Court hears daughter of garda kept abuse diary

A 24-year-old woman has testified that she wrote down traumatic events from her childhood while her father, a serving garda, stands trial for rape and cruelty.

Court hears daughter of garda kept abuse diary

A 24-year-old woman has testified that she wrote down traumatic events from her childhood while her father, a serving garda, stands trial for rape and cruelty.

The witness appeared at the Central Criminal Court, where the 48-year-old accused denies sexually assaulting his wife on two occasions, in 2009 and 2021. He also contests charges of mistreating his elder daughter over a 17-year period and harming her after she turned 18. A further allegation involves cruelty toward a second, younger child. Under Irish law, everyone involved must remain unnamed.

The elder daughter described growing up in a household filled with intimidation and aggression. She likened the environment to a military installation. She recalled one occasion when she was ten and her father allegedly ripped earrings from her ears as punishment.

In mid-2024, she began seeing a counsellor at Jigsaw, a service for young people. She said the initial meeting triggered a safeguarding referral to Tusla. The counsellor suggested documenting her memories, so she began keeping a written record.

She explained that she used the diary to process experiences she had previously suppressed. She gave it a darkly humorous title to help herself cope with the weight of what she was recording.

Defence barrister James McGowan SC questioned her about whether she shared this document with her mother before filing a complaint. She initially said no, but acknowledged that text messages showed her mother had asked to see it. She then admitted her mother had probably looked at it.

She said her younger sibling also wrote privately about their experiences. The two sisters would sometimes sit together in their grandmother's kitchen, each writing silently. She had not confided in her grandmother about home life; the counsellor was the first person she spoke to openly.

At one point she decided not to pursue the matter further because she was still living at home, and the agency closed its file. The proceedings, before Mr Justice Sean Gillane and a panel of twelve jurors, are scheduled to last about a fortnight.

Source: The Irish Times

Source: Irish Times