Michael O’Brien, abuse survivor and former mayor who took government to task, dies aged 92

Independent.ie - 09:58
Tributes are being paid to an abuse survivor who famously tackled the government during a live TV debate in 2009.

Michael O’Brien (92) appeared on RTÉ’s Questions and Answers programme on May 25, 2009, and outlined in detail his experiences of being abused as a child in St Joseph’s Industrial School in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

Mr O’Brien was addressing then-minister Noel Dempsey, following the publication of the Ryan report into clerical abuse.

Mr O’Brien, a former local councillor, also served as a Fianna Fáil Lord Mayor of Clonmel in 1993.

In the programme, Mr O'Brien detailed his own experiences with the commission. He said he tried to take his own life after spending five...
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