“House of Prayer turned our mum into a fanatic….”

By JIM GALLAGHER. Sunday World, Dec 1st, 2013

A BROTHER and sister have revealed how the cult House of Prayer on Achill Island has torn their family apart.

Ted Loughman and his sister Katherine claim their mother has refused to talk to them in over two years because they are opposed to Christina Gallagher’s organisation. They say their mum Mary (73), was once a happy woman devoted to her family who would go on holiday every year with her three children.

But now the Tipperary pensioner, who regularly travels to Achill, walks past them in the street.

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Ted Loughman1

Ted Loughman2

Target

Ted (50), also suspects his mother has handed over a lot of money to the self-styled visionary, who leads a millionaire’s lifestyle with a collection of stunning mansions, all uncovered by the Sunday World over the past five years.

When Mary’s husband, also Ted, died she was left comfortably off with some land, a hardware shop which has since been sold and two holiday villas in Alicante, Spain. “Dad never owed anyone anything. He did not leave her poor,” said Ted. “She was very vulnerable at the time and the perfect target for Gallagher. She sucked her in. We don’t know what has happened to the houses in Spain, but they are locked up and not being used.”

Ted said things began to change when their dad died in November 2002. “Before that, mother had only gone to the House of Prayer a few times. Her neighbour was always asking her to go, but my dad did not trust it.”

Katherine said: “Mum was at me and I went once, but I remember telling her ‘never ask me again.” I did not think Gallagher was genuine. I remember sitting outside and seeing these bodyguards who all had soft-top cars. “I said to mum, ‘what is this? They are not following any religion, look at the cars they are driving’. She told me to ‘shush’. A man came over and told me to put away my phone as no photographs were allowed. I was about to take a picture, but they said they would confiscate my phone and put me out.”

Katherine remembered that Gallagher came outside for only a few seconds and made a little wave before disappearing. “She did not even say anything. I said to mum that Christina was supposed to pray with everyone, but mum said she was too busy. Mum did not talk to me for three weeks after that. I said, ‘don’t ask me again, I will drive you up, but I am not going in’.”

Opposed

“She is giving money all right. She was buying rosary beads and I told her to buy them in Knock, not there. They did not mean anything to me.” The siblings said two of their mum’s brothers were totally opposed to the House of Prayer, but a sister was also a follower. “Mum won’t talk to her brothers. You just can’t talk to her about it,” said Katherine.

“Mum has not spoken to me in three years. I was coming out of the filling station one morning and she was walking past. I said, ‘hello mother’, and she walked right past me.”

Ted said local farmers told him that at one stage his mother was thinking of building a House of Prayer on her land, but nothing came of it.
“My mum is fanatical. It is pure bull***t. You just don’t talk to her about Achill,” said Ted, who sells milking machines and is well known in Tipperary for raising €88,000 for local charities with sponsored cycle rides.

Mum-of-three Katherine added: “She always came away with us every summer. Mum used to be great fun.”

Revelations

Ted said the bus left Tipperary for Achill every Saturday morning at 5.30am and his mother would be on it. Sometimes there were just 13 other passengers, whereas before the Sunday World revelations about Gallagher’s mansions in Malahide, City West Dublin, Ballina, Newport and the UK, the bus was packed. Just last month we revealed how the daughter of another of Gallagher’s obsessed fans said the House of Prayer had destroyed her family as well. She said her mother had lost half her body weight with constant fasting and would say up to 100 rosaries a day.

Gallagher claims to get regular messages about the end of the world from the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Anyone who contributes to her cause or attends the House of Prayer will be saved, she claims. Millions of euro have been pumped into her coffers and she has built five Houses of Prayer in America since opening the Achill HQ 20 years ago.

jim.gallagher@sundayworld.com