TONY WALSH: THE EVIL SINGING PRIEST FROM COOLOCK, DUBLIN, SENTENCED TO MULTIPLE YEARS FOR CHILD SEX ABUSE

In July 2022, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court handed down a severe sentence to Tony Walsh, a man notorious for his past as a 'singing priest' and his heinous crimes against young boys. Walsh, aged 72 and originally from Coolock, Dublin, was convicted of multiple counts of indecent assault committed during the 1980s, involving three schoolboys. The court heard harrowing details of his abuse while he served as a curate in Ballyfermot, Dublin, and as a chaplain at De La Salle School in Ballyfermot, where he worked from 1978 to 1986.

Judge Martin Nolan did not hold back in condemning Walsh’s actions, describing his crimes as 'evil.' He emphasized that Walsh, who was defrocked in 1992 and formally dismissed from the priesthood in 1996, had spent approximately 20 years in prison since his initial conviction in 1995. The judge pointed out that the victims in the current case represented a long line of individuals who had suffered at Walsh’s hands, highlighting the gravity and repeated nature of his offenses.

During the court proceedings, it was revealed that Walsh had pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault relating to incidents that occurred between January 1983 and June 1986. One victim recounted how Walsh, who was not a teacher but was well-loved by the children, would come to the school and, on one occasion, follow him into a toilet cubicle where Walsh performed oral sex on him before sending him back to class, dazed and frightened. The same victim described being later anally penetrated in a laneway, with Walsh warning him not to tell anyone, threatening to get him into trouble if he did.

Another victim, a 49-year-old man, provided a detailed account of the lasting impact Walsh’s abuse had on his life. He explained that Walsh would visit the school, calling boys out of class for confessions, during which Walsh would molest and sexually assault them. The man described the profound emotional scars left by the abuse, including nightmares, flashbacks, and feelings of shame that persist to this day. He recounted how Walsh’s visits and assaults severely hindered his academic progress and emotional well-being, affecting his relationships with his wife and children.

In addition to the incidents at Ballyfermot, Walsh also pleaded guilty to abusing a 10-year-old boy in 1982, shortly after the boy’s great-grandmother had died. Walsh took the boy to the parochial house and indecently assaulted him. The court also heard about multiple instances at De La Salle School, where Walsh, during the early 1980s, molested boys aged between seven and ten. These victims described Walsh’s performances as an Elvis impersonator and singing songs, during which he would also molest them in confessional settings.

Walsh’s criminal history is extensive. Since 1995, he has been convicted of 28 counts of indecent assault, five of sexual assault, and five of buggery. In 2010, he received a nine-year sentence for the indecent assault and buggery of several children. During interviews with Gardaí, Walsh admitted to being attracted to boys aged between 10 and 12, despite claiming that some medical conditions would make certain acts difficult for him to perform.

Judge Nolan, in imposing a four-year prison sentence, condemned Walsh for exploiting the trust placed in him and for engaging in a pattern of serious, cumulative misconduct. The judge stated that Walsh’s actions had caused significant harm to his victims, many of whom are now men, and that without intervention, their lives would have been drastically different. The court acknowledged the profound emotional and psychological damage inflicted by Walsh, emphasizing that his crimes were not only morally reprehensible but also deeply damaging to the victims’ lives.

In a related case from July 2016, Walsh, then aged 62 and residing in North Circular Road, Dublin, faced charges of raping a boy with a crucifix and other assaults. Despite denying the allegations, Walsh was found guilty on all counts after a jury trial. Garda Tara Corrigan testified that Walsh had 17 previous convictions dating from 1995 to 2015 for sexually assaulting boys and a girl. Walsh was serving a sentence that would keep him incarcerated until 2021.

Further, Walsh’s history includes a 16-year sentence handed down in December 2010 for abusing three additional victims, with convictions spanning from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. His past convictions include multiple counts of indecent assault, buggery, and sexual misconduct, with some sentences served concurrently and others consecutively. Walsh’s pattern of offending, combined with his history of abuse, underscores the severity of his predatory behavior.

Throughout the court proceedings, Walsh’s defense argued that his client had been out of work since his release and had no current ties to the church. Nonetheless, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, issued a formal apology to Walsh’s victims, expressing regret for the diocese’s slow response in recognizing Walsh’s predatory tendencies. Archbishop Martin emphasized that the diocese is committed to ensuring that no individual like Walsh is allowed to serve in any capacity within Dublin’s church again, and he expressed hope that the legal process would bring some measure of justice, healing, and closure to the victims and their families.