Father Finbar Kelly

Father Finbar Kelly (real name Richard Bernard Kelly) was a former member of the De La Salle Brothers who entered the novitiate in 1949 and trained to be a teaching brother with the Order. Father Kelly worked at various institutions and schools around Australia before he died in 2010 in Sutherland Hospital in Sydney, NSW. This includes the following:

• St Michael’s College - Beverley, South Australia (around 1957 - Headmaster);

• BoysTown - Beaudesert, Queensland (around 1970 to 1976 - Principal Director); and

• Oak Hill College - Castle Hill, NSW (around 1976 - Deputy Headmaster).

Allegations have been reported that Father Kelly during his time at BoysTown had physically and sexually abused numerous students at the institution in the early to mid 1970s. BoysTown was a well-known institution in Queensland and it was revealed by the Royal Commission that it was subject to more claims of child sexual abuse than any other Catholic institution in Australia in accordance with the data supplied by the Catholic Church. The 219 claims of child sexual abuse that related to BoysTown represented 67 per cent of all the claims of child sexual abuse received by the De La Salle Brothers. Of the people who alleged child sexual abuse at BoysTown, 191 also alleged that they were physically abused.

Moody Law is currently representing a client who has made allegations of being sexually and physically abused by Father Finbar Kelly when he was a student at BoysTown Beaudesert. Moody Law has also in the past and is currently representing other clients who have made allegations of sexual and physical abuse against other members of the De La Salle Brothers at various schools and institutions around Australia.

We invite former victims to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.

Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.