The Irish Times reported it had independent verification that Bishop Kirby had been aware of the abuse since the mid 1990s.
It is claimed the priest was moved to a new parish after he had admitted to Bishop Kirby in Oct 1990 that he had abused a boy. The priest was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1994 for sexual abuse in Galway, and it was claimed that he told the bishop in the mid-90s he had abused 17 children in the diocese after he been moved by the bishop following the first allegation.
When the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSCCC) published its review of Clonfert diocese last month it referred to the priest as Priest A and claimed the bishop had dealt with abuse cases "inappropriately", prompting an apology from Bishop Kirby. However, he also denied he had known of any abuse allegations originating from parishes to which priests had been moved.
Yesterday, the bishop said: "Contrary to what is stated in today’s Irish Times, I am not aware of an acknowledgement by ‘Priest A’ that he abused any child subsequent to Oct 1990, the date when I first learned of his sexual abuse of a child. Again, contrary to what is claimed, I am not in receipt of any complaint and I have neither knowledge nor suspicion that ‘Priest A’ abused a child in either of the parishes of Kiltormer or Creagh subsequent to Oct 1990."
He said the complete records of the diocese had been made available to the NBSCCC and all complaints of child sex abuse known to him had been passed on to gardaí and the HSE.
"I have accepted any criticisms of my past actions and omissions and have apologised for them," he said.
It was later claimed that during a visit to see the priest while he was serving his sentence in Arbour Hill, Bishop Kirby was informed of the abuse and drew up a list of names of those abused, which was then shown to other people.
The NBSCCC said that it had contacted the bishop to ensure that it had been provided with all relevant documentation for its review.