Mr Oliver O’Grady, the convicted child abuser and former Roman Catholic priest; defrocked in 2001, and who previously lived and studied in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, has reportedly returned to Ireland since August of this year, 2026.
The Irish Sun newspaper, reporting on September 15th last, stated that the 81-year-old had completed a one-year sentence at Carregueira prison in Portugal for possessing child sexual abuse material.
It reported that Portuguese police alerted Irish Gardaí before his arrival at Dublin Airport, where officers questioned him about his accommodation plans. He reportedly intended to remain in Dublin.
Mr O’Grady’s connection with Thurles dates back to 1964, when he entered St Patrick’s College, to study for the priesthood. According to the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, his studies were sponsored by the Diocese of Stockton, California.
He completed his training and was ordained in 1971, before moving back to California. Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference states that he was never a priest of an Irish diocese.
He later returned to live in Thurles following imprisonment in the United States. A contemporary Associated Press report dated May 12th 2005, confirmed he had been living in the town since 2003, in rented accommodation on its outskirts. Local people described him as keeping very much to himself and regularly going for walks.
That report followed publicity surrounding his videotaped testimony in an American civil case. Neighbours would later report that Mr O’Grady had gone to Dublin to avoid the publicity. The precise length of his residence remains uncertain, although a later American news account stated that he possibly resided four years in Thurles.
His criminal history includes a 1993 California conviction for sexually abusing two brothers and a three-year Irish prison sentence in 2012 for possessing child sexual abuse material. In October 2020, Waterford Circuit Court sentenced him to a further 22 months after a jury convicted him of possessing a child abuse video.
His Thurles seminary connection also featured in litigation against the Cashel and Emly diocese. In January 2007, the Bishops’ Conference reported that a California court had dismissed claims against the archdiocese, finding no admissible evidence that it knew of his propensity to molest children.
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