Secret funeral for paedophile priest
Related Articles
A PAEDOPHILE priest, who was found dead in his home, was buried following a secret funeral yesterday, writes Brendan Furlong.
The body of Donal Collins, who was dismissed from the priesthood in 2004, was discovered in his home in Curracloe, Co Wexford, on Friday afternoon last after gardai were alerted.
The disgraced former priest was brought to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Rowe St, in Wexford town, just yards from his parents' former home at about 9.15am yesterday morning for funeral Mass 15 minutes later.
Collins, who was a calculating and controlling serial sex abuser, was one of the worst paedophile predators to be named in the Ferns Report. As a result, the traditional ceremony afforded a priest was not granted to the former principal of St Peter's College. The funeral Mass was officiated at by Fr Jim Fegan and was attended by only about 20 people, while also present were a handful of clergy.
Earlier this week, the Diocese of Ferns was keen to distance the institution from the man it protected for so long, as it pointed out in a statement that the title 'Fr' does not attach to Donal Collins.
Collins was cited in the Ferns Report, which detailed more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse against 21 priests in the diocese between 1962 and 2002.
Irish Independent
