St Columb's College: Londonderry man tells of trauma after 'school sexual abuse'

Terry Doran says he was sexually abused by Raymond Gallagher, a former vice-principal of St Columb's college in the 1970s

A man who said he was sexually abused at a Londonderry school in the 1970s has spoken out about his experience.

Terry Doran, who has chosen to waive his anonymity, said he was abused by Raymond Gallagher, a former vice-principal of St Columb's College.

He said he was abused by Mr Gallagher, who has since died, for "just under four years".

Mr Doran told the Irish News he received £50,000 in 2015 after taking a case against the school and his abuser.

He described "carrying this weight around for almost half a century", and hopes that by waiving his anonymity it will give other survivors of sexual abuse the courage to come forward.

After being approached by the BBC about Mr Doran's account of his experience at the school, St Columb's College said they would not be commenting on the matter.

Mr Doran said that the abuse he experienced from Mr Gallagher first began when he was 10 years old.

He said the abuse started off as "touching" and then, over time, progressed to "discipline," he told BBC Radio Foyle.

'More serious stuff'

"He [Mr Gallagher] always managed to find fault with my appearance every time I seen him," Mr Doran said.

"There was always something wrong, whether it was my hair, my tie wasn't straight, my jumper wasn't the right colour or the shoes weren't right - there was always something.

"He would then start touching you, unbuttoning your shirt and saying your tie wasn't fixed right and he would put his hands inside your shirt.

"That's how it started, slowly, then it would progress from there to much more serious stuff to, like, full on sexual assaults."

Mr Doran said he did not fully understand at that young age what was happening to him during the first year of the abuse.

St Columb's College's site on the Buncrana Road in Derry

He said it was only when he moved to the Buncrana Road campus of the school later in his studies did he realise "this is not right" and that he "was being groomed".

"I knew obviously it was wrong, but I didn't know what to do about it, I kept it to myself because I was scared," he said.

Mr Doran said the abuse escalated to the point where "the sexual assaults where taking place on a regular basis".

He said his abuser's "authority" left him "frightened" and that he felt unable to tell anyone else about what was happening.

Mr Doran said Mr Gallagher would threaten to "put him back into care" if he ever reported the abuse to anyone.

He also claimed that Mr Gallagher told him "he would put my father in jail" if he ever told his parents about the abuse.

'Dismissed immediately'

Mr Doran said he eventually confided in a priest that "there was a teacher who was doing bad things to me", and that the priest then instructed him to "immediately tell his parents".

After telling his father, Mr Doran said they both went to the school and reported Mr Gallagher, but he said "it was dismissed immediately as nonsense".

"A couple of days later I actually seen Mr Gallagher in the corridor and he smirked at me as if he knew no one would believe me," Mr Doran said.

Mr Doran said he then left the college a few months earlier than planned because of the abuse.

According to Mr Doran, Mr Gallagher continued teaching there for years after he made the sexual abuse allegations in the late 1970s.

"I reported it in 1978 and he was still there for another 13 years or so I believe," he said.

Mr Doran said he has suffered "mental trauma" from his experiences at the school and that it has affected his entire life.

'Re-engaged with police'

Solicitor Kevin Winters, who represents Mr Doran, said his client's previous attempts to raise his case with authorities including the police and the Church "did not go anywhere".

"It is against that background he is now seeking to agitate on that," Mr Winters told BBC Radio Foyle.

"We have engaged with Judith Gillespie and the historic clerical child abuse inquiry, Terry's case is there and we have also re-engaged with the PSNI".

Ms Gillespie, a former PSNI deputy chief constable, is the independent chair of the group set up by Stormont to examine allegations of historical abuse.

Mr Winters said a number of further cases had also come forward to the PSNI "with the real prospect that further might come forward".

He added: "For the police to make any meaningful investigation in relation to the failures by people in authority to bring suspicion of sexual abuse activity to the attention of the police or other authority, Terry's case alone is not necessarily going to do that.

"To get any meaningful traction on that issue, requires numbers," he said.

A spokesperson for the PSNI said: "Police received a report of alleged historical sexual abuse in September 2011.

"Detectives launched an investigation which was subsequently closed as all named persons were confirmed deceased at the time the report was made."

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Derry said: "The diocese was not a party to the proceedings and made no contribution to any settlement."

The Catholic Church has also been approached by BBC Radio Foyle for a statement.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, there is a list of organisations that may be able to help at BBC Action Line