Courts / Dublin / Report
Former priest and serial child abuser Tony Walsh fails in sentence appeal
Summary
Tony Walsh, a former priest known as the "Singing Priest," was convicted of raping and sexually abusing boys during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2010 he received a 16‑year sentence for raping and abusing three schoolboys, and in 2012 an additional 15‑month sentence was added for abusing two other boys. Walsh, aged 60, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of indecent assault and buggery, and had previously been convicted in 1997 of abusing six victims, initially sentenced to ten years but reduced to six on appeal. He appealed both sentences, but the Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice John Murray, rejected the appeals, stating that the trial judges acted within their discretion and that the offences were of "utmost gravity" and "appalling nature." The court found no error in principle in the sentencing decisions and refused leave to appeal.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Former priest and serial child abuser Tony Walsh fails in sentence appeal. Charges or matters: two counts of indecently assaulting a male in a west Dublin church between November 1978 and April 1979; a further charge of indecently assaulting a male in a west Dublin school between January 1984 and December 1985; two counts of indecent assault on January 1 and April 4, 1979; abusing six victims and sentenced to ten years in prison. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted
When:
- November 1978 Incident
- April 1979 Incident
- January 1984 Incident
- December 1985 Incident
- November 2010 Incident
- June 1, 1979 Incident
- June 30, 1983 Incident
- January 1 Incident
- April 4, 1979 Incident
- 2014-07-30 Publication
Why: As regards the second application, the court found that the trial judge had a range of options open to him because of the previous grave offences of which Walsh had been convicted. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: two counts of indecently assaulting a male in a west Dublin church between November 1978 and April 1979; a further charge of indecently assaulting a male in a west Dublin school between January 1984 and December 1985; two counts of indecent assault on January 1 and April 4, 1979; abusing six victims and sentenced to ten years in prison (Proven)
Plea: Guilty
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; Tony Walsh has failed in appeals against separate sentences of 16 years and 15 months imposed on him for what the Court of Criminal Appeal has described as the "depraved" rape and sexual abuse of young boys in the nineteen seventies and eighties. Walsh, who was known as the "Singing Priest" for his role in a travelling all-priest vocal group before he was defrocked, is serving a 16-year sentence imposed on him in 2010 for the rape and abuse of three school boys.
Places mentioned
Topics
Sexual Offences Stage Appeal Violent Crime
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