Tom Mc Cleary, Bandon, County Cork

Tom Mc Cleary, Bandon, Cork


Tom Mc Cleary, Bandon, Cork is originally from Monaghan Town, County Monaghan, however, Tom left Monaghan in the late 1970s after he got a young local girl pregnant. Tom has consistently refused to acknowledge the baby that was born to him and that child is now in her 30s. When that child was 18 years old she approached Tom, however, Tom told the young girl that he had a new life in Cork and did not want that life complicated.

Tom Mc Cleary moved from Monaghan to Algeria in the late 1970s where he had some work with a telecommunications company, this move suited everyone, especially Tom’s mother Mary Mc Cleary a local busy body who could not have the shame of her son having a child out of wed-lock, although Mary was herself such a child.

While in Algeria Tom Mc Cleary married a Black Algerian woman by the name of Tria, Tom’s wife could not speak very much English but was a French speaking native of Algeria. In 1981 Tom Mc Cleary returned to Monaghan Town with his wife and initially lived with his Mother and father, Mary and Seamus Mc Cleary at 13 Glenview Heights, Monaghan Town.

In 1981 there was no work for the unemployed Tom Mc Cleary and Tom started drinking heavily, Canadian Club whiskey was his favourite drink. Tom and his wife moved to share a house at Highfield Close in Monaghan Town where Tom’s drinking and domestic violence got progressively worse. The couple with whom Tom and his wife were sharing the house at Highfield Close left and Tom Mc Cleary became even more abusive to his wife.

Eventually Tom Mc Cleary and his wife returned to Algeria as people living in Highfield Close had become aware of Tom’s abuse of his non-english speaking wife. When Tom returned to Algeria he continued to drink heavily and continued to systematically abuse his wife until eventually Tom’s wife found the strength to contact the police in Algeria. Before the police could speak with Tom Mc Cleary he had absconded and returned to Ireland.

When Tom Mc Cleary returned to Ireland he initially lived at his Mother’s house, however, knowing that he may be sought by the Algerian police Tom packed up and moved to Bandon in County Cork. In Bandon, County Cork Tom Mc Cleary meet with a divorced woman and they were able to adopt children as the social services were not aware of Tom Mc Cleary’s abusive history.

In 2000 Tom Mc Cleary set himself up as a campaigner for children’s rights and was quickly adopted by the lurid tabloid press, however, the tabloid press have consistently refused to publish the fact that Tom Mc Cleary is persona na grata. This persona non grata does not only come from Mc Cleary’s abandonment of his own child and the abuse of his wife but also the fact that Tom Mc Cleary had knowledge of many more abuses involving children.