Revealed: The rural Irish area where three convicted child abusers lived just minutes apart

A small rural area in Co Monaghan has become the focus of a disturbing coincidence after an Irish Mirror investigation found that three convicted sex offenders have lived within just a few kilometres of each other.

Sickos Joseph Johnson (72), Gerry Harte (73) and now deceased Christopher Mooney (60) were each convicted in separate cases involving sexual offences against children.

Their crimes were unrelated, their cases were dealt with separately and there is no suggestion the men had any connection to one another.

But an Irish Mirror investigation examining their past addresses has revealed that all three men lived within a four-kilometre radius around the Castleblayney area of Co Monaghan.

The discovery comes as questions remain over the return of convicted offenders to communities after serving prison sentences, with Johnson recently released from custody after serving just over two years for historical sexual offences against Alison McCaghey, which began when she was seven years old.

Harte was sentenced to eight years for the sexual abuse of three younger siblings during the 1970s and 1980s, while Mooney, who was murdered on December 1, 2022 in his home at Knockreagh Lower, Broomfield, near Castleblayney, was jailed for sexual offences against a male juvenile almost two decades ago.

The three convicted sex offenders addresses are spread across a small rural area around Castleblayney, where neighbours live in close-knit communities and local knowledge travels quickly.

The locations of Mullaghanee where Joseph Johnson lived, Tullynacrunat North where Gerry Harte lived and Knockreagh Lower where Christopher Mooney lived are within minutes of each other in the Broomfield areas, despite the crimes committed by the three men being entirely separate.

The driving distance from Mullaghanee to Tullynacrunat North is approximately 2.8km while the driving distance from Tullynacrunat North to Knockreagh Lower is around 1.5km. The driving distance from Mullaghanee to Knockreagh Lower is around 4.2km.

The latest name to return to the area is Joseph Johnson who was released from Portlaoise prison earlier in July. Johnson was jailed for three years in April 2024 for robbing Alison McCaghey (52) of her innocent childhood by indecently assaulting her over a prolonged period - when she was just seven years of age.

Brave Alison waived her anonymity so her abuser Johnson could be named publicly and spoke out at the time he was sentenced to encourage and help other victims of abuse to come forward and know they have a voice too.

The then 70-year-old admitted eight counts of indecently assaulting Alison over a four-and-a-half year period in the early 1980s. The horror abuse on Alison started in the early 1980s when she was an innocent seven-year-old.

Johnson, who is her mothers second cousin and 20 years older than Alison, lived next door when Alison and her family moved from Dundalk to Castleblayney where they built a house.

Johnson, of Mullaghanee, moved into Alisons family home where he started an intimate relationship with her mother. Then the weekly horror sexual abuse on Alison started.

She recalled a Saturday morning when she was seven and Johnson, who was naked in his bed, pulled her into the bed and put his hands into her pants and put his fingers in her vagina. He also asked her to touch his penis, the court heard.

The abuse continued most Saturday mornings and he made her masturbate him, the court heard. Alison told her mother when she was 11 what Johnson was doing to her. Her mother had a row with Johnson, who left the house for several days, but then returned as if nothing happened, the court heard and the abuse continued but to a lesser degree.

Brave Alison only found the courage five years ago to make the call to report the abuse as she thought it would lift the weight off her shoulders she has been carrying for over 30 years.

The pain I have carried silently all these years growing up without the protection and security will live with me forever," said Alison. No child should ever be faced with the explicitness that Ive had to, Alison said in her victim impact report.

Meanwhile, evil monster Gerry Harte (73), who is still behind bars serving an eight year sentence handed down in October 2024, sexually abused two of his younger sisters Noeleen and Fiona and his younger brother PJ during the 1970s and 1980s.

Brave PJ (60), Noeleen Connors (68) and Fiona Harte-Powell (57) all waived their right to anonymity to allow Gerry Harte, of Tullynacrunat North, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, to be named.

Sicko Harte pleaded guilty on a trial date to 15 counts of indecent assault, five for each of the three victims. Fiona was nine when Gerry, who was 23, started to abuse her in 1977.

Bathroom horror

In the first incident, he pushed her into the bathroom, telling her he wanted to show her something and if she did it, he would give her 50p. He locked the door, then sexually assaulted her. The court heard the abuse occurred regularly, whenever they were in the house alone, in either her bedroom or the bathroom.

The court heard the abuse occurred regularly, whenever they were in the house alone, in either her bedroom or the bathroom. The court heard the abuse escalated to include masturbation and what Fiona described to gardai as simulated sex.

The abuse ended when she was around 14 and became aware of the fact of life, she realised what her brother was doing to her was so diabolically wrong, so when Gerry went to touch her bra, she grabbed a fire poker, threatening to split him in two if he touched her.

Noeleen was just 14 when Harte, who was then 17, started to abuse her in 1971. The court heard sexually assaulted her for the first time in the bathroom of the family home. He then gave her money for sweets and told her not to tell anyone. The abuse occurred regularly, and generally took place while their parents were out of the house.

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Later, Gerry would come into her bedroom and touch her inappropriately. The abuse ended when she was 17 or 18 and fought back, kicking his shins and grabbing his hair. PJ was around 11 when Gerry, then 22, started to abuse him in 1976. He sexually assaulted PJ at nighttime in his bedroom, and the abuse went from trying to dry hump and escalated to masturbation.

The abuse ended years later and only after PJ refused to perform oral sex on him and told him This shit stops now. Brave PJ, Noeleen and Fiona spoke with the Irish Mirror at the time Harte was sentenced of the horrors they have been through.

None of us knew what the other had gone through. It only came to light when Bridie, our mother, was dying nine years ago that Gerry had sexually abused all three of us, said PJ, who was also sexually abused by his late mother Bridie Harte from the age of four onwards.

We were all shocked when we shared what wed been through. And we wouldnt have gotten Gerry sentenced if we didnt stick together, he said.

All three described their home life as being a front to the horror of what was going on behind the perfectly manicured lawns and flower beds.

They described Gerry as arrogant and he portrayed a good public image and his social standing was important to him, doing collections at Mass, being a eucharist minister and was on school boards. However, all this was a front to hide the real monster he was.

Convicted sex offender Christopher Mooney (60), who lived in a house on the Knockreagh Road in the Broomfield area of Co Monaghan, was stabbed to death in December 2022.

Gardai were investigating if his murder was connected to his conviction for a sexual offence over 20 years ago on a male juvenile. Gardai confirmed Mr Mooney suffered a violent death.

A 37-year-old man, suspected of being connected to the death, was himself killed a short time later when he was knocked down by a car near the village of Cullaville, just across the border in Co Armagh.

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