Fr Brian Darcy has defended his appearance at last Sunday’s rally in support of bankrupt businessman Seán Quinn and his family."He gave people a future here, the people stopped taking the boat, and he did help the peace process by giving people stability.
"I am not making a defence of Seán Quinn, he can do that himself.
"I want to ask three questions: if you go back to the time when Anglo Irish Bank was voted the European bank of the year and that was one of the reasons he made his argument to invest. After that, was the accounts wrong or right, the question is were the accounts wrong.
"Secondly, did the bank supply the money to buy its own shares. If so, that is one of the biggest sins in banking and Seán’s solicitors say that they have to investigate that, so that is the case. I would think that is the issue, it is basic justice.
"I suspect it will come out the State is right, the State usually wins these cases.
"I was there as a priest and that’s what I do, I try to help families in trouble."
Fr Darcy also said he was away for the last few days working for the BBC but was aware of the media criticism he had received.
"So they say ‘Ballyconnell is no place for a priest.’ I have to disagree with that entirely. Ballyconnell… was to support a family in need and recognise a family in need, and to recognise that they have made great mistakes and in another sense recognising they done great good as well, most of which is not recognised in places apart from Ballyconnell: so, no place for a priest?
"If a priest is not in the middle of things with his own flock, I don’t understand how he could be a good priest at all."