Advertisement

"Paudie McGahon should only be treated with respect" - Mairia Cahill talks to Newstalk about fresh Sinn Féin allegations

The case of Paudie McGahon, who says he was raped by an IRA member in the early 1990s, featured o...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.18 11 Mar 2015


Share this article


"Paudie McGahon should...

"Paudie McGahon should only be treated with respect" - Mairia Cahill talks to Newstalk about fresh Sinn Féin allegations

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.18 11 Mar 2015


Share this article


The case of Paudie McGahon, who says he was raped by an IRA member in the early 1990s, featured on a BBC documentary last night.

Mr McGahon says he brought the allegations to a Sinn Féin representative in 2002 - but was then interrogated by a so-called 'kangaroo court', similar to the case of Mairia Cahill.

Mairia Cahill says she hopes Paudie McGahon gets the justice he deserves, after he spoke about his alleged rape by an IRA member.

Advertisement

Ms Cahill went public with her abuse claims last year.

Speaking to Lunchtime today, she said she was still emotional about it and she would like to thank Mr McGahon for speaking out about his abuse.

She went on to say: "Sinn Fein had guidelines on this issue... on reporting cases of abuse within their own structure. In 1999, produced a document, run and ratified by their Ard Chomhairle which was that if a Sinn Féin member became aware of an allegation of abuse, it was to be reported the Ard Chomhairle

"I understand that Sinn Féin have said in the last few days that the people involved followed party procedure and if they did, we can assume then that it was reported to the Ard Chomhairle and that more people knew about this.

"I think Pearse McGeough has serious questions to answer that why, in 2002, when he became aware of abuse allegations from not just one but more than one individual, one of whom was a minor at the time, he did not go to the proper authorities and report that."

Ms Cahill also went on to document some of the abuse that both she and Paudie have suffered, particularly online. She went on to appeal to people to come forward and seek help with their allegations but warned about the dangers of discussing allegations into the media.

She also stated that there could be at the very least 60 cases of abuse that may exist as she knew of about 30 or 40 names that were given to An Garda Siochana.

You can listen to her interview here:


Share this article


Read more about

News

Most Popular