A CATHOLIC priest, who served in the diocese of Clogher, has been accused of raping a child on Lough Derg. Fr Francis Markey, who appeared in court in the United States this week, is facing extradition from the US to answer a number of rape charges, one relating to an alleged incident at the place of pilgrimage on the Donegal/Femanagh border.
Markey (81) is accused of raping a 15-year-old boy on two separate occasions in 1968, according to the complaint filed in a US District Court in Indiana.
The Republic's government has requested that he be sent back to his home country for trial.
Responding to the incident, the Bishop of Clogher, Joseph Duffy, condemned abuse. He said: "The abuse of a child is a despicable act and I condemn it unreservedly. My primary concern regarding abuse, and allegations of abuse, is for the victim. In all cases, the diocese follows state and church best practice guidelines. The Garda and the Health Service Executive are advised of all allegations of child abuse that are made known to the diocese."
The Bishop also released details about Markey's background in the church, including evidence that after his ordination in 1952, he was suspended from the first three parishes he ministered in Co. Monaghan, and sent for treatment for addiction.
He was first suspended from Magheracloone parish, and sent to a Dublin psychiatric hospital in 1964.
In 1973, while he was curate in Threemilehouse, the local parish and police were informed of an abuse accusation against Markey. Again, he was suspended and sent to the Dublin hospital for treatment.
Markey was suspended a third time, from Inniskeen parish in 1975, and sent for treatment in England under the supervision of the Servants of the Paraclete, a religious order dedicated to treating addictions.
He remained under the supervision of an English diocese until 1981, when he was sent to a treatment centre in New Mexico.
Markey left the Servants of the Paraclete in 1985 and did not communicate with the diocese again until the late 1990s, the bishop said.
Bishop Duffy said the allegations at the centre of the extradition application were made directly to An Garda Siochana, and he explained: "The priest concerned has not held a position of ministry in the Diocese of Clogher since 1976. He has been living in the United States since 1982."
In 2002, in response to allegations of abuse to gardai, Bishop Duffy wrote to Markey asking him to present himself to the Garda. Markey declined this request, citing health reasons.
Markey has been living in South Bend, Indiana. He was arrested by US marshals last week and was held in the county jail until his release on bail on Monday, on the condition that he post a bail of $10,000, surrender his passport, stay within the locality, and attend his extradition hearing.
The allegations against Markey were made in 2006, more than 38 years after the incidents of abuse were said to have taken place at Lough Derg, and in Co. Galway.
His alleged victim said that Markey, who he considered a family friend, raped him while he was on a religious pilgrimage in Co. Donegal, and again after his father's funeral in Co. Galway.
The Republic's director of public prosecutions issued a warrant for Markey's arrest in April 2008 for the Galway charges and another warrant in May 2008 for the Lough Derg charges.
