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We learned two things this week – Ireland was a paedophile Republic from its foundation and Fianna Fail was the political wing of the Catholic Church.

Micheal Martin’s attempts to make mud stick to Sinn Fein flew back in his face when it re-emerged his party, if not in bed with clerical child abusers, certainly tucked them in.

If Sinn Fein supported the three-decade long conflict carried out by the IRA, Fianna Fail stood idly by and allowed the Catholic Church wage a war against innocent children.

Worse than that, when Mr Martin’s party had the opportunity to make these monsters pay for their sins they betrayed survivors by handing them a sweetheart deal which would cost the taxpayer in excess of €1.5billion.

(Image: Collins Photo Agency)

There are many people in this country who believe abuse carried out down the decades by the Church has done more damage to children than the actions of the IRA.

When Mr Martin comes out accusing Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Fein for taking orders from shady figures, he seems to forget his own party’s dark past.

Years before they went on to bankrupt the country, Fianna Fail proved to be morally bankrupt by effectively allowing the Church to walk away from their responsibility for the rape and torture of thousands of children.

In what was the dirtiest deal ever done in this State, the then Fianna Fail Education Minister Michael Woods agreed to accept €128million in exchange for letting 18 religions institutions off the hook for decades of abuse.

Mr Martin was a member of the cabinet that signed off on the grubby agreement, despite the misgivings of the then Attorney General Michael McDowell in 2002.

This week on RTE’s harrowing Redress: Breaking The Silence documentary, the Fianna Fail leader admits the deal was “a mistake”.

Tricky Mickey is not wrong there but it was more than that, it was the total betrayal of the most vulnerable citizens in the State who had suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of monsters who would never be held to account.

(Image: Brian Lawless/PA Wire)

And this is the same guy who wants the public to trust him and his party to do the right thing for the country when they have done the very opposite in the past.

Not alone did Michael and his pals let the religious congregations away with dreadful crimes against children, they ensured their horror stories would never be told.

A gagging order inserted into the legislation at the last minute ensured what took place in these demonic institutions would never be known.

The Church’s political wing ensured the child abusers escaped punishment but the victims faced a fine or even jail if they spoke about their horrific experiences.

The heart-wrenching testimony of abuse victim Michael O’Brien – which originally aired on RTE’s Questions and Answers in 2009 but which resurfaced this week in the wake of the latest documentary – highlights some of the pain felt by the survivors who are adamant they were betrayed by Fianna Fail.

In what was the most powerful audience contribution ever seen on Irish TV Mr O’Brien, who was raped and beaten by brothers at St Joseph’s Industrial in Tipperary, lambasted the then Fianna Fail Transport Minister Noel Dempsey for failing to go after property of the religious institutions.

The dumbfounded politician meekly hid behind the Constitution.

Mr O’Brien’s outburst, which should be played every time Fianna Fail TD runs down Sinn Fein, was a seminal moment in Irish history for the public were left in no doubt the Church’s property rights trumped the human rights of sexually abused children.

Far from trying to run down Fianna Fail, Mr O’Brien is a former mayor and local councillor who fought “tooth and nail for the party”.

He added at the time he and the vast majority of people in this country would vote to change the Constitution regarding property rights if given the chance and he is dead right.

The 15,572 survivors who received awards from the Redress Board but who are not allowed to talk about their abuse will testify to that.

In some ways the actions of some Fianna Fail ministers down the decades make the Shinners look like monks.

The irony being Fianna Fail allowed actual monks, priests and brothers off the hook for some of the worst child sex crimes ever committed in this country.