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The great forgetting

Lack of action over the St John Ambulance Ireland child sex abuse scandal leaves victims without justice and risks further abuses in the future, warns MICK FINNEGAN

THERE is a sickening rhythm to Irish scandals. The exposé. The hand-wringing. The solemn promises of reform. And then with depressing predictability the great forgetting.

The Shannon Review’s revelations about St John Ambulance Ireland (SJAI) should have shattered this cycle. Here was an organisation that styled itself as a pillar of civic virtue, while behind closed doors it harboured abusers, silenced whistleblowers, and prioritised its own reputation over the safety of children. The report laid bare not just institutional failure, but something more sinister: a culture that enabled harm to flourish under the cover of respectability.

And how did Ireland respond? With a pantomime of concern so transparent it would be laughable if the stakes weren’t so dire.

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