Judge asks for ‘timeline’ in case of priest charged with child sex offences
Former Moville parish priest Fr Eddie Gallagher (58) faces a total of 8 charges in court
A judge has asked for 'a timeline' in relation to the files in the case of a former Inishowen parish priest charged with 8 sexual offences against children.
Fr Edward Gallagher (58), of Orchard Park in Lifford, had initially been charged with one count of attempted sexual communication with a child on dates between April 2 and April 17, 2025.
The charge came after he was confronted by an online group outside a Derry hotel on Holy Thursday, April 17.
At his last court appearance on July 3, Fr Gallagher was further charged with 7 additional offences, including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch sexual activity on April 17 this year.
At the latest hearing in Derry on Thursday, July 31, a prosecutor asked for an adjournment “to see where we are” in the case.
The court heard how the original file was due on July 27, but the new charges had impacted on that.
District Judge Conor Heaney said that “there was no purposeful date” today and there might not be one in August.
He asked for a timeline in relation to the files for the next court appearance on August 14.
Fr Gallagher, who has been in custody since April, did not appear.
Fr Gallagher, who was parish priest in Moville from 2022 until 2024, remains suspended from ministry. Most recently, he served as a curate at the Clonleigh, Camus and Leckpatrick parishes.