Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticised for inaction, making misleading statements and covering up clerical sex abuse in Dublin.

Connell was born in Dublin[2] on 24 March 1926,[3][4] the son of John, a civil servant and Mary Lacy, a telephone operator.

[4][6] Archbishop Kevin McNamara died unexpectedly in April 1987 but Connell's appointment was not formally announced until January 1988.

[7] When it became clear that Bishop Murray was the papal nuncio's chosen candidate, conservative elements in Dublin told their contacts in Rome that the auxiliary bishop accepted "unorthodox practices" in his area of the archdiocese, such as allowing altar girls in Bray, at the time an uncommon practice, and the conduct of absolution services there.

[7] He was created Cardinal-Priest by Pope John Paul II at the Consistory in Rome on 21 February 2001 with the Titulus S. Silvestri in Capite.

[12] He attended the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in June 2012 and concelebrated at the Statio Orbis Mass in Croke Park Stadium.

[15] In October 2002, a RTÉ Prime Time programme was broadcast detailing cases of sexual abuse among the clergy within the Dublin diocese.

[18] The prospect of Connell giving evidence to the Murphy Commission was notable in itself:"The 79-year-old cardinal will be rigorously questioned on his handling of complaints when he was archbishop of Dublin from 1988 until his retirement last year.

Never before has an Irish prince of the Roman Catholic church found himself hauled before a state inquiry into the management of the country's largest diocese".

[citation needed]The 2009 Murphy Report into the scandal found that Connell was "slow to recognize the seriousness of the situation when he took over in 1988.

He was clearly personally appalled by the abuse but it took him some time to realize that it could not be dealt with by keeping it secret and protecting priests from the normal civil processes".

Connell was criticised in some quarters[22] for being economical with the truth in his use[23] of the concept of mental reservation in inadequately answering questions about his knowledge of the abusive activities of priests under his control.

[25] Connell was forced to issue an apology for saying that Dr. Empey did not "have much theological competence", and for describing his Church of Ireland counterpart as not being regarded as a "high flier".