Read on Twitter
1/ It took me 20 years to try and hold St.Johns Ambulance to account. I was ignored and mocked. Laughed at and told it never happened. @tusla finally completed an investigation into the abuse myself and others suffered and our allegations were founded by their retrospective team
2/ Despite allegations going back to the 1960s about the senior officer. The perpetrator was allowed to remain a member until the early 2000s. Eventually he was, persuaded to resign as a sadly belated attempt to protect vulnerable children.They even Photoshopped him out of photos
3/ I lost my family and my home because of what happened. I'm not looking for anyone to feel sorry for me. All I'm looking for is accountability and an independent inquiry into what happened. The Johns ambulance are proposing to conduct their own inquiry.
4/ Myself and the other victims think this is completely unacceptable and should not be allowed to happen. The Johns ambulance knowingly thwarted a Garda investigation and tried to erase him from all of their photos. They facilitated his abuse and ignored all complaints about him
5/ It was a open secret amongst senior officers in Johns Ambulance that they told their cadets (children) that they were not allowed to attend duties at Lansdowne Road, RDS & Dublin Zoo because he was the officer in charge. They protected some kids but allowed others to be abused
6/ It's because of this abuse that my relationship with my family brokedown. I ended up homeless, sleeping rough in Dublin for years navigating homeless services. Not to mention multiple suicide attempts and spent years in and out of Psychiatric Hospitals in London.
7/ Nobody should have to go through what we experienced as children in St.Johns Ambulance. It robbed me of my childhood and nearly killed me as an adult. The organisation needs to be held account & while they may want to do the right thing now. Only an independent inquiry will do
