Call for secret vote to rescind Freedom of Drogheda from former head of Christian Brothers

A vote next month to remove the Freedom of Drogheda from the former head of the Christian Brothers, Edmund Garvey (78), should be held in secret because of the level of “aggro” it has created, the town’s mayor has said.

Eileen Tully, a Fine Gael councillor with Louth County Council, said there was “murder” when the issue was discussed last month and likened the proposed rescinding of the honour, which was awarded in 1997, to “a public flogging”.

A motion to remove the freedom of the town from the Drogheda native is to be voted on by the 10 members of the Drogheda municipal district on Monday, September 4th. The motion calls for the rescinding because of the strategy adopted by the brothers in the courts when plaintiffs are seeking damages from the order for historical child sex abuse.

The strategy, which is legal, makes it extremely difficult for plaintiffs to progress their cases and was adopted when Br Garvey was head of the order. He was replaced as leader last year, but there has been no change in the strategy.

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“I think there is a lot of aggro about this, a lot of dissension in the council, and I think it should be a secret vote,” said Ms Tully.

While she felt sorry for those who had been abused, she didn’t see the point of removing the Freedom of Drogheda from Br Garvey. “Is rescinding the Freedom of Drogheda going to make one iota of difference to what [victims] are trying to get out of the order” through the courts? she asked.

Michelle Hall of the Labour Party, who was mayor of Drogheda up to June, said she had not yet decided how she would be voting. “It is a very big decision to make, to decide to rescind the Freedom of Drogheda. It hasn’t happened before.”

Ms Hall, the interim chair of the Rape Crisis Centre North East, was written to last year by Dublin city councillor Damian O’Farrell on behalf of plaintiffs who are suing the order about rescinding the Freedom of Drogheda from Br Garvey.

In her response, Ms Hall said she had consulted with nine members of the Drogheda borough and none were in favour of bringing such a motion “including myself”.

A request for a comment from Br Garvey met with no response.