A Co Clare man described by his daughter as "a monster who should serve life" has been jailed for seven years by Judge Michael White for sexually abusing her, her daughter and her sister.
"I am so glad my daughter was brave enough to come and speak to me about his abuse of her," the woman told the judge at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
She said she had "buried his abuse" for years until her daughter revealed he had also abused her and as a result "everything came back to me". She then spoke to her sister who said he also abused her as a child. "It became clear we were living with a monster," she said.
She said her teenage years were disturbed as a result of her father abusing her and he had destroyed her opportunities in life. Her daughter had her innocence taken away and was "angry and sad" at learning it had happened to her mother. "The effects have been massive. He should be jailed for life because he has hurt so many people," she said.
The 55-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of sexual abuse of his daughters on dates in 1981 and 1983, and of his granddaughter in 1995.
The judge imposed seven years' imprisonment in consecutive sentences and directed that the man undergo four years of post-release supervision. He also placed him on the register of sexual offenders.
Garda Pauline Kelly told Colm O'Briain, prosecuting, that the abuse included improper fondling and touching, and digital penetration of the victims in their home and his car.
Michael O'Toole, a psychologist, told Peter Finlay SC, defending, that while the man acknowledged his guilt, his insight was "on a very rational basis", so he had a limited understanding of the impact it had on others. "It is very hard to get any sense of feeling of emotion from him. He appears to be very shut off from emotion," he said.
He did not know why this was and believed group therapy would benefit the man, whom he thought was at a medium risk of re-offending while off alcohol but would be a higher risk if he began drinking again.
Mr Finlay said nothing he could say "could take away from the cruelty" inflicted by his client, who had instructed him to convey his regret and sorrow for his offending.