Two brothers who sexually assaulted their cousin when she was a young child have been sentenced to a total of seven years in prison.
Danielle Gallagher (33) 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, last May.
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. Thomas Gallagher, of Cuttenty, Annaghdown, 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.
Aidan Gallagher was jailed for five years and has been placed under a two-year post release supervision, while Thomas Gallagher was jailed for two years.
Thomas Gallagher has three children, including recently born twins. He was diagnosed as having Motor Neurone disease in October 2022 and a medical report presented to the court states that he is terminally ill and the disease is rapidly progressing. The report stated that his life expectancy is less than two years. It was due to his severe medical condition that Mr Justice David Keane reduced his prison term to one of two years.
Aidan Gallagher was due to be ordained as a priest but that ordination was deferred following the allegations. The brothers have no previous convictions.
Mr Justice Keane said at a previous sentence hearing last July that 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 were on remand in the Midlands prison, share a prison cell and at the moment Aidan Gallagher is assisting his brother.
He directed the Prison Service to prepare and provide a report about their ability to facilitate Thomas Gallagher and the progression of his illness.
On Monday, Mr Justice Keane said a report from the Prison Service said that Thomas Gallagher is assessed by both a GP and nurses in the prison on a daily basis and he is compliant with all prescribed medication. The Prison Service also links in with Beaumont Hospital and Thomas Gallagher is supported by a care assistant in the prison. There was also an acknowledgement that his brother supported him as they share a cell.
However, the report said due to the rapid progression of his illness, it is difficult to determine how much longer Thomas Gallagher can be supported in the prison.
Mr Justice Keane said, “ill health cannot save a person from prison where the offence is serious enough to warrant one” but he said the fact of a serious illness can be taken into account as a mitigating factor before he reduced the sentence from a headline sentence of six to two years.
The judge said he was satisfied from the report before the court that the prison “can at present provide him (Thomas Gallagher) with the necessary treatment”.
Mr Justice Keane said he wished Danielle Gallagher well in her continuing recovery and commended her for the dignity she showed throughout the entire process.
He said the young age of Ms Gallagher at the time of the offending made her particularly vulnerable and that each offence had “a profound impact on her”. He also noted the age difference and breach of trust involved.
Mr Justice Keane said the offences were serious enough to warrant a headline sentence of 10 years but said that as both men were minors at the time of the offending, he would reduce the headline sentence to six years.
He said the men were not entitled to credit for a plea of guilty and said that as they do not accept the verdicts of the jury, the men have also not shown remorse, issued an apology or made an effort to make amends. He accepted that neither man had previous convictions.
Victim impact statement
At a previous hearing last July, 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”. She said it “opened the door to me being able to come forward”.
Ms Gallagher 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”, which she said she still tends to do to this day.
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 said. Ms Gallagher said she later began to abuse drugs and engage in anti-social behaviour and “frequently got into trouble”. She was prescribed anti-depressants 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,” Ms Gallagher said before she outlined suicidal tendencies because she was “tired of living, tired of fighting” but described it as “a desperate cry for help”.
“I just wanted the pain to stop. I became numb and stopped caring at all. It was easier not to care because then I couldn’t get hurt,” Ms Gallagher said.
She said she has been sober since September 2018. She said she is “so far removed from the person I once was. My feelings and emotions have begun to thaw out.”
Ms Gallagher added that she is now in a happy and healthy relationship and described a good relationship with her mother and brothers. She described being grateful for the people in her life.
“I now welcome the unknown because I have faith. I am not afraid to fail again. For the first time in my life, I can see a future,” Ms Gallagher continued.
She said all she ever wanted was an acknowledgement – “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,
Ms Gallagher said the abuse “no longer dictates the direction my life is going in” before she said she is stronger than she has given herself credit for. “My name is Danielle Gallagher and my life is finally my own,” Ms Gallagher concluded in her statement.
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. Ms Gallagher told the jury during the trial that similar abuse occurred a number of times when she was aged between eight and 12 years old.
Ms Gallagher said that 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. He instructed her to lie down and take off her pants and underwear before he rubbed his exposed penis against her exposed vagina. Ms Gallagher said this occurred on at least three occasions and on one occasion he raped her. She described being in considerable pain during the rape.
The men were arrested after the woman attended 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 cooperated 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 in October 2022 and that his illness is progressing rapidly, with a life expectancy of two years.
A letter from Thomas Gallagher’s partner, outlined her love for him and described him as a generous father who is dedicated to his family. She said her daughter’s world has been turned upside down since her father went into prison.
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.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
