A Co Monaghan priest has been remanded on bail after appearing at Enniskillen Magistrates Court this morning charged with indecent assault in the 1980s. Canon Patrick McEntee (69) from Esker Road, Dromore is charged with indecently assaulting a complainant between 1980 and 1981.
He is further charged with indecently assaulting a second complainant on dates between 1988 and 1989. A police officer told today's court sitting the charges could be connected. Meanwhile, Cannon McEntee spoke only to confirm his identity and indicated that he understood the charges against him.
No details surrounding the circumstances of the alleged offences were disclosed during the short hearing although it is understood they relate to Canon McEntee's time in Co Fermanagh. Deputy District Judge Austin Kennedy remanded the accused on continuing bail of £500 and ordered Canon McEntee to reside only at his current address.
He is also banned from all contact with complainants and any person aged under 16. The case was adjourned until the 21st of August and Judge Kennedy refused a defence solicitor's application for Canon McEntee to be excused from attending on that date.
Originally from Monaghan town, Canon McEntee joined the staff of St Michael's College, Enniskillen in 1997, teaching religious studies and sitting on the Board of Governors. He was also college president between 1994 and 2000, moving on to take up the post of Parish Priest at St Davog's Church in Dromore, Co Tyrone in 2001, where he remained until his recent leave of absence.
