Catholic priest Edward Gallagher, 59, has pleaded guilty to 109 child sex offences after he was confronted by self-styled “paedophile hunters” outside a hotel in Derry, Northern Ireland.
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Gallagher was arrested and later appeared before Londonderry Crown Court, where he admitted all 109 offences during a video-link hearing.
The offences relate to incidents involving male children between June 22, 2023, and April 18, 2025.
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Among the charges were 43 counts of attempting to sexually communicate with male children and another 43 counts of attempting to encourage male children to distribute or show indecent images of children.
Gallagher also admitted 13 charges involving the possession of indecent images or photographs of male children, two charges of possessing prohibited images of children and one charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image.
The remaining offences included five charges of attempting to incite male children to engage in sexual acts, one charge of distributing or showing an indecent image of a child and one charge relating to an adult attempting to engage in a sexual act in the presence of a male child for sexual gratification.
Gallagher had initially faced 116 child sex offence charges when he appeared before Londonderry Magistrates’ Court in July.
He was later returned for trial at the Crown Court after prosecutors said there was a case to answer. The charges included sexual communication with children, possessing indecent images and inciting children under 16 to engage in sexual activity.
The case first came to public attention in April last year when Gallagher was confronted outside a hotel in the Waterside area of Derry by self-styled “paedophile hunters.”
Footage from the confrontation showed members of the group telling Gallagher that police had been informed about their concerns regarding his conduct with children.
The Diocese of Derry confirmed at the time that it was aware of the incident and that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) had become involved.
Gallagher was subsequently arrested and charged with attempting to sexually communicate with a child between April 2 and April 17, 2025.
He appeared in court through a video link from Strand Road Police Station and was remanded in custody. A police officer told the court that investigators believed they could connect him to the charge.
As the investigation continued, police examined electronic devices and worked with other police services to identify and contact potential victims.
In October 2025, a court was told that detectives had completed their examination of the devices and that contacting potential victims could “potentially take a very long time”.
Originally from Londonderry, Gallagher served in several parishes across the Diocese of Derry.
Before his arrest, he was parish priest of Greencastle and Badoney Lower Parish in County Tyrone between 2015 and 2022 before later serving in Donegal.
At the time of his arrest, he was working as a curate at the Clonleigh, Camus and Leckpatrick parishes. The Diocese of Derry suspended him from ministry.