Courts

Woman abused by cousins when she was a child waives right to anonymity so they can be named

Court told her father’s death seven years ago led to her finally being able to report the abuse to gardaí

Pic shows: Court 13 at the CCJ in Dublin where the trial of Graham Dwyer who has pleaded NOT guilty to the murder Elaine O'Hara has opened, Thursday 22-01-2015. Pic: Collins Courts.

Aidan Gallagher (40) and Thomas Gallagher (38) were convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury sitting in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, in May. Photograph: Collins Courts.

Mon Jul 24 2023 - 18:56

A Mayo woman who was sexually abused by her cousins when she was a young child has said her father’s death seven years ago led to her being able to report the abuse to gardaí.

Danielle Gallagher (33) has waived her right to anonymity so that her cousins Aidan Gallagher (40) and Thomas Gallagher (38) could be named in reporting the case. The brothers, who lived two houses up from their cousin, had denied the allegations of sexual abuse, oral rape and rape, which occurred between 1999 and 2003. They were convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury sitting in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, in May.

Ms Gallagher read her victim impact statement into the record. She described telling her father about the abuse and his response was to do nothing because he didn’t want to upset his older brother. She said this resulted in her relationship with her father becoming very strained. “It told me I didn’t matter – that my father took their side over mine. I told myself that I was a problem.”

Ms Gallagher described a night, in 2016, when she “cleared the air” with her father and said a couple of months later her father died. She said that day “began a journey for me that has led me to this day and to this place”, as it “opened the door to me being able to come forward”.

READ MORE

Aidan Gallagher of Dadreen, Killadoon, Westport, Co Mayo, was convicted of six charges of oral rape of his cousin on dates between 1998 and 2003 in sheds around their homes, while Thomas Gallagher of Cuttenty, Annaghdown, Co Galway, was convicted of one charge of rape and seven charges of sexual assault on dates between 1999 and 2003 at the family’s then home, also in Dadreen.

Thomas Gallagher has one child and his partner is due to give birth to twins soon. He was diagnosed as having motor neuron disease last October and a medical report presented to court states his life expectancy is less than two years.

Aidan Gallagher was due to be ordained a priest but that ordination was deferred following the allegations. The brothers have no previous convictions.

Mr Justice David Keane said he has never dealt with the imposition of sentence on someone facing the prognosis of Thomas Gallagher. He described it as “a stark prognosis” and wondered if the prison has the resources necessary to deal with his disease. He noted that the brothers, who are currently on remand in the Midlands Prison, share a prison cell and at the moment Aidan Gallagher is assisting his brother.

He remanded the men in continuing custody and adjourned the case to October 9th next. He directed the Prison Service to prepare and provide a report about their ability to facilitate Thomas Gallagher and the progression of his illness.

Ms Gallagher, reading her victim impact statement, said she always felt her life belonged to someone else. She recalled enjoying reading as a child because she said it could “whisk” her away to a different reality – “an alternative world in my head”.

She said she started drinking alcohol as a 12-year-old and it later became a crutch. “It was all I could do to keep my thoughts getting the better of me.” She later began to abuse drugs and engage in antisocial behaviour and “frequently got into trouble”. She was prescribed antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication as a teenager.

Ms Gallagher described attending counsellors and said her parents and friends worried about her. She said the abuse “defined me as a person. I was the victim, I felt I didn’t belong in this world... I became a shell of the person I could have been.”

She said she has been sober since September 2018, is now in a happy and healthy relationship and has a good relationship with her mother and brothers.

She said all she ever wanted was an acknowledgment – “for someone to put their hands up”.

“The burden I have carried all these years, I have passed on to them. I have no hate for them but I hate what they did,” she said.

“My name is Danielle Gallagher and my life is finally my own,” she concluded.

An investigating garda told Roisin Lacey SC, prosecuting, that the first incidence of abuse by Aidan Gallagher happened when Ms Gallagher was playing in his home and he told her to come out to the turf shed with him. He then got her to perform oral sex on him and told her not to tell anyone. The abuse occurred a number of times when she was aged between eight and 12 years old.

Ms Gallagher said Thomas Gallagher began abusing her a year later, when she was around nine years old and he got her to follow him into a cow barn. On one occasion he raped her.

The men were arrested after the woman attended at her local station and made a statement in May 2017, her father having died the previous year.

Thomas Gallagher was arrested and interviewed and although he answered all questions put to him, he “vigorously denied all the allegations” and denied touching Ms Gallagher.

Aidan Gallagher also co-operated with gardaí but again denied the allegations and expressed shock that his cousin had made such an allegation. He said he believed Ms Gallagher was “attention seeking” and that was why she was making the complaints.

Eanna Mulloy SC, defending Aidan Gallagher, said while his client still protests his innocence, he accepts the process and does not intend to appeal his conviction.

Robert Barron SC, defending Thomas Gallagher, handed in a medical report to the court which confirmed that Thomas Gallagher was diagnosed with motor neuron disease last October and that his illness is progressing rapidly.

A number of witnesses, including the men’s aunts and uncle, spoke of how Thomas Gallagher was honest and hard-working and a devoted family man and how Aidan Gallagher is an excellent worker and reliable. The witnesses also spoke of Thomas Gallagher’s love for farming, animals and machinery.

LATEST STORIES