Survivors’ group calls for more investigations into Fr Eddie Gallagher
“Where a convicted child sex offender is reported to have brought a minor from overseas, the circumstances merit thorough examination”
The Dromore Group has called for a police investigation into new and serious allegations concerning Derry priest Fr Eddie Gallagher following reports he returned from a missionary assignment in Belize in the early 2000s accompanied by a minor who reportedly lived with him in a parochial house in County Tyrone.
The allegations against the former Moville parish priest featured in an Irish News article on 9 November.
With an address in Lifford, Gallagher was arrested in Derry in April 2025 and remanded in custody. He pleaded guilty at Derry Crown Court last month to 109 sexual offences. He is due to be sentenced on December 9.
According to the Irish News, the Diocese of Derry has stated that it has ‘no knowledge or record’ of Gallagher bringing a minor from Belize, or that the minor had stayed at Cappagh Parochial House, near Omagh.
The Dromore Group comprises survivors of clerical sexual abuse from the Diocese of Dromore, in County Down and County Armagh.
Given the seriousness of these new allegations, the Group said it wrote immediately to Dr Eamon Martin, Catholic Primate of All Ireland, demanding fullest transparency on Gallagher’s assignment to Belize and the circumstances of his return to ministry in 2004.
The Dromore Group has also written to Jon Boutcher, Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, recommending an immediate investigation, underlining its concerns around human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors.
The priority must be to establish the facts, identify any potential victims and ensure that no evidence is overlooked.
The letter underlines that a starting point for an investigation would be to determine Gallagher’s sexual interest in minors prior to his assignment to Belize and if this had been a factor in him being off-shored.
“We recognise that the movement of a minor across international borders does not, by itself, establish trafficking. However, where a convicted child sex offender is reported to have brought a minor from overseas into his care and accommodation, the circumstances merit thorough examination against the relevant trafficking, child protection and sexual exploitation legislation,” says Tony Gribben, of the Dromore Group.
Given the cross-border nature of concerns arising from Gallagher’s ministry, particularly as the Diocese of Derry serves families and communities in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the Dromore Group has also written to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Justin Kelly.
A letter has also gone to the Commissioner of Police of Belize, Dr. Richard Rosado.
The Dromore Group has asked the Commissioner for his fullest cooperation should a PSNI investigation proceed into Gallagher’s time, including appropriate enquiries into the teenager’s identity, circumstances, links with the Sacred Heart Parish in San Ignacio in Belize where Gallagher worked, the departure from Belize of the young man, as well as his return.
The letter to the Belize Commissioner of police specifically refers to the possibility of international human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of a minor.
A former parish priest in Moville from 2022 until 2024, Gallagher has been expelled from ministry. Most recently, he served as a curate at the Clonleigh, Camus and Leckpatrick parishes, which include Lifford.