Aoife Kavanagh

Aoife Kavanagh is a former reporter and presenter for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and one of the main antagonists at the centre of the "Mission to Prey" scandal that has rocked the the Irish national radio and television broadcaster. She resigned from RTÉ^[1] following the publication of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) statement of findings^[2][3] and the full report on the programme.^[4][5]

Previously she contributed to the RTÉ programmes Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1) and Prime Time Investigates (RTÉ One) but was suspended from the station ^[6] after she made national news headlines herself in 2011 when she was at the centre of a controversy surrounding the defamation of Fr. Kevin Reynolds.^[7] Her defamation of Fr. Kevin Reynolds led to the suspension of the Prime Time programme, prompted an investigation and led to interventions by politicians as senior as the Taoiseach Enda Kenny.^[8] She was also removed from on-air programming.^[6]

In 2011, a defamation/libel suit was filed against RTÉ^[9] following one of Ms Kavanagh's reports on Prime Time. The episode was entitled "Mission to Prey"^[10][11] - about sexual abuse by Irish Catholic Missionary Priests in Africa, including one whereby the Priest (Fr. Kevin Reynolds) was falsely accused of child-rape and fathering a child while a missionary in Kenya. The suit against the national broadcaster was settled for an undisclosed sum.^{[12][13][14][15]}

RTÉ later broadcast an apology to Fr Kevin Reynolds.^[16][17] The head of the Irish Missionary Union said Kavanagh's continuing presence on Morning Ireland after being found guilty of defaming Fr Kevin Reynolds was “unfair and unjust” and a demonstration of “double standards” in the media.^[18]

RTÉ was fined €200,000 by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) as a result of the defamation of Fr Kevin Reynolds following what the BAI said were serious breaches of the Broadcasting Act 2009.^[19][20] The report found that "Second-hand repetition of gossip appears to have been treated as corroboration, as Ms Kavanagh did not appear to have met or questioned colleagues who according to the primary source, were aware of the allegations".^[21] Kavanagh resigned from RTÉ on 4 May 2012.^[22] She had previously been tipped as a replacement for Charlie Bird in the role of RTÉ's US Correspondent after he left the States.^[7] Director-General of RTÉ Noel Curran admitted the broadcasting of "Mission to Prey" was "one of the gravest editorial mistakes ever made" at RTÉ.^[23]

Before Kavanagh was embroiled in the scandal that led to her resignation, RTÉ used her as an investigator for its 2009 programme "White Collar Crime", which had a similar focus on criminal activities and the Catholic Church. For "White Collar Crime", RTÉ sent Kavanagh to the United States where she encountered an Irish priest who denied, in an emotional interview with her, that he had funded a lavish lifestyle with millions of pounds.^[24] Newspaper reviewer Pat Stacey said, "great title" but "simple" -- as in simple in the mind --is the word that kept cropping up in my cranium" while watching the programme.^[25]

Credits

• "White Collar Crime" (2009)
• "Mission to Prey" (2011)

References

External links

• Aoife Kavanagh biography on RTÉ Morning Ireland
• RTÉ Apology following libel suit by Fr Kevin Reynolds
• English and Kavanagh officially join Morning Ireland team
• RTÉ Morning Ireland presenters page