Former Laois Principal who abused boys told he will die in prison

A former Christian Brother who abused school children in Portarlington has been told he will most likely die in prison at his sentencing in Portlaoise today.

Liam Coughlan (90), who is serving a sentence for similar abuse he carried out in Kilkenny, appeared before Portlaoise Circuit Court via video link from a special therapeutic unit in Mountjoy Prison due to his ailing health, as he has high-grade prostate cancer and is undergoing palliative care.

During a trial which ended earlier this month, he was found guilty of 31 counts of indecently assaulting nine schoolboys at St Patrick's Christian Brothers Primary School in Portarlington, where he had been a headmaster in the 1980s.

That trial came about when some of his victims learned of his conviction for similar offences in Kilkenny in 2023. Those 73 indecent assaults had occurred at that school in the 1970s. The court was told Coughlan, who left the Christian Brothers and married a music teacher named Ms Barry, was due for release from prison in relation to the Kilkenny offences in February of 2027.

Prosecution Counsel William Fennelly said much of the abuse had occurred in the classroom and had become "normalised" in the setting. He said one of the victims had explained that Coughlan kept a desk at the front of the classroom where abuse was committed.

"One specific desk at the front and he referred to this, so to speak, as the bold desk."

Mr Fennelly said one of the victims was a member of the Travelling community and five of the counts related to his abuse. The boy began to mitch school and, after one incident, confided in his father, who later challenged Coughlan on the bridge over the River Barrow in Portarlington, culminating in Coughlan being knocked to the ground.

Mr Fennelly said one of the victims who was abused, had been taught by an Offaly footballer "who at that point had been elevated to the sainthood", but was transferred to Coughlan's class when Offaly won the All-Ireland in 1982 and the teacher had GAA-related activities to conduct.

He was abused by Coughlan but "I think he told Br Coughlan to 'f**k off'. He received a leathering for doing that but ultimately matters ceased there," Mr Fennelly stated.

Victim Impact Statements were read on behalf of seven of the victims, with two men asking to read their own statements as Coughlan watched on through a monitor from prison.

"I still remember the day it happened. I felt so alone, as if someone took a piece of myself away," one said.

"I was so close to not giving my statement. The fear of looking at him again was sickening...thank God I did," the man said.

Another man said: "I always thought it was wrong of me to say anything about a supposed member of the church".

He spoke of having to relive the "disgusting things" during the trial. "Not a day goes by that what Brother Coughlan done to me doesn't interfere with my life," he said. "Hopefully after today I can finally get peace and move forward," he said.

Yet another victim said: “I was a 12-year-old child. I was and continue to be blameless in all this.”

He said the shame connected to this offending belongs to the Christian Brothers and the Catholic Church.

The man said he had hoped Coughlan would plead guilty so that he wouldn’t have to endure a trial. He said victims and witnesses should feel safe and not be revictimised by the experience of having to come to court.

The Honorable Mr Justice Judge Keenan Johnson, who was recently sworn in as President of the Circuit Court, told the man he had listened carefully to what he said and he assured him that the judicial process is constantly being reviewed with a view to improving the experience for victims.

“I commend you and all the other complainants,” he said.

Another victim spoke of his years of self-doubt and self-sabotage after the abuse. He said he began drinking at 14, often excessively and was later treated for depression.

Yet another victim spoke of his battles with depression and of uninvited “flashbacks” which would show up when least wanted. He spoke of an encounter with a Detective Garda who noticed he had been struggling and invited him for a cup of tea and told him, “there is never a wrong time to make the right decision”.

“Mr Coughlan, you told me I would never amount to anything… I am telling you now my life starts today,” he said.

“To my extended tribe in Ireland and Australia, thank you for being there through the good, the bad and the ugly. You have been my scaffolding that held me up when I thought I might collapse,” he added.

Defence Counsel Maurice Coffey SC praised the victims for “the dignity in which they always held themselves throughout the proceedings. I can’t not be impressed.”

He said his client, albeit late in the day, now accepts the verdict and “apologises to the victims”.

He said his client was now in his 90s and very unwell.

“Whatever sentence the court will impose is effectively a life sentence on him,” he remarked. He said the crimes took forty years to appear in court and had they been heard with the Kilkenny matters a more “holistic” approach might have been adopted.

He said he would not be introducing testimonies and he said his client had joined the Christian Brothers “as a child” when he was only 16.

Mr Justice Johnson gave an outline of the crimes which occurred at the school between 1982 and 1990 while the victims were between 11 and 13 years of age.

He noted one victim had stated that “the accused took pleasure in taking their youthful innocence”.

He said all of the parents had been unaware of what had happened to their children with the exception of one father who confronted Coughlan.

“It appears that the complainant’s father hit the accused a number of times and he ended up on the ground”, he noted. “His actions were brave and commendable,” he said.

He described it as “shocking” that someone in a position of trust would act in the “most appalling” way to children. He said the man had stolen their childhoods and besmirched the name of the Christian Brothers.

“The reputation of the Christian Brothers has been further damaged,” he said.

Mr Justice Johnson criticised the manner in which the Christian Brothers were dealing with such cases, with civil proceedings having to be served against each member, something he said struck him as being “morally bankrupt and unfair” to the victims in these cases.

He said the abuse perpetrated by Coughlan was “relentless and systematic” and he had put his own sexual gratification ahead of all other considerations. He said his actions represented a gross breach of trust and he branded him a "persistent and prolific offender”.

Mr Justice Johnson noted that each of the nine victims had been profoundly negatively impacted by his actions. He said the verdict was a complete vindication of the victims.

He noted a doctor's report on Coughlan's condition and said “he is likely to die in prison” due to his age and illness.

He imposed nine prison sentences, one in relation to each of the nine victims. On taking into account his ill health and age, all of the sentences were to run concurrent from the date of sentencing. The total sentence to be served amounted to five years in prison.

“I hope that today’s sentence gives you some closure,” Mr Justice Johnson said to the victims.