A Mayo man has been jailed for four years for the rape of his nine-year-old cousin in a shed on his family farm 18 years ago.
Noel Gallagher (33), of Dadreen, Louisburg, Co Mayo, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the rape of Dylan Gallagher (27) in Louisburg on a date between October 1st, 2006 and March 2007.
Mr Gallagher waived his anonymity, allowing his cousin to be named.
Noel Gallagher was 15 years old at that time. He was convicted by a jury following trial last April.
Maurice Coffey SC, defending, told Mr Justice David Keane that his client does not accept the jury’s verdict and maintains his innocence.
The court heard that Dylan Gallagher eventually told his parents about the incident in December 2019.
As a child he would visit his grandparents regularly and then go on to visit his uncle’s – Noel Gallagher