Bishop's House items sold to help settle abuse claims

The Bishop's House and its contents are among assets being sold off by the Diocese of Dromore

The contents of a former Catholic bishop's home in Newry have been auctioned by the Diocese of Dromore, which will use some of the proceeds to compensate clerical abuse victims.

In recent years the diocese was sued by a number of people who were sexually abused as children by Dromore clergymen, including the late Fr Malachy Finegan.

The Bishop's House, set in grounds off Newry's Armagh Road, was earmarked in 2023 as being among the diocesan assets that could be sold to meet its liabilities.

In a statement, the diocese said it was also selling the contents of the house to fund "various safeguarding matters, including redress for victims and survivors of abuse".

Much of the furniture and fittings contained within the Bishop's House in Newry have been auctioned by the diocese

Finegan, who died in 2002, was headmaster of the neighbouring St Colman's College boys' school and also served as parish priest in Clonduff, County Down.

Some of his victims received six-figure sums in compensation after initiating legal action against the Diocese of Dromore, including one man who secured £400,000.

A few months after that 2023 settlement, the diocese identified assets it could sell "in order to meet our existing and ongoing safeguarding responsibilities".

These included the Bishop's House and adjacent lands close to St Colman's College.

This week hundreds of items from inside the listed building, including ornate furniture, paintings and ornaments, went under the hammer.

Marble table sold for €33,600

A marble-topped table which was bought by a priest from Tandragee Castle in the 1950s was among the rarer items in the auction

The auction attracted interest from several hundred bidders from around the world, according to Victor Mee Auctions, the County Cavan firm which handled the sale.

Among the more significant items was a marble-topped table, originally from Tandragee Castle, which was bought by a priest in a 1950s dispersal sale.

The table had a top estimate of €8,000 (£6,700), but on Wednesday it sold for €33,600 (£28,000).

"We knew it was going to do a lot better than the estimate, but it probably went higher than we thought," auctioneer Brian Mee told BBC News NI.

He could not reveal the buyer's identity but said the transaction meant the table would stay on the island of Ireland.

"It's nice that it's staying, because it is a piece of Irish history," he added.

At the weekend the Bishop's House was opened to the public so bidders could view its contents.

Wall cabinets, sofas, and mirrors from the Bishop's House are among the items that went under the hammer in Newry

Mr Mee estimated about 700 people visited the house over three open days, and a similar number of online bidders took part in the first auction on Wednesday.

He added there was plenty of interest from the USA, Canada, Australia, Italy, the UK and across Ireland.

Although there were more than 1,000 lots in the Bishop's House auction catalogue, many of them were not owned by the Diocese of Dromore.

About half were from other estates, including some of the quirkier items such as antique guns and taxidermy animals.

Asked if the Bishop's House has now been sold, the diocese replied: "The auction is taking place while the process for the sale of the house and lands is ongoing."

'Diocesan funds are limited'

The building is the former residence of previous Dromore bishops.

The last man to hold that post was Bishop John McAreavey, who resigned seven years ago following criticism of how he dealt with Fr Finegan.

Bishop McAreavey was not replaced when he stepped down in 2018 - instead his duties were taken on by apostolic administrators appointed by Pope Francis.

Dromore's current apostolic administrator is the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin.

In a letter to people in the Diocese of Dromore in November 2023, Archbishop Martin announced a proposal to sell the Bishop's House and nearby lands.

The diocese is selling the Bishop's House and the adjoining land outlined in yellow above

At the time, he said some abuse survivors had taken compensation cases against the diocese and he was "conscious that remaining diocesan funds are limited".

In the letter, Archbishop Martin repeated his apology "for the hurt and damage" caused to victims and survivors of clerical abuse, describing it as a "terrible wrong".

He said he wanted to tell parishioners how the diocese was going to find the resources needed to meet its ongoing responsibilities "for the legacy of abuse and for keeping all children and vulnerable people safe now and in the future in all Church activities".

'Selling off the family silver'

Tony Gribben was abused by Fr Malachy Finegan while he was a schoolboy in St Colman's College in the 1970s

However, one of Finegan's victims told BBC News NI he is concerned about how local parishioners will respond to the sell-off of Church property.

Tony Gribbon leads the Dromore Group, which represents 15 men who were abused as children by clergy in the diocese.

He said a damaging narrative was emerging that the diocese felt like it had to sell off "the family silver to pay off childhood sex abuse survivors".

"We're frightened that there could be a public reaction if the Church continues to link redress to the selling off of key Church assets," Mr Gribben said.

He said his group has been seeking "greater transparency" about the total wealth of the diocese, including all its asset and investments.

The group is also seeking reassurances about what will happen to the archives of former Dromore bishops after the sale.

The campaigner added the auctioned items may appear "glamourous" to some bidders but for Dromore survivors they will be forever "tainted" by association with abuse.

Who was Fr Malachy Finegan?

Fr Malachy Finegan, who died in 2002, was accused of sexually abusing several children

Fr Malachy Finegan was recently described by lawyers representing his victims as "one of Ireland's most prolific child abusers".

The priest was accused of abusing several boys at St Colman's College where he taught from 1967 to 1976, eventually becoming its headmaster.

After leaving the school, he was appointed parish priest of Clonduff, where he was also accused of a long campaign of child sexual abuse.

But during his lifetime he was never prosecuted or questioned by police about the allegations against him.