'I know all about Michael Shine - every second fella you met had a Dr Shine story'
- Dignity 4Patients
- May 6
- 4 min read
Updated: May 6
By John Kierans - Irish Mirror - 06.05.2025 - {IRELAND] - [Michael Shine]
The story of pervert doctor Michael Shine and how he got away with abusing hundreds of children over four decades, will be talked about for years to come.
It is a shocking indictment of Ireland at the time and how those around him who knew what was going on, kept their mouths shut for years and covered up his crimes.
The reputation of an esteemed surgeon - and he was top class at his job by the way saving many lives - was far more important than hysterical children claiming that he fiddled with the privates.
The nuns who owned Our Lady of Lourdeds Hospital in Drogheda where many of the incidents occurred, the Medical Missionaries of Mercy, covered it up, Some doctors and nurses covered it up and the Gardai to a lesser degree covered it up.
One member of the Gardai actually made a victim who complained write a letter to Shine, apologising for making an allegation against him.
Ireland in the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties was a dark place if you were a victim of sexual abuse. .Doctors, teachers, and priests were untouchable.
Don't dare make a sordid allegation against the pillars of Irish society that was the attitude of the ruling class, the establishment and the sexual predators largely got away with it.
I know all about Micheal Shine as did every young lad who grew up in Drogheda. He was the standard joke in my school St Joseph's Christian Brothers.
I once went to him at the Lourdes Hospital with an arm injury and he made me drop my trousers and touch my privates.
I was 11 or 12 years old at the time and the touching only lasted a couple of seconds. I was that innocent, I passed little or no remarks. I thought it was part of the medical examination but then so did most kids at that time.
It wasn't until I was a bit older that I wondered why I had to drop my pants when there was no injury down there. I never told my parents but joked about it in the school yard. Every second fella you met had a Dr Shine story.
It became standard practice that everyone knew if you went to see Shine in the Lourdes you'd be " fiddled.".
But Shine obviously took the abuse to another level than me with some of his child patients sexually abusing them, on a number of different occasions.
He has only been convicted and jailed for abusing seven different boys but yet so far 370 victims in total have now come forward looking for justice and asking how in the name of God did it happen and why was it allowed to continue over four different decades.
The North Eastern Health Board and the nuns who ran the Lourdes Hospital at the time have a lot to answer for.
I do not believe for one second that people at the Lourdes did not know what was going on. They knew but were too afraid of Shine or more importantly too afraid that they might lose their job if they spoke out.
The Gardai also have a lot to answer for. They received complaints all those years ago and didn't act upon them.
I accept the force was a different organisation then than now where the pillars of society had a lot of influence over local officers and many scandals that should have been exposed were covered up.
The Gardai did eventually go after Shine but the vast majority of his victims have not seen a day in court.
The shamed doctor at 93 years of age has for several years been unavailable to be interviewed by the police on medical grounds.
The DPP has files of new cases half complete. Nobody can get the answers they deserve.
Many of the victims now want a Commission of Investigation into the scandal. It is not so much about persecuting an old man at this stage but more about finding out how exactly he got away with it, and who knew what and when, and covered up.
If you bring your child into the health service or any hospital you don't expect him or her to be molested.The State and the staff have a duty to protect them. In the case of Michael Shine this did not happen and he could do whatever he liked.
The Hospital and his private quarters in Fair Street, Drogheda were the playgrounds for his perversions. A number of the victims have met the Taoiseach Micheal Martin and the Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeil in recent weeks. I know Mr Martin does not like Commissions of Inquiries because he feels they are far too expensive and rarely get to the truth.
However, he must make an exception in this case. Whether you like it or not, Michael Shine was our Jimmy Saville, and his crimes should not be covered up anymore.
Everyone of those who covered up for him should be ashamed at what they did, and they should hear the horrific stories of his victims.
I am one of the lucky ones, I never lost a night's sleep over Dr Shine and it literally went over my head, others were not so fortunate and suffered full-scale abuse.
The only good thing I can ever say about Shine is that he did save the life of one of my good friends Liam O'Neill when he was in his twenties. For that, I am grateful.
But being a brilliant doctor did not give him the right to abuse the way he did.
If there is justice in this country, this Commission of Inquiry must get the go-ahead.
The sins of Dr Shine and everyone who facilitated his paedophile lust must be exposed once and for all, and we need protections in place so that it never happens again.
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.
Dignity4Patients Commentary:- Michael Shine was a respected surgeon who got away with abusing children for decades, protected by a system that chose silence over justice. Hundreds of his victims are still waiting for answers. It’s time for a full #CommissionOfInvestigation to expose the truth and ensure this never happens again.". #VictimVoices #StopSexualAbuse #ProtectPatients
