\u201cMisery literature is huge, especially in Ireland,\u201d agrees Kelly. \u201cThe public loves this description of a cold, miserable Ireland, where it always rains and priests are always around, abusing someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what makes the O\u2019Beirne saga [the story of her abuse in the notorious Magdalene Laundries]\u00a0so troubling, Kelly believes, is that it fuels Ireland\u2019s obsession with clerical sex abuse, and the abuse-claim industry. O\u2019Beirne herself accused Fr Fergal O\u2019Connor, founder of the homeless hostel Sherrard House, of raping her in the 1970s. The investigation took a year, during which the 77-year-old University College Dublin professor was prevented from visiting his own workplace. Yet Fr O\u2019Connor was virtually crippled by arthritis when the alleged crimes took place, unable even to shake hands because of the pain, according to a friend. The priest was exonerated two days before his death.<\/p>\n
Mainstream Publishing, which published Don\u2019t Ever Tell, is steadfast in its support of O\u2019Beirne\u2019s book. \u201cWe have made our own investigations, and are convinced this is a legitimate account of the harrowing experiences endured by a young girl whose life has been embittered by the abuse she suffered at the institution in which she was incarcerated. We have no doubt about Kathy O\u2019Beirne\u2019s account of these events. Mr Kelly\u2019s version is his own and, in our opinion, does not relate to any sort of reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Beirne\u2019s own feelings about Kelly\u2019s investigation became clear on Irish TV last November, when he pulled out her birth certificate and school records, showing she had lied about her age, education and alleged adoption. O\u2019Beirne, furious, hit him. As he commented at the time: \u201cShe can beat my back, but she can\u2019t beat my book.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Telegraph<\/a> (U.K.)
\nHT: Per Christum<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cMisery literature is huge, especially in Ireland,\u201d agrees Kelly. \u201cThe public loves this description of a cold, miserable Ireland, where it always rains and priests are always around, abusing someone.\u201d But what makes the O\u2019Beirne saga [the story of her abuse in the notorious Magdalene Laundries]\u00a0so troubling, Kelly believes, is that it fuels Ireland\u2019s obsession […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2948,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[139,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literature","category-mz"],"yoast_head":"\n
Misery Lit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Misery literature is huge, especially in Ireland," agrees Kelly. "The public loves this description of a cold, miserable Ireland, where it always rains\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2008\/03\/05\/misery-lit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Misery Lit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Misery literature is huge, especially in Ireland," agrees Kelly. 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