FS and The Diocese of Dromore and The Board of Governors of St Colman's College, Nerwy and The Department of Education
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | [2021] NIMaster 9 |
| Court | High Court (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 11 November 2021 |
1
Neutral Citation : [2021] NIMaster 9
Ref:
2021NIMaster9
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
Delivered:
11/11/2021
(subject to editorial corrections)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
------
BETWEEN:
FS
Plaintiff;
and
THE DIOCESE OF DROMORE
First Defendant
and
THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF ST COLMAN’S COLLEGE, NEWRY
Second Defendant
and
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Third Defendant
------
Master Bell
INTRODUCTION
[1] This judgment deals with an action concerning allegations of sexual abuse
and it has been anonymised to protect the privacy of the plaintiff. I have used the
cipher “FS” for the name of the plaintiff. Those are not his initials. Nothing should
be published that will identify him.
[2] FS was a pupil at St Coleman’s College, Newry for approximately five years.
The pleadings identify which years those were but it is not necessary to identify
them here. It is sufficient to note that in the statement of claim there is a clearly
identified beginning and end to his time as a pupil there. During that period FS
alleges that he was both physically and sexually abused by Fr Malachy Finnegan
who was employed at the College for a period of approximately 18 years.
[3] The issue before me concerns documents in respect of Fr Finnegan which are
held by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I am grateful
to Mr Morgan and Miss Lunny of counsel whose written and oral submissions I
received during the application.
ORDER 24 RULE 20 APPLICATION
To continue reading
Request your trial