View source for Colm O'Gorman

{{Short description|Irish activist (born 1966)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image         = Colmogorman1.jpg
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1966|7|15|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[County Wexford]], Ireland
| spouse        =
| nationality   = [[Irish people|Irish]]
| party         = [[Progressive Democrats]] (formerly)
| office        = Executive Director of [[Amnesty International Ireland]]
| term_start    = {{start date|2008|01}}<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/family-danger-1.920927|title=Family danger|date=6 May 2008|first=Sylvia|last=Thompson|quote=Colm O'Gorman, who left the agency in January and has since become the executive director of the Dublin office of Amnesty International.|access-date=12 February 2017|archive-date=22 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222121244/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/family-danger-1.920927|url-status=live}}</ref>
| term_end      = June 2022
| office2       = [[Seanad Éireann|Senator]]
| term_start2   = 3 May 2007
| term_end2     = 13 September 2007
| constituency2 = [[Nominated members of Seanad Éireann|Nominated by the Taoiseach]]
|}}
'''Colm O'Gorman''' (born 15 July 1966) is an Irish activist and former politician. He was the executive director of [[Amnesty International Ireland]] from 2008 to 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnesty.ie/|title=Amnesty International Ireland Website|work=amnesty.ie|access-date=30 May 2008|archive-date=5 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205014655/http://amnesty.ie/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=IrInd15Mar08>{{cite news|last=Cunningham|first=Grainne|title=Amnesty in fresh demand for 'torture' flight inspections|work=[[Irish Independent]]|date=15 March 2008|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/amnesty-in-fresh-demand-for-torture-flight-inspections-1318402.html|access-date=9 June 2008|archive-date=26 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826141708/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/amnesty-in-fresh-demand-for-torture-flight-inspections-1318402.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/colm-o-gorman-to-leave-role-at-amnesty-international-ireland-1.4844551|title=Colm O'Gorman to leave role at Amnesty International Ireland| work=irishtimes.com|access-date=1 August 2023}}</ref> He is founder and former director of One in Four.

He is a survivor of [[clergy|clerical]] [[child sexual abuse|sexual abuse]], and first came to public attention by speaking out against the perpetrators. O'Gorman subsequently founded One in Four, an Irish charity which supports men and women who have been [[Sexual abuse|sexually abused]] and/or suffered [[sexual violence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oneinfour.ie/about/|title=Our vision & work - About us|work=One in Four|access-date=3 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704014924/http://www.oneinfour.ie/about|archive-date=4 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He was a Senator in 2007, representing the [[Progressive Democrats]].

==Early and private life==
Colm O'Gorman was born in [[County Wexford]]. His father was Seán O'Gorman, of [[Adamstown, County Wexford]] – a farmer, builder and local [[Fianna Fáil]] politician.<ref name=MunExp4Aug06>{{cite news|title=New Ross – General Election|work=[[The Munster Express]]|date=4 August 2006|url=http://www.munster-express.ie/community-notes/newross/new-ross-51/|access-date=12 May 2008|archive-date=8 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008134218/http://www.munster-express.ie/community-notes/newross/new-ross-51/|url-status=live}}</ref> Seán O'Gorman was a member of [[Wexford County Council]], and later moved with his family to live in [[Wexford]] town. He twice stood unsuccessfully as a Fianna Fáil candidate in general elections: in 1969 and 1973.<ref name="ElectSoGorm">{{cite web|url=http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=2976|title=Seán O'Gorman|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=12 May 2008|archive-date=9 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909165140/http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=2976|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, Colm O'Gorman settled near [[Gorey]], County Wexford.<ref name=EnnGuard27Apr06>{{cite news|title=O'Gorman to stand for PDs|work=Enniscorthy Guardian|date=27 April 2006|url=http://www.enniscorthyguardian.ie/frontpage/ogorman-to-stand-for-pds-621471.html|access-date=12 May 2008|archive-date=4 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004071447/http://www.enniscorthyguardian.ie/frontpage/ogorman-to-stand-for-pds-621471.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He is raising two children with his husband Paul, of whom they have joint legal guardianship.<ref name=NRS1Feb2007>{{cite news|title=Election candidate hits out at line of questioning on Late Late Show O'Gorman 'duped' into discussing private life|work=New Ross Standard|date=1 February 2007|url=http://www.newrossstandard.ie/news/election-candidate-hits-out-at-line-of-questioning-on-late-late-show-ogorman-duped-into-discussing-private-life-537171.html|access-date=12 May 2008|archive-date=8 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008060855/http://www.newrossstandard.ie/news/election-candidate-hits-out-at-line-of-questioning-on-late-late-show-ogorman-duped-into-discussing-private-life-537171.html|url-status=live}}</ref> When this was revealed it generated debate on fosterships in the Irish media.<ref name=IrInd14Apr2007>{{cite news|last=Finnegan|first=Brian|title=OUT OF TOUCH|work=[[Irish Independent]]|date=14 April 2007|url=http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/out-of-touch-43492.html|access-date=23 January 2010|archive-date=9 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109003157/http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/out-of-touch-43492.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Child sexual abuse and the Roman Catholic Church==
{{see also|Ferns Report}}
As an adolescent in County Wexford – between the age of 15 and 17 – O'Gorman was sexually abused by [[Seán Fortune|Fr Seán Fortune]]. The abuse occurred between 1981 and 1983.<ref name=RTE9Apr2003>{{cite news|title=1 in 4 founder settles High Court action|work=[[Raidió Teilifís Éireann|Radio Telefís Éireann]] (RTÉ) News|date=9 April 2003|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0409/abuse01.html|access-date=9 June 2008|archive-date=12 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012203041/http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0409/abuse01.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He became the first of Fortune's many victims to come forward and report the assaults to the [[Garda Síochána|Irish police]]. In 1998, he sued the Bishop of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns]] and the [[Dublin]] [[Nuncio|Papal Nuncio]], inter alia the then Pope, John Paul II, who later claimed [[diplomatic immunity]]. His case against the Catholic Diocese of Ferns was [[legal settlement|settled]] in 2003 with an admission of negligence and the payment of damages – in April 2003, O'Gorman was awarded €300,000 damages.<ref name=SunInd8Jun035>{{cite news|title=PERSON OF THE MONTH Colm O'Gorman, who fought a long battle against clerical sex abuse|work=[[Sunday Independent (Ireland)|Sunday Independent]]|date=8 June 2003|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/person-of-the-month--colm-ogorman-who-fought-a-long-battle-against-clerical-sex-abuse-491832.html|access-date=12 May 2008|archive-date=20 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520035151/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/person-of-the-month--colm-ogorman-who-fought-a-long-battle-against-clerical-sex-abuse-491832.html|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Gorman documented his lawsuit in the [[BBC]] documentary ''[[Suing the Pope]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/correspondent/read_your_comments/1888727.stm|date=22 March 2002|title=Suing The Pope: Your comments (viewers)|access-date=13 August 2006|work=BBC News|archive-date=16 July 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040716002644/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/correspondent/read_your_comments/1888727.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

