A former headmaster and school teacher who abused young boys for close to 30 years has died while serving a prison sentence for historic sex offences.
A serving prisoner, Paul Dunleavy died on Tuesday in hospital, having been taken there from Maghaberry.
Dunleavy, a Christian Brother, had taught at schools in Armagh, Newry and Belfast.
The 89-year-old, with an address at Glen Road in Belfast, was sentenced in November after his most recent trial.
He destroyed the lives of multiple young boys – aged between seven and 14 – and was described by the Public Prosecution Service as “one of the most prolific child sexual abusers convicted in this jurisdiction”.
In November, Dunleavy was given a further 10 years in prison for historical child sex abuse, a sentence which was to have begun in May 2026.
Due to the number of victims and the scale of the offending over a long timeframe, he had been prosecuted in three separate trials. He was convicted in November of a total of 72 offences involving 18 victims in these trials.
The offences were committed on dates between 1964 and 1991 while the 89-year-old worked at four schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh.
Dunleavy was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, starting in May 2026 at the conclusion of his current sentence, after being found guilty of 36 non-recent sexual abuse offences relating to nine victims.
Dunleavy had been convicted for a total of 72 non-recent sexual abuse offences from 1964-1991 involving 18 victims who were aged between seven and 14 years old at the time.
Offences included indecent assault, attempted buggery and gross indecency with or towards a child.
Speaking after sentencing last November, Head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Public Protection Branch, Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher, said: “Dunleavy was a teaching Christian Brother of the Catholic Church. He taught in four different primary and secondary schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh from the 1960s until he retired in 1997. He was also the Headmaster at three of these schools.
“He used his trusted position as a respected and influential member of the community to carry out his offending. He abused young boys in school, home and other public spaces. We now know that Dunleavy’s abuse has even involved multiple children within the same family, causing untold long-lasting psychological damage.
“Predators of this type are incredibly manipulative, and invest a lot of time building trust and embedding themselves within communities to carry out their offending while hidden in plain sight.
“Our thoughts today are with the victims that this man preyed on, and abused for so many years. Their evidence was devastating, and their testimonies too strong to deny.
“Working in partnership with the Public Prosecution Service, Dunleavy has now been convicted of a total of 72 non-recent sexual abuse offences involving 18 victims, however it is likely that this just a small percentage of the children Dunleavy has abused.”
And, the detective chief superintendent had added: ““There is only one place for Dunleavy and that is behind bars. He will die in prison.”
Acting Head of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) Serious Crime Unit Catherine Kierans, who prosecuted the case, said: “Dunleavy is a calculating predator who used his standing in the community to methodically groom and sexually abuse boys as young as seven. He is now an elderly man, but when he committed these offences, he was a dominant and intimidating figure who instilled fear in his victims. He exerted control in the most despicable ways over young boys with whose care he had been entrusted as a teacher and a school principal.
“Dunleavy has been convicted of offences involving 18 victims, but the actual number of his victims is likely to be much higher. We believe him to be one of the most prolific child sexual abusers convicted in this jurisdiction.
“He often targeted boys who were already vulnerable, including some whose fathers had died. He would pretend to take a genuine interest in and care for his victims but this was simply a manipulative tactic so he could exploit and abuse them. His outwardly respectable position in the community meant that it was even more difficult for victims to come forward at the time, with many fearing they would not be believed.
“These complex cases involved the victims’ accounts from their childhoods decades ago. We worked closely with the Police Service of Northern Ireland who carried out a thorough investigation to build and present these compelling cases against Dunleavy.
“Despite the strength of the evidence against him, he denied his guilt until the very end, but juries in the three separate trials found him guilty.”
The Prisons’ Ombudsman, PSNI and NI Coroner have been informed of Dunleavy’s death, in line with protocols.
