A meeting of the full of Louth County Council has referred the decision on whether or not the freedom of Drogheda should be withdrawn from the former head of the Christian Brothers in Ireland, Edmund Garvey to the next Borough Council of Drogheda meeting.
The decision was taken by the Councillors following a Notice of Motion from Cllr. Maeve Yore:
That Louth County Council supports all victims of child sexual abuse and condemns the Current litigation strategy chosen by the Christian Brother Order as illustrated on RTE Prime Time 7 February 2023.
Furthermore that this Council writes to the Christian Brother leadership team condemning this litigation strategy.
Furthermore that this Council calls upon our members in the Borough District of Drogheda to rescind the Freedom of Drogheda bestowed on the former leader of the Christian Brothers, Edmund Garvey.
Councillor Yore had asked for her motion to be put on the agenda in May of this year but was told in a letter that it would not be on the agenda “… as it is considered potentially defamatory and could expose the council to litigation”.
Following an amendment from Councillor Kevin Callan it was decided to hold the matter over until the next Drogheda Borough District meeting.
Edmund Garvey was awarded the Freedom of his home town of Drogheda in 1997, when he was the head of the Christian Brothers in Ireland.
More recently though, he has been at the centre of controversy over a legal stance taken by the Christian Brother order compelling anyone seeking to sue a member of the order must sue the entire order rather than the individual.
Garvey also declined to disclose names and addresses of individual brothers who were members of the congregation at the time of the alleged assaults.
