LAST UPDATE | 21 Apr 2023

A FORMER GAA club official has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for what a judge called “a campaign of sexual offending” carried out against young males for almost 30 years.

Thomas McKenna, 62, with an address at Maghaberry Prison, pleaded guilty to 162 sexual abuse offences, including serious sexual assault, indecent assault, voyeurism and possession of an indecent image of a child.

The offences were against 23 boys and men, ranging in age from 14 to 39, and took place between 1989 and 2018.

McKenna had been a club treasurer at Crossmaglen Rangers GAA in Co Armagh, as well as a postman and a director of the local credit union.

At Belfast Laganside Courthouse today, Judge Patricia Smyth said that McKenna had used his position in the community to “groom and manipulate” his victims, some of whom were particularly young and vulnerable.

The judge said that he manipulated his victims until they felt “utterly powerless” and unable to disclose the abuse, and said the psychological harm which he inflicted was “immeasurable”.

“There is no sentence that this court can pass that will repair that damage,” she added.

She said that some of the offences were carried out in hotels when travelling with the club, at pubs and in toilets in Northern Ireland and Ireland, as well as in his home and in the homes of some of his victims.

Judge Smyth said he bought alcohol for many of his victims, facilitated credit union loans for others and told some of them he could get them promoted to the senior team.

She said the fact that his offending only stopped when he was arrested was “a particularly serious concern”.

She said that some of the victims had written to her to speak about the effect the abuse had on their lives. This included suicide attempts, addiction issues, a disruption to their education and the loss of intimacy in relationships.

“A sense of guilt and shame permeates many of the accounts. Guilt that it happened,” she said.

“Young men tortured with the thought that they were somehow to blame, when in truth, they bear no responsibility.”

She also spoke about the parents of the boys and men involved as victims who had “entrusted their children to your care”.

“You manipulated those parents, just as you manipulated their children. You befriended them, disguising your true nature under a mask of respectability.”

The judge was also highly critical of McKenna’s approach to his defence, calling it “an attempt to continue the psychological power games that you’d played for years”.

“I do not accept that the number of allegations is a reason for the delay in accepting guilt,” she said.

“You knew what you had done and you decided to meet the allegations through a mix of negative denials, assertions of consensual relationships and innocent horseplay misinterpreted.

“Had you contested the charges, you would have given false instructions and challenged honest accounts from victims,” she added.

Referencing an explanation given by McKenna that his offending was linked to his “inability” to accept his gay sexual orientation, Judge Smyth said: “It is ironic that while you felt that being gay was wrong, you did not appear to have had any compunction about sexually abusing children.”

Remarking that the scale and duration of the offences elevated the case to an “unprecedented level”, she sentenced McKenna to 16 years in prison, with seven years on licence.

Following the sentencing, his 23 victims said that “the pain and suffering” they experienced would now not be felt by another generation.

“While there were many difficult days as we relived the crimes committed against us, we, as a group, are immensely proud of the strength, dignity and unity we displayed throughout this process to get the justice we deserve and ensure that the pain and suffering inflicted upon us will not be felt by another generation in our community,” they said in a statement read outside the court by their solicitor.

“We urge anyone else who has suffered similarly to take confidence from our journey and to reach out to the relevant authorities.”

Detective Chief Inspector Kerry Brennan said that sexual predators, and people who abuse children in particular, are “highly manipulative” and “really skilled”.

“What I would say to anyone listening is trust your gut. If you’re not happy with a situation or an adult, pick up the phone, contact the police or speak to your safeguarding professional in whatever organisation you’re in,” she said.

She thanked the local community in Crossmaglen for their support, which she said had helped bring the investigation to court.

“I would encourage anyone who is on the fence about engaging to report… any form of sexual abuse, please take courage from this and courage from these victims.”

Eamonn McMahon, of Crossmaglen Rangers GAA, said the GAA has commissioned an independent review of McKenna’s use of his position within the Co Armagh club to abuse boys and young men for years.

“The GAA, together with Crossmaglen Rangers, thank Ms Justice Smyth for today’s sentencing of Thomas McKenna after what’s been a trying four-and-a-half years for the victims, their families, our club and the wider Crossmaglen community since his arrest,” he said outside the court.

“To the victims, we are deeply sorry.

“Your journey has been a difficult one, and your strength to stay the course and see this case through to its legal conclusion is testament to your character, and recognition of the support received.

“To your parents and families, we are sorry and we thank you for your unwavering support. We recognise that your lives have been severely impacted when you too learned about the abuse of a loved one. We wish to assure you that the GAA will continue to support you and your families on an ongoing basis.”