A BOARDING school pupil said he was told to "keep his
mouth shut" by an alleged abuser who was ordered to step down after
regularly drinking with pupils late at night in his room.
The Murphy Commission heard of the claim in the
single case against Fr Baird, who was working in a Cloyne diocese
secondary school college in the 1990s.
Fr Baird, who was born in 1960 and passed away in 2004, regularly drank with mixed groups of teenagers aged between 15 and 18 in his room late at night on the boarding school’s campus.
In August 2002 the principal of the boarding school received a letter from a former pupil, ‘Peter’, alleging he was sexually abused by Fr Baird in the priest’s room on a number of occasions when he was 14 and 15.
The local garda superintendent was informed of the allegation, but no formal complaint was made.
The commission was told Peter said Fr Baird "told him he did not want anything bad to happen to him and advised him to keep his mouth shut for his own sake so that he would not upset his parents".
The claim was "absolutely rejected" by the priest, who said his accuser self-harmed, had personality issues, and that he had attempted to protect him from bullying.
A canon law investigation began in September 2002 at the request of Monsignor Denis O’Callaghan, when Fr Baird was also removed from his position in the diocese by Bishop John Magee.
The president of the school at the time of the allegations said he remembered the alleged victim as being "very disturbed" which could have been due to abuse.
However, he said he had no evidence of this.
"If Fr Baird was to pick a student to bring into trouble, ‘Peter’ qualified. If a student was to target a priest, Fr Baird was readymade," he said.
Peter refused to have any contact with the diocese due to his distrust of the church, and declined to become involved in garda criminal inquiries as he had "concerns it would be detrimental to his well-being".
In February 2003, a letter from solicitors acting on his behalf named the diocese, Fr Baird and the school as defendants in a civil case.
The commission’s report noted a second canon law investigation was launched by the diocese in September 2004, despite one beginning two years earlier.
There were discussions by Msgr O’Callaghan during this inquiry with a former pupil who was "a close acquaintance" of Peter. He said he did not like Fr Baird but "never heard any mention of sexual abuse" by him.
In August 2004, weeks before Fr Baird passed away from a long-term illness, Bishop Magee re-instated his responsibilities as a priest in what the commission described as a "humane" act.
A civil case taken by Peter was resolved in an undisclosed settlement in 2009.
A priest who knew the alleged victim’s family said they were "financially secure" and that the claim of abuse should be seen purely as an attempt to gain justice for their son.
Fr Baird, who was born in 1960 and passed away in 2004, regularly drank with mixed groups of teenagers aged between 15 and 18 in his room late at night on the boarding school’s campus.
In August 2002 the principal of the boarding school received a letter from a former pupil, ‘Peter’, alleging he was sexually abused by Fr Baird in the priest’s room on a number of occasions when he was 14 and 15.
The local garda superintendent was informed of the allegation, but no formal complaint was made.
The commission was told Peter said Fr Baird "told him he did not want anything bad to happen to him and advised him to keep his mouth shut for his own sake so that he would not upset his parents".
The claim was "absolutely rejected" by the priest, who said his accuser self-harmed, had personality issues, and that he had attempted to protect him from bullying.
A canon law investigation began in September 2002 at the request of Monsignor Denis O’Callaghan, when Fr Baird was also removed from his position in the diocese by Bishop John Magee.
The president of the school at the time of the allegations said he remembered the alleged victim as being "very disturbed" which could have been due to abuse.
However, he said he had no evidence of this.
"If Fr Baird was to pick a student to bring into trouble, ‘Peter’ qualified. If a student was to target a priest, Fr Baird was readymade," he said.
Peter refused to have any contact with the diocese due to his distrust of the church, and declined to become involved in garda criminal inquiries as he had "concerns it would be detrimental to his well-being".
In February 2003, a letter from solicitors acting on his behalf named the diocese, Fr Baird and the school as defendants in a civil case.
The commission’s report noted a second canon law investigation was launched by the diocese in September 2004, despite one beginning two years earlier.
There were discussions by Msgr O’Callaghan during this inquiry with a former pupil who was "a close acquaintance" of Peter. He said he did not like Fr Baird but "never heard any mention of sexual abuse" by him.
In August 2004, weeks before Fr Baird passed away from a long-term illness, Bishop Magee re-instated his responsibilities as a priest in what the commission described as a "humane" act.
A civil case taken by Peter was resolved in an undisclosed settlement in 2009.
A priest who knew the alleged victim’s family said they were "financially secure" and that the claim of abuse should be seen purely as an attempt to gain justice for their son.