Finegan Abuse victim secures £400,000 settlement
We act on behalf a 51 year County Down man who was abused by deceased paedophile priest Malachy Finegan over a 3 year period in the mid – 1980s when he was a student at St. Colman’s College Newry. He issued proceedings against the Diocese of Dromore alleging assault battery and trespass to the person. The case started 2 years ago and was due for hearing later this year but after intensive discussions and negotiations, the parties reached a resolution. It is understood the settlement figure is the biggest ever for a victim of abuse by Malachy Finnegan and certainly one of the highest ever for historic abuse generally. The case was settled without any admission of liability.
Speaking after the High court case settled earlier this month Owen Winters of KRW LAW Historic Abuse Redress Dept said, “We have heard so many deeply upsetting narratives from Finegan abuse victims and survivors over the recent past it is hard to believe those accounts could get any worse. But in this particular case the details of the suffering endured by this man reached a new level of depravity. The repeated abuse by Finegan included rape during school hours.
He has had a very traumatic journey to get to this point in his life. He has chosen to keep his anonymity but at some point when the time is right he may think about going public on his plight. That is a deeply personal decision and given the ordeal he was put through as a child he needs some time and space to make that decision. He recognises the need to guard against complacency when it comes to exposing historic clerical abuse and for the wider community to be reminded about just how awful it is for Finegan to have escaped detection and prosecution.”