He successfully campaigned to set up the [[Ferns Inquiry]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oneinfour.org/uploads/ferns.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=11 August 2006|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510114040/http://www.oneinfour.org/uploads/ferns.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2006 }}.</ref> the first Irish state inquiry into clerical sexual abuse. He founded the charity One in Four in London in 1999 and established its sister organisation in Ireland in 2002. He is a well-known figure in Irish media as an advocate of child sexual abuse victims and a commentator and campaigner on sexual violence. He was named one of the ESB/Rehab People of the Year and received a [[TV3 (Ireland)|TV3]]/''[[Irish Daily Star|Daily Star]]'' "Best of Irish" award in 2002, one of the ''[[Sunday Independent (Ireland)|Sunday Independent]]''/''[[Irish Nationwide]]'' People of the Year in 2003 and in the same year he was also awarded the James Larkin Justice Award by the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] for his contribution to [[social justice]] in Ireland.

In 2006 O'Gorman presented ''[[Sex Crimes and the Vatican (film)|Sex Crimes and the Vatican]]'' for the BBC [[Panorama (British TV programme)|''Panorama'' documentary series]], which claimed that the [[Roman Curia|Vatican]] has used [[Crimen sollicitationis]] secret document to silence [[Roman Catholic sexual abuse cases|allegations of sexual abuse by priests]] and also claimed Crimen sollicitationis was enforced for 20 years by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope [[Benedict XVI]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/5389684.stm|work=BBC News|title=Sex crimes and the Vatican|date=29 September 2006|access-date=30 April 2010|archive-date=7 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107023507/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/5389684.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, O'Gorman was interviewed as part of the Australian documentary series ''[[Revelation (TV series)|Revelation]]''.

==Political career==
In April 2006, he announced that he would stand for the [[Progressive Democrats]], a pro-free market liberal political party, in the [[2007 Irish general election|2007 general election]] in the [[Wexford (Dáil constituency)|Wexford constituency]]. On 3 May 2007, he was appointed to the Seanad by the [[Taoiseach]] to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator [[Kate Walsh (politician)|Kate Walsh]].<ref name=oireachtas_db>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Colm-O'Gorman.S.2007-05-03/|title=Colm O'Gorman|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=18 January 2020|archive-date=16 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316025610/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Colm-O'Gorman.S.2007-05-03|url-status=live}}</ref>

He was not elected in the [[2007 Irish general election|2007 general election]] in Wexford polling 3% of the vote.<ref name="ElectColmOGorm">{{cite web|url=http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=8617|title=Colm O'Gorman|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=12 May 2008|archive-date=18 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070918213359/http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=8617|url-status=live}}</ref> He was not re-appointed to the 23rd Seanad in July 2007.

==Amnesty International==
{{see also|Amnesty International Ireland}}
O'Gorman was the executive director of [[Amnesty International Ireland]] from 2008 to 2022, and often appears in the media to talk or write about human rights in Ireland and around the world. He and Amnesty called for an update to Ireland's hate-crime legislation, stating that freedom of expression does not extend to hate crime and that Irish people need to accept that "it is not enough to be anti-racist but that there is a need to be actively anti-racist."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/human-rights-groups-call-for-hate-crime-legislation-in-ireland-to-be-updated-1.4331517|title=Human rights groups call for hate crime legislation in Ireland to be updated|last=McGarry|first=Patsy|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=16 August 2020|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230234254/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/human-rights-groups-call-for-hate-crime-legislation-in-ireland-to-be-updated-1.4331517|url-status=live}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.oneinfour.ie/ One In Four official site]
* [http://www.oneinfour.org.uk/ One In Four UK]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051104184156/http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46&aid=29558 Apology and settlement from the Church]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090521145129/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5350878/The-Catholic-church-failed-me.-I-despised-myself-and-lost-all-confidence..html Telegraph interview with O'Gorman]

{{Catholic Church sexual abuse in Ireland}}
{{Abortion in the Republic of Ireland}}
{{Members of the 22nd Seanad}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogorman, Colm}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Gorey]]
[[Category:Activists for victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church]]
[[Category:Amnesty International people]]
[[Category:Irish gay politicians]]
[[Category:LGBTQ legislators in Ireland]]
[[Category:Members of the 22nd Seanad]]
[[Category:Progressive Democrats senators]]
[[Category:Nominated members of Seanad Éireann]]
[[Category:Irish abortion-rights activists]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:21st-century Irish LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Progressive Democrats candidates in Dáil elections]]