The Irish language activist and TV host Domhnall O Lubhlai (84) died before facing sexual abuse claims.
O Lubhlai, the founder of one of Ireland’s largest Irish colleges, Colaiste na bhFiann, and the presenter of a TV show on RTE, has been dubbed “Ireland’s Jimmy Savile” due to the allegations against him. He died last month.
In 2000 O Lubhlai was charged with the molestation of 11 children. O Lubhlai faced 56 charges of sexual assault, buggery and attempted buggery. Five men testified that they had been abused at his Irish college, at the summer camp, in hotels, flats, and cinemas in Ros Muc, Athlone, Dublin, Donegal, and Tipperary.
However the trial collapsed due to the fact that the accused claimed he was on medication during his interviews with detectives, in 1998 and 1999.
Last January a former Irish college student made a fresh complaint against O Lubhlai. He claimed O Lubhlai abused him between the ages of 12 and 15, during the mid-1970s, the Irish Sun reports.
The police were compiling a report and witness statement when O Lubhlai was found dead at his Mullingar home, County Westmeath. Just 20 people attended his funeral.
Although there were 11 complaints against him in 2000 it was believed that there may have been other victims during his 30 years as a teacher.
His alleged crimes only came to light in the early 1990s when he reported that he was being blackmailed by a former student.
Until the end, O Lubhlai maintained his innocence and claimed his accusers were motivated by jealousy.
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