Former Bishop of Galway Dr. Eamonn Casey returned to Ireland at the start of February following 13 years in exile. Dr. Casey, 78, lived and worked in the U.S., Ecuador, Mexico, and England and has retired to the parish of Beagh near Gort in Co. Galway.
“I regret that in the past I let a number of people down,” he said in a rare interview with the Irish media. “It caused great hurt to some and for that, I am deeply regretful and sad.”
Formerly a very high-profile figure in Ireland’s religious world, the former bishop’s exile followed revelations that he had fathered a son with his American lover Annie Murphy and temporarily diverted church funds for personal use. He left Ireland in 1992 in a storm of controversy, but public opinion has softened towards Casey, with many people feeling he has already paid for his duplicity. ♦
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