A RETIRED SURGEON groped and stroked the “privates” of a teenager who he had operated on weeks earlier, a jury has heard.

Michael Shine (86) of Ballsbridge, Dublin has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to thirteen charges of indecent assault allegedly committed during medical examinations at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth and at two private clinics in Drogheda.

On the fifth day of the trial, a man told Gerardine Small BL, prosecuting, that Shine performed surgery on his appendix at Lourdes hospital in 1971 when he was aged 13.

The man said that he attended an appointment with Shine around a week after being discharged from hospital at Lawrence Street Clinic, Drogheda. He said his father wanted to go into the examination room with him but he was prevented by Shine.

He said that Shine asked him to pull up his shirt and jumper and to loosen his trousers while he was lying on an examination couch. He said Shine briefly pressed around the wound on his side with his hands.

The man said that Shine then moved further down and felt his “privates”.

He said Shine fondled his testicles in his hand and then began stroking his penis.

He said he asked why his privates were being examined and that Shine said he needed to check that nothing was damaged. He said this came to an end when Shine said that the examination was finished and that he could get dressed.

“I got out of there are quick as I could,” the man said. He said he attended a second appointment at the clinic around two weeks later after his stitches had been removed.

‘I thought I was the only one’

He said that Shine did not pay much attention to his wound during the second appointment and that he again fondled his testicles and stroked his penis. He said he felt very embarrassed and could not wait to get out of there.

The man told Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, that when he heard about clerical abuse years later it brought back the alleged offences to his mind. He agreed that he never told anyone about what he says Shine did until he saw publicity in the media.

“I was glad that I wasn’t the only one, for 38 years I thought I was the only one,” the man said.

Another man told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that Shine performed surgery on his testicles at Lourdes hospital in 1975 when he was aged 13 and that he attended a follow-up appointment at Fair Street Clinic, Drogheda, around four weeks later.

The man said his father waited outside the examination room and that Shine asked him to lay down on a couch. He said that Shine pulled his trousers and underwear down to his knees and placed a paper towel on his exposed stomach.

He said that Shine first examined his testicles and then took his penis in his hand and began to masturbate it. He said that this continued for around 10 to 15 minutes.

The man said he was “somewhat taken aback” afterwards and he was unsure whether what happened had been a normal part of the examination.

The trial continues tomorrow before Judge Martin Nolan and a jury.

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