JAMES KELLY OF BROTHERS OF CHARITY SHAMES CO CORK AND LOTA WITH CHILD ABUSE REVELATIONS

In a disturbing resurgence of allegations, James Kelly, widely known as Brother Ambrose, has once again come under scrutiny amid revelations of horrific abuse and neglect at facilities operated by the Brothers of Charity in Co Cork, specifically in the Lota area. Kelly, a figure infamous for his past crimes, was previously convicted and sentenced to 36 years in prison for abusing boys at Our Lady of Good Counsel school in Lota in 1999. Despite this, he was released after serving only three years, raising serious questions about the justice system and the oversight of such offenders.

Recent disclosures have intensified concerns about the extent of child abuse perpetrated by the Brothers of Charity. The Irish Independent has obtained hundreds of pages of documents that detail the appalling living conditions faced by vulnerable children at a residential facility in Lota, located in Glanmire, Co Cork. These documents, which were not made available to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse—an inquiry that condemned the Brothers of Charity in its 2009 Ryan Report—highlight a troubling gap in the official record-keeping and transparency surrounding the treatment of children in their care.

Questions are now being raised about how many other critical documents, potentially exposing further abuse, may have been overlooked or deliberately withheld from the inquiry. Lota has a long history of being associated with shocking cases of sexual abuse, with the 1950s and 1960s being particularly notorious periods. Two men, Brother Ambrose (James Kelly) and Brother Eunan (James Redmond), became infamous for their brutal exploitation of children entrusted to their care. Both were convicted of a series of heinous abuses against minors as young as ten years old.

Brother Ambrose, now 85, was described in court as “an evil monster,” and he later admitted to losing count of the number of children he had abused over more than two decades. One survivor recounted a “reign of sexual terror” inflicted upon them within the facility. Despite the focus on these cases, the voices of mentally handicapped children who lived at the home have remained unheard, leaving a significant gap in the understanding of the full scope of the abuse.

The Ryan Report dedicated an entire chapter to the Lota home but lamented the scarcity of documentation regarding the living conditions there. However, the Irish Independent has gained access to nearly a decade’s worth of daily records kept by staff members during the 1970s and 1980s. These records paint a grim picture of institutional neglect, revealing issues such as infestations of vermin, flooding, inadequate heating, and widespread illness among residents. Such findings cast doubt on the Brothers of Charity’s claims about transparency and the completeness of their disclosures to the authorities.

When questioned about the missing or undisclosed records, the Brothers of Charity stated that the public sessions of the commission were on record and that it would be inappropriate to disclose details of private, confidential sessions involving individual applicants. The organization was unable to clarify why these records were not provided prior to the publication of the Ryan Report, which, according to the report, states that “no such documentation exists for Lota.”

Efforts to obtain a response from Lota’s management regarding the records and their potential disclosure to the commission have so far been unsuccessful. The Ryan Report condemned the Brothers of Charity in the strongest terms, concluding that the organization prioritized its reputation over the safety and well-being of the vulnerable children in its care.

In a related and equally troubling development, James Kelly, the man known as Brother Ambrose, was released from Curragh Prison in County Kildare in 2002. Kelly, then aged 77, had been sentenced to a total of 36 years in 1999 for sexually abusing boys dating back to the 1950s. His convictions also included shorter sentences for other similar crimes, and he had been convicted in a British court as well. His release was granted under an agreement that he would be kept at a secret address, with arrangements made between his legal team, the Irish State, and the judiciary.

Initially, Kelly’s prison term was the longest ever handed down for child sex abuse in Irish legal history. However, a subsequent review controversially reduced his sentence, stipulating that he must remain at a secure location and stay out of Ireland for life. Nonetheless, last week, the Cork court accepted that such restrictions could not be practically enforced, especially given the publicity surrounding potential addresses in Britain or Belgium where Kelly could be housed. As a result, it was agreed that his exact location would remain confidential among the authorities, a decision that has faced protests from victims and advocacy groups who argue that justice has been compromised.