A public inquiry was told yesterday that a paedophile priest admitted he may have sexually abused hundreds of children.

It was revealed as the Historical Abuse Inquiry in Northern Ireland began an examination on the activities of Fr Brendan Smyth.

Smyth was at the centre of one of the first paedophile priest scandals to rock the Catholic church here.

The inquiry heard he told a doctor in 1994 that over the years of religious life, he could have sexually abused up to 100 children. He claimed that number could have been doubled or more.

The inquiry also heard there were serious concerns about him even before he was ordained a priest in 1951.

Smyth was convicted of 117 indecent assaults against 41 children across Ireland. He died in prison in 1997 after a heart attack.

On the Pat Kenny Show today, a victim of Brendan Smyth spoke about her experiences under her real name for the first time. Loreto was previously known as Samantha, and campaigned successfully to have Reverend removed from the priest's headstone.

You can listen back to her interview below:

She said she went to visit Brendan Smyth first with a friend who felt 'uneasy' around the priest. However, she says when she first visited alone that was when "the nightmare, the daymare, everything started... it was a case of managing every day from then on. It was a case of existing. 

"He took my life and every time it happened another part of me died that I didn't even know was there. I thought I was dead already. And all people kept saying was 'this one is just looking for notice'."

Loreto says the memories of the abuse started flooding back in 1998. "I had a partner Patsy who was fantastic, I had two children, I had it all... and then when I started to remember one particular evening while I was in work, there was nothing. I would say I was actively suicidal for at least two years. It was reliving it all over again.

"I actually went down to Brendan Smyth's grave to see that he was dead, because the physical pain I felt in the flashback was so bloody real," she said.

Asked by Pat if she considered telling anybody at the school about the abuse when it was taking place, she explained "Brendan Smyth told me I was going to go hell, and he was the one that was going to cure me, to save me from the fires of hell.

"My body was on fire, the parts that he had raped. I thought what would it be like if the rest of me were in the flames, because it really felt like I was on fire. He had me sucked in."

Discussing her flashbacks, she praised the role of her partner Patsy in helping her through the toughest times. However she says "there were times when I was in the car driving and I was looking for a brick wall, because I could see Brendan Smyth trying to get in through the windscreen at me. I had the Samaritans number on quick dial on my phone," she explained.

Loreto says she still gets flashbacks, especially when there are further revelations about Brendan Smyth through the likes of the current inquiry.

"He'll never be dead, when you've s**t like this going on on television," she explained. "It's more real. It's always, always going to be there. You learn to park it, and it doesn't define who I am, it's just part of what happened to me."

"I was lucky, I was strong, I had support. But I flip that around, and I'm using my experiences now to help other people to the best of my ability."

Talking about the latest revelations about Brendan Smyth, including that a senior cleric advised that he not be ordained, she says, "I'm not surprised... I'm heartbroken to think that not only me but hundreds of other kids could have been saved the abuse... We can't change that now. But to think it could have been prevented. I wonder today are children actually safe.

"I do believe there are good men and women out there of the church... and I would hope they've earned their titles, and if they were aware of something they'd be straight into children's services. But I'm not 100% sure that that is the mentality at the minute.

"There will be no closure... because every time something comes up about sexual abuse from clerics people die. They cannot take it anymore," Loreto told Pat.

However she adds that she has hope the likes of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin - who she believes has genuine compassion and understanding - will lead any investigations and changes in the right direction.

The Samaritans are available 24 hours a day on 116-123