Patrick O'Brien charged with 75 counts of indecent assault

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Patrick O'Brien, a 76-year-old former Church of Ireland lay worker, was charged with 75 counts of indecent assault concerning ten male children between 1977 and 1989. The RTÉ report was updated on 27 May 2015.

The alleged offences occurred at locations including Dublin, Kildare and Westmeath, on a boat in Loughrea in Co Galway and at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. One cathedral charge covered 1977 to 1980, while another covered 1978 to 1982.

Detective Garda Anthony Moloney, from the Child Protection and Human Exploitation Bureau, told the court that he arrested Patrick O'Brien at 8.10am. He said Patrick O'Brien replied “no comment” to each alleged offence when charged.

There was no garda objection to bail and no application for legal aid. Judge Cormac Dunne granted Patrick O'Brien bail on his own bond of €500, requiring him to surrender his passport, sign on daily and live at the address on the charge sheet. The judge also said it was implicit that he must not interfere with witnesses.

Judge Cormac Dunne also ruled that the media could identify the accused following an application by RTÉ.

Patrick O'Brien was remanded to appear again for service of the Book of Evidence on 28 July.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.