A man who raped and viciously assaulted his girlfriend in her home after they had attended her brother's wedding has been jailed for six years by the Central Criminal Court.
The 26-year-old man made a public apology after Mr Justice Smith passed sentence.
Mr Justice Smith said the evidence showed the defendant "virtually went mad" after his girlfriend declined to have sex with him after the wedding. He had admitted later to gardai that he "just lost it" and had nearly killed her.
The man had no previous convictions. He pleaded guilty at an earlier sitting to charges of rape, buggery and assault causing harm to his girlfriend on July 4th, 1998.
Mr Martin Giblin SC, defending, told the court his client had been sexually abused "in bizarre circumstances by his older sister" and sexually abused by an employer. He also had a "shockingly" violent and abusive background.