Maynooth has been mired in controversy since the 1980s
Your editorial (Irish Independent, August 2) demands further explanation as to why Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin decided to no longer send seminarians to St Patrick's College Maynooth.
St Patrick's is a small institution with an ancient history but declining student numbers.
It has been mired in recurring controversy since the early 1980s, when Fr Gerard McGinnity PP, then a senior staff member, brought his concerns about college governance and those of aggrieved seminarians to the attention of the trustees and into the public domain. The opinion of the trustees at the time was articulated by Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, who advised Fr McGinnity, when both were visiting Rome: "the bishops are gunning for you, Gerry."
