A Catholic priest, who was jailed for 18 months for sexually assaulting two girls, has appealed to the circuit court against severity of sentence. Father Paul McGennis (65), of Tonlagee Road, Edenmore, Dublin, had received two consecutive nine-month prison sentences in the district court. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault committed between 1977 and 1979.
Judge Dominic Lynch heard the assaults had taken place at the parochial house in a Co Wicklow village.
Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for McGennis, asked Judge Lynch to take into consideration the fact that the two isolated assaults had taken place 37 and 20 years ago respectively.
He said that while not in any way trivialising the offences, none of them, while still grievous offences, was at the top range of what could happen in such cases.
He asked the court to take into account the fact that McGennis was a priest devoted to his ministry who had done great work for the community he had lived in.
He had been required to resign his ministry and lived on a small pension with his brother and sister - a crushed man whose suffering was undoubtedly of a high order.
Mr MacEntee said he had lived for a long period of his life with what was a terrible affliction which he appeared only to have given into on a limited number of occasions.
Judge Lynch reserved judgement in the appeal.