A former senior GAA official who indecently and sexually assaulted 11 children over a 21year period from 1957 to 1978 was jailed for three years yesterday.
Former Ulster Council secretary Michael Feeney (68), a father of seven, of Ballybay, Co Monaghan, was sentenced by Judge Matthew Deery at Monaghan Circuit Court when he pleaded guilty to the list of offences involving young girls and boys who were then aged from seven to 15 years.
The offences took place while Feeney was a primary school teacher, before he took up his GAA post. Some of the victims travelled from Australia to give evidence. The victims also waived their right to remain anonymous, so the defendant could be publicly named.
The judge had reserved his decision on the sentence until yesterday in the wake of a hearing last Tuesday during which a catalogue of sexual offences was outlined to the court.
Feeney was removed from his GAA post in 1997 following the Garda investigation.
Some of the children were sexually molested by the accused when he sat beside them in the classroom. One female victim was frequently abused over a five-year period when she travelled with him in a car, when he visited her home and in a local hall. Another claimed she was sexually abused when she called to Feeney to collect money for newspapers.
Before sentencing Feeney to three years' imprisonment on each of the 21 charges, the sentences to run concurrently, Judge Deery commended the gardai on bringing "a sensitive and difficult investigation to a successful conclusion".
He described the assaults with which Feeney was charged as "in the middle range of offences of that particular nature which have come before the courts in recent times". The judge said the victims were to be commended for pursuing the investigation and it should encourage others not to be afraid to speak out.
Judge Deery said the assaults had had a serious effect on the victims and left them with feelings of guilt, making it difficult for them to trust others. Some had also encountered problems in their marriages as a result.
The judge said Feeney had apologised to the victims and it was noted he had not reoffended since 1978.
The judge refused leave to appeal.