Tag Archives: sexual abuse

A CLARE man who repeatedly abused young girls over a 42-year period was a “predator” and “wolf in sheep’s clothing” a court has heard. Ennis circuit court has heard harrowing details of the abuse carried out by the 68-year-old man against four girls at locations in Clare between 1976 and 2018. He was sent forward for trial on two books of evidence comprising 203 charges of indecent and sexual assault. He pleaded guilty to a total of 53 sample counts concerning three girls between 1976 and 2004. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims, also admitted one further count of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in the summer of 2018. Detective Garda Conor Flaherty of the Clare garda division’s protective services unit (PSU) told the court the abuse came to light in July 2019 when a mother of one of the victims confronted the man at a family funeral. Detective Flaherty told the court …

If it wasn’t for The Rape Crisis Centre Arlene Hayes says with certainty, she wouldn’t be here today. To mark the impact they have had on her life she has organised an 80s disco to raise much needed funds for the service. ENNIS based retail manager Arlene Hayes has been carrying a heavy weight on her shoulders for almost 30 years now. The happy, bubbly person who lights up when you invite her for a chat, is a survivor of historical sexual abuse. Those closest to her didn’t know she was carrying this burden with her through life, and even she herself didn’t really know until it all came flooding back. Arlene’s earliest memories are of her regular happy childhood in Ruan, trying on her communion dress and going to neighbours to collect communion money. She recalls picking hazelnuts in the fields and collecting mushrooms. “I remember my mother on a Friday night making popcorn. She would get the Quinsworth …

A SURVIVOR of historic childhood sexual abuse has spoken out in the hope that it will encourage others to seek support and highlight the importance of volunteers to Rape Crisis Midwest. Bill (not his real name) and his sister were abused by a stepbrother. The abuse began when Bill was just six and lasted until he was 12. “It was pretty horrific. It had a really big impact on my life,” he said. His story has been released by Rape Crisis Midwest, ahead of a volunteer information evening on Wednesday, March 15 at 6pm in its Limerick centre. Volunteers are vital to the work of Rape Crisis Midwest, providing support to people like Bill and many others in the region. Bill remembers that his violent abuser was thrown out of the home when the abuse of his sister came to light, though Bill himself did not disclose what was happening to him at the time. Though his abuser was gone, …

RAPE Crisis Midwest will host the annual Dainty Daisy competition at Treacy’s West County Hotel, Ennis on Saturday next at 8pm. Featuring men from across the county, it is a beauty pageant with a difference. All the men will dress in their best outfits, answer questions on stage and then perform a party piece. The host of the show this year is Tony Cogan, who was the overall winner of the competition last year. The participants this year are Brian ‘Bodyke’ O’Dwyer, the manager of Brogan’s Bar in Ennis; Fr Ger Fitzgerald, a local priest; musician Damien Gormley; Cragganowen man Martin McMahon; teacher Rory Chesser; farmer and politician Paul Murphy; Tom Naughton from Tubber; Dermot Fetton, manager of the Cloisters Restaurant; surfer Dara Keane; Pa McLoughlin, who hails from Clarecastle; ESB employee Paul Whitmore and veterinary assistant Sean Linnane. Rape Crisis Midwest’s Ennis office is located in Tracklands Business Park. According to Verena Tarpey of Rape Crisis Midwest, “This centre serves the …

A Limerick teenager who sexually abused his younger stepsister, while babysitting her, has been sentenced to eight years in prison, with the final three years suspended. The 19-year-old man, who cannot be identified to protect the girl’s identity, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin to two counts of oral rape and five counts of sexual assault on dates between February 2011 and January 2012 at locations in Limerick and County Clare. Mr Justice Paul Carney said the sentence is in line with the “the distressing details of the case” along with the breech of trust, the inherent gravity of the offences and the age of the victim. He ordered that the teenager have no contact with the victim and directed he undertake 18 month post-release supervision. He also placed the teenager on the Sex Offenders Register. The accused was 16-years-old and the girl was seven when the abuse occurred, when he was minding her. He has no …

TRAUMATISED victims of sexual abuse and rape will be forced to cope on their own for the next month, when Rape Crisis Midwest closes its outreach centre in Ennis. A funding shortage of €120,000 this year has meant the Ennis and Nenagh centres will close from Monday next until Monday, September 29. Psychotherapist and counsellor, Anne Ginnane works in the Ennis centre and is very worried about the impact of the closure on her clients. “I’ve spent a lot of time over the past four weeks preparing my clients for this closure. I’ve asked them how it’s going to affect them and I have worked on that with them. I’ve given them strategies. They can phone Rape Crisis in Limerick. They might get an answering machine and they’ll try to get back to them and help them with the limits they have. “There is also the Samaritan 24-hour phoneline, if clients are suicidal and other referral phone numbers that I’ve …