Michael Cleary (priest)
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Michael Cleary (17 May 1934 – 31 December 1993) was an
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
, who also became a radio and TV personality. Described in some sources as a "powerful and charismatic figure" in the Catholic Church in Ireland, he presented a late-night
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
phone-in show in Dublin in the 1980s and hosted his own
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
chat show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sho ...
. He also published a book about maintaining faith in the modern world. After he released two albums of songs, he was nicknamed "The Singing Priest". After his death it was revealed that he had lived with Phyllis Hamilton and fathered two children with her, while she acted as his housekeeper. They lived as a family in secret.


Life

Born in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland, Michael Cleary lived there all his life. He attended Catholic schools and became a priest. As an adult, he lived in Rathmines Road in Dublin. He participated in some of the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, saying he had used drugs. He was strongly devoted to care for the poor and working on poverty and community development issues. In the 1960s, Cleary discussed the Catholic clergy's attitudes to celibacy, sex and marriage in the Irish documentary film ''
Rocky Road to Dublin "Rocky Road to Dublin" is a 19th-century Irish song written by Irish poet D. K. Gavan about a man's experiences as he travels to Liverpool, England from his home in Tuam, Ireland. Originally popularized by Harry Clifton, it has since been per ...
'' (1967). He admitted to a personal preference for being married and having a family, but said that the role and necessary sacrifices of being a priest were a valid substitute. As part of his pushing limits, he once said he had tried every drug except
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
. Cleary had one of the highest profiles of any cleric in Ireland throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1979 Papal visit to Ireland, Cleary sang to the crowd of 200,000 at Ballybrit before the Pope made his appearance. He was a powerful and charismatic figure within the church. He was particularly devoted to raising the issue of
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
in Ireland, especially in Dublin, where he worked for change in inner-city communities.


Secret life

Three weeks after his death in December 1993 (from
throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...
), when it was therefore no longer liable to be sued for defamation, '' The Phoenix'', a national news magazine, published an article alleging that Cleary had fathered a child, Ross Hamilton, with Phyllis Hamilton who had worked as his longtime housekeeper. This claim was subsequently repeated and it was suggested that it should be confirmed by DNA analysis. The remaining Cleary family who volunteered to provide their own DNA refused to acknowledge the boy, nor has any DNA evidence been forthcoming or provided by any of the claimed children. The Cleary family have also disputed claims that he had fathered two boys (both having the same mother, Phyllis Hamilton, who it is claimed also had a girl during this time by another trainee priest) and said they were in possession of blood tests and affidavits from two men who claimed to be the boys' fathers but apparently none of these were ever produced. Cleary allegedly had a secret 26-year relationship with Hamilton that started in the 1960s when she was 17 and he was about 34. They allegedly had two sons, the first given up for adoption and the second they allegedly raised together."In the Name of the Father"
''Scannal'', RTÉ One, 2010, accessed 16 Feb 2010
Hamilton was later supported by psychiatrist
Ivor Browne Ivor Browne is an Irish retired psychiatrist, author, former Chief Psychiatrist of the Eastern Health Board, and Professor emeritus of psychiatry at University College Dublin. He is best known for his theory of trauma as being at the root caus ...
, who also publicised her story with her consent. Cleary pretended simply to be Hamilton's employer. According to journalist Paul Williams, she said in a ghost-written unverified
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...
published by Williams in 1995 that Cleary had taken marriage vows with her in a private ceremony with no third party present.Phyllis Hamilton and Paul Williams, ''Secret Love: My Life with Father Michael Cleary'', Dublin: Mainstream Publishing, 1995 She died in 2001 from
ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...
. Such a marriage ceremony, if it occurred, would not be legally binding under Irish law or
canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
.


Aftermath

This followed the 1992 discovery that Bishop
Eamonn Casey Eamonn Casey (24 April 1927 – 13 March 2017) was an Irish Catholic prelate who served as bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh in Ireland from 1976 to 1992. His resignation in 1992, after it was revealed he had had an affair with an American woman, ...
, also a well-known cleric in Ireland, had fathered a son (by then nearly 20) with American divorcée Annie Murphy. Casey was a friend and colleague of Cleary's and, as Cleary's confessor, had allegedly known about Cleary's relationship with Hamilton. Cleary and Hamilton did not know about the bishop's own affair and were shocked at the revelation about Casey. These sex scandals shocked the Catholic Church laity in Ireland, although because they were between adults they were not regarded as seriously as those involving direct abuse of children. The church was strongly criticised and the controversies shook many people's faith in its clergy. There is however no evidence of widespread knowledge among the hierarchy about the personal lives of Casey or Cleary. Murphy and Hamilton appeared on the ''Later With Clare McKeon'' chat show in January 1999 to talk about their lives and relationships, adding to publicity about the longtime affairs of the clergy. The Church allowed Hamilton and her son to continue living in Cleary's house for eleven years after his death, but then took possession after she died. The church informed Ross Hamilton he had to leave. When he refused, the church started legal proceedings against him, and as he had not legally established he was Cleary's son he had no right to inherit. The church paid him £40,000 in settlement. The church eventually sold the brick house in Mount Harold Terrace for £700,000. Hamilton brought a case in the High Court in 1996, which was eventually struck out in 2003.HAMILTON -V- CLEARY Year 1996 Case number 354 http://highcourtsearch.courts.ie


Documentary

On 21 April 2008, the documentary film ''The Holy Show'' was shown on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
. This one-hour film was based on footage shot when the director, Alison Millar, stayed with Cleary in his household as a student in 1991. At the time, his true relationship with Hamilton and their children was secret. In the film Millar also examines the changing roles of the church, social changes, the reaction of Cleary's congregation to the news of his family, and related issues. The documentary was also shown on another BBC programme, entitled ''The Father, the Son & the Housekeeper''.Alison Millar, "At Home with the Clearys"
, 67-second preview, Tern TV, accessed 16 Feb 2010
The film won several awards: * 2008 Irish Film & Television Award for Best Single Documentary * 2008 ''
Prix Italia The Prix Italia is an international Television, Radio-broadcasting and Web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with the ...
'' award for Best Documentary * 2008
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Irish Film Festival award for Best Documentary * 2008 Celtic Film Frank Copplestone First Time Director Award * Nominated for 2009 BAFTA Break-Through Talent Award for director Alison Millar Another programme, ''In the Name of the Father'', was produced on ''Scannal'', RTÉ One about Father Michael Cleary and his complicated life.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleary, Michael 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Alumni of Clonliffe College 1993 deaths 1934 births People from Rathmines