Louth motoring journalist Paddy Comyn reveals abuse by paedophile surgeon Michael Shine
- Dignity 4Patients
- Jul 27
- 4 min read
By John Kierans. 27/07/2026 - Independent.ie. - [Ireland] - [Michael Shine]
A brother of Senator Alison Comyn was abused by paedophile monster Michael Shine.
Renowned motoring correspondent Paddy Comyn told his story in the Journal.ie last week.
He recalled how he became ill playing basketball in St Mary’s School and was taken to Lourdes Hospital by his PE teacher.
He had a terrible pain in his side and had to have surgery because his appendix was about to burst.
This was the first contact he had with Shine and the surgeon later abused him twice, at the hospital and at his consulting rooms.
Paddy wrote in the Journal.ie: “The surgery brought me into contact with a man who would leave wounds no surgeon could ever repair. The scar from my appendicitis is still visible across my abdomen. It healed as scars do. The other scars really never heal.
“The surgery was a success, but it was carried out by Michael Shine. There were hundreds of victims and I am one of them. To him, the surgery was no doubt routine, one he had performed countless times.
“But you can’t help feeling that part of his brain was preoccupied during the procedure. He saw an opportunity. My two encounters with Shine took place in the hospital ward and in his consulting rooms.
“As I came around from the post-op, groggy and confused, there was an examination that felt wrong and unnecessary. Did that happen? Surely that isn’t normal?
“The second in his rooms was more sinister, more calculating and more intrusive. His rooms were a dark mix of mahogany and sterility. In those rooms in Fair Street, I disconnected.
“It is a common reaction people have to protect themselves from situations they feel uncomfortable in. You dissociate, go to another place, remove yourself. Some people never really return to themselves wholly.”
Paddy said he didn’t tell his parents, both of whom were extremely kind and loving, because the Ireland of that time was a place where “particular deference” was given to priests and doctors.
He stated: “Men like that were not questioned. Who would take the word of a boy over the word of a surgeon?
“Apart from trying to make light of it to a friend, I kept what happened to myself for over two decades before eventually reporting it to the Gardaí, and engaging with Bernadette Sullivan, the whistleblower who founded Dignity4Patients.
“Speaking to her in her offices in Drogheda opened up a box of emotions that had been sealed shut. Her kindness, her empathy, was unsettling and disarming. Bernadette has since stepped back from Dignity4Patients, though the work she started has carried on without her.
“At the meetings there were familiar faces, peers but also men older than me, earlier victims. Some were quiet and stoic. Some carried stammers, tics, visual clues to the pain underneath. Some fizzed with anger.
“Nobody there was unaffected. For years I convinced myself that what happened wasn’t something I could speak about. Like so many survivors of childhood sexual abuse, I buried it somewhere deep inside myself and tried to get on with life.
“From the outside I did what people do. I built a career, I became a father. I laughed with friends. I carried on. Inside, something had broken.”
He recalled in the Journal.ie how one day, while out walking in a park in Dublin, Michael Shine shuffled past him.
Paddy added: “For one fleeting moment of madness, retribution of some sort would have been simple. Say something. Shout. Scream. But I didn’t bother. It probably wouldn’t have made one bit of difference.”
Senator Alison Comyn praised her brother’s bravery for speaking out and shared on social media his “powerful and deeply moving” account of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Michael Shine.
She said: “I am incredibly proud of his courage and his bravery in telling his story. It is yet another reason why I fought so hard over the past 20 years for justice for Michael Shine’s victims and survivors.
“Paddy’s story is one of hundreds that Dignity4Patients has heard over the years. Every account is different, but they all deserve to be heard with compassion, believed without hesitation and investigated with determination.
“I hope Paddy’s words give strength to others who may never have found the voice to speak about what happened to them. If they do, I want them to know this: there was nothing you could have done. What happened was never your fault.
“Now we owe every survivor more than sympathy. We owe them the truth. We owe them answers about how this was allowed to happen, who knew, who failed to act, and how we can ensure that it can never happen again.
“To Paddy and to every survivor who has found the strength to come forward: I believe you, I admire your courage, and I will continue to stand with you.”
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, support is available.
If you have previously used our service, we encourage you to get in touch again for support.
We also welcome contact from anyone who wishes to participate in an inquiry process, including individuals with relevant information, whether or not they are victims.
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Contact the team by phone on 041 984 3730 or text 086 165 4111.
Dignity4Patients Commentary: Many survivors of childhood sexual abuse find it challenging to voice. At Dignity4Patients Paddy’s story is one of hundreds heard over the years. “Every account is different, but they all deserve to be heard with compassion, believed without hesitation and investigated with determination”.
