By Shane Phelan - Irish Independent - 03.01.2025 - [Michael Shine] - [IRELAND] New lawsuits have been initiated over the activities of convicted child abuser Michael Shine.
Nine civil cases were filed shortly before Christmas against the paedophile former surgeon and the religious order that ran the hospital where he once worked.
The new lawsuits come as victims await a response from the Government to calls for a public inquiry into how Shine (93) was able to continue abusing for decades.
Much of the abuse is said to have occurred at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, where he was a consultant surgeon from 1964 until his retirement in 1995, and at private rooms he kept elsewhere.
Although he is feared to have abused hundreds of young males, Shine is a free man after serving just three years in prison for assaults on nine boys.
He is unlikely to face further criminal prosecution after the DPP decided two years ago not to press charges in relation to complaints made by 25 men.
That decision was made in the wake of a Court of Appeal ruling that it would be unjust for Shine to face a further trial due to his age and health.
The latest lawsuits were filed by nine clients of Dublin law firm Pearse Mehigan Solicitors LLP against Shine and a nominee of the Medical Missionaries of Mary, which previously ran the hospital.
Dignity4Patients, a support group, said it expected this number to grow in the coming months while other avenues to justice remain closed off at present.
The activities of Shine were previously the subject of two multi-million-euro civil settlements, involving more than 200 former patients, in 2012 and 2022.
Since the most recent settlement, victims have ramped up their campaign for a public inquiry or commission or investigation.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said last August that the Government would reflect on those calls, but a decision is still awaited. Mr Harris later said he had asked officials for a “paper” setting out options and outlining work that has been done to date.
Dignity4Patients chief executive Adrienne O’Reilly said Mr Harris should not issue a report about what should happen without first consulting with victims.
“We are still in a position where those making decisions do not meet with the victims and statements are made about them, without them. We are hoping that post-election, going into the new government term, this will radically change.”
Ms O’Reilly said Tánaiste Micheál Martin had given a pre-election commitment to meet victims “in early course” after the election.
The terms of the most recent settlements in 2022 were kept confidential.
However, sources familiar with the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said individual awards largely ranged between €20,000 and €65,000.
Shine did not participate in the lawsuits, which were hand¬led by the religious order’s insurers.
The order ran the hospital until 1997, when ownership was transferred to the then North Eastern Health Board.
The first complaint against Shine, alleging indecent assault, was made by a former patient in 1994. He retired on a full pension less than a year later but was struck off the medical register in 2008. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm.