CATHAL O'Searcaigh, one of Ireland's best-known poets, is at the center of a national outcry over his admission in a documentary on his life that he had sex with teenage boys in Nepal.Although the 51-year-old Irish language writer -- whose work has been translated into 10 languages -- insisted none of the boys was under age, the film makes it clear that at least one was only 16, making sex with him a crime in Ireland irrespective of where the act took place.The film, Fairytale of Kathmandu, was made by O'Searcaigh's neighbor in Gortahork, Co. Donegal, Neasa Ni Chianan. She has said she set out to produce an ode to her hero but became "uncomfortable" when she witnessed a string of teenage boys paying regular visits to his hotel room in Nepal.O'Chianan said the documentary, to be screened at the Dublin Film Festival next week and on RTE next month, was intended to focus on the poet's work and on his charity work in Nepal.But she became concerned about his relationships with young men and what she perceived as the misuse of power over poverty-stricken vulnerable people.O'Chianan's funders became concerned at some of the material in the film and, at their instigation, she handed over a tape to health authorities in Ireland who, in turn, notified Gardai (police).Irish detectives have since contacted their counterparts in Nepal, but there is pessimism that a prosecution will follow with Nepalese youths unlikely to admit anything illegal in their relationships with the Irish poet. O'Searcaigh is a member of Aosdana, an elite government-established body which only very talented artists are invited to join. His work is on the Leaving Certificate curriculum in Irish schools.He said his portrayal in the documentary is distorted and inaccurate.In a written statement drawn up by his solicitor and a PR advisor, O'Searcaigh said, "The filmmakers have not been honest or transparent in their motivation."He claimed the portrayal of him was not only distorted and inaccurate but also very damaging to his reputation.O'Searcaigh added, "The filmmakers have very deliberately chosen to depict me in a manipulative and exploitative manner, which I not only resent but which has hurt me deeply. I feel very hurt by the manner in which Neasa N Chianin has feigned friendship in order to further her own commercial interests."He said it was no secret that he was gay, but denied he exploited young men for his own sexual gratification.Meanwhile, Edu-cation Minister Mary Hanafin has defended the assistance she gave O'Searcaigh in securing a visa for a Nepalese friend to visit Ireland.She said the 1998 assistance was "routine." She also dismissed as "false and untrue" a Sunday newspaper report that the Nepalese person was a minor. He was 19.But Hanafin did admit that she was "appalled and shocked" by recent reports and revelations in relation to O'Searcaigh.