Humble servant of the Nation

Former Victoria Police detective Denis Ryan a hero of child abuse inquiry

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Imagine in this age of instant gratification, having to wait for something, anything for 45 years. Then think what it must be like to have to wait so long for something as fundamental as the truth.

Former Victoria Police detective, Denis Ryan, turned 86 last month.

In 1972, he was forced out of the Victoria Police Force after trying to bring the pedophile priest, Monsignor John Day, to justice.

Forty years later, Denis came to my home and together we wrote the book of that appalling story, Unholy Trinity: The Hunt for the Pedophile Priest Monsignor John Day”.

At the time I cautioned Denis about setting his expectations too high. The subject material of the book was so disturbing I doubted it would be a bestseller. To publisher Allen & Unwin’s credit they published anyway.

Full; column published here.

449 Comments

  • Henry Blofeld says:

    Child sexual abuse Royal Commission hands over stories of survivors in book “too heavy to lift”, Mr Insider.
    https://tinyurl.com/yd338ub3

  • Boadicea says:

    The good burghers of Bennelong have sure taken a hammering over the past few weeks.
    Four robot calls a day from both sides, schoolkids being handed pamphlets as they arrive at school, reds under the beds, Mediscare etc etc etc – and it’s just a by-election!
    Come the main game I think I may have to check in to a deserted island somewhere nice, with no Wifi for the 6 month run up.
    The polls yesterday had JA lagging – and today he’s miles ahead. God, “bon courage” as they say in France

    • Henry Blofeld says:

      Follow Newspoll, Boadicea that is the accurate one which has them level pegging. Reachtel was the one with Alexander way ahead and sadly they never get it right. Cheers

  • Mack the Knife says:

    Saw Chrissy Foster on ABC breakfast just now. Visibly upset but she got through the interview ok, and made some very good points about outcomes she would like to see from the RC. Very impressed with her, no bitterness, just logical and asking for what is right.

    On another subject, the W.A. govt just cut $64 million from the education budget, plans to lay off 200 staff from the dept, and is shutting down the School of the Air. WTF? I know from personal experience what the S.O.T.A. means to outback families, very sad move.

    • Boadicea says:

      One heck of a woman MtK. No one deserves what she has been through.

    • Boadicea says:

      Goodness me. Isn’t WA Labor these days? They wouldn’t do a thing like that, would they?

    • Trivalve says:

      I presume that they plan to replace the SOTA with some sort of internet service (surely?) Mac, but that’s a really bad move in my estimation.

      • Mack the Knife says:

        Yep, bad move. I reckon the less “learning by internet” that goes on the better. my daughter goes into grade 1 next year and the school wants everyone to buy their child the latest and greatest ipad, “qld gov apps only work on the latest ipad” they try to tell us. What a load of bollocks.

    • Dismayed says:

      What do you expect when the Federal coalition are Cutting funding from every sector of Education? Seriously you people need to open your eye.

    • Dismayed says:

      The hypocrisy of coalition supporters on education funding is breathtaking. You all pissed and moaned that the government couldn’t get its education funding cuts through the senate even though they now use back door measures to do so. Now due to the former WA coalition government leaving the budget in record debt and deficit after the largest longest boom in history and after Barnett made funding changes to education including the way sota is funded and on top of that cuts in education funding by the federal coalition you attack a state government purely because it is Labor. You continue to prove coalition supporters do not have the national interest at heart just pure cons self serving ideology. No surprises.

  • Boadicea says:

    A really interesting election pledge by Labor here to phase out pokie machines across the state over the next five years.
    Very murky deals with the government gave the Federal Group a monopoly on gambling in Tasmania. So they won’t be too happy.
    David Walsh has had a fair bit to say about that shady stuff too and is going ahead with his high rollers casino at MONA regardless of the Federal Group. Another amazing building to be built at MONA. He did however stipulate that there will be no pokie machines and only interstate gamblers will gain entry.
    I think it’s a brave call from Labor who think they have a good chance of taking government – looking at the demographics of where these pokie machines are and who frequent them. Let’s face it, they provide lucrative income for clubs and pubs, especially in remote country areas where the locals have nothing much else to do other than feed their welfare payment into the machines.
    Time will tell how this plays out.
    A great move both morally and socially, but will the voters buy it?

  • Trivalve says:

    Shun the Froomeius piss test batch

    • Boadicea says:

      Guess they had to ping him sooner or later Triv.
      I always thought he really nice guy until he and the Sky team did a dirty on his best mate, Richie Porte, which cost Richie a certain win in the Criterion du Dauphine.Froome wasn’t even in the running to win that race.
      I believe it was the end of a close friendship that spanned many years.

  • Jean Baptiste says:

    “Trump’s advisers on the Middle East are “inexperienced” and “living in a bubble.”

    No kidding?

    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/trump-jerusalem-move-blunder-consequences-171213115706262.html

    And they are advising a narcissistic idiot, what could possibly go wrong?

  • BASSMAN says:

    If Labor wins in Bennelong who can be thanked? Sam Dastyari! Again VERY poor judgement from Turnbull to pull the race card on China when we are eating from their rice bowl. Great to see Howard in Bennelong. Everywhere he has campaigned in the last 2 years the Looters have lost.

  • Dismayed says:

    Jean Baptiste says: December 13, 2017 at 1:26 pm “Just curious, you weren’t a hostie in a former life were you? Factual or fictional.” HAHAHA Classic. I have been thinking along the same lines. Give em heaps JB.

    • Boadicea says:

      You’re frothing at the mouth again Dismayed. Calm down and leave me out of your rants. Not interested buddy.

      JB: No, I happened to be an unfortunate passenger on the flight – and Annie wasn’t on the crew either

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