed on his premises in Ennis for the past six months.
He told The Clare People that he was pleased the judge ordered that the accused receive treatment for his alcoholism, while in jail.
“I’d certainly hope he would get the treatment while he is in prison because he does very much need it. I would have found him at an extremely low ebb,” said Dr Walsh, who revealed that Boylan discussed his abuse with him.
“Our prisons should be more about rehabilitation than punishment. There should be more help there for people and the period immediately after release is the most crucial period,” he said.
He believes the abuse suffered by Boylan in the past has played a role in his life going downhill in recent times.
“I would certainly say it [the abuse] is an important factor. All of our lives are so complex it is very hard to put all of our difficulties into one particular experience,” he said.
He is advising victims of abuse to come forward.
“I’d certainly say if somebody has suffered abuse, it would be our policy in the Diocese to welcome people coming to us.
“Some people can live with these things for years and it all comes flooding back to them,” he added.
The Bishop said he did not deserve praise personally, regarding Oliver Boylan.
“He came and knocked on my door and was desperate at the time…I wouldn’t want in any way to say I saved him. I didn’t. At times I felt I…I wouldn’t do anything.
“ I would say there are flaws in the system, but no system, based on rules and regulations can deal with every case,” said the Bishop.
He praised groups like St Vincent de Paul and the Samaritans.
“However, some needs fall beyond that.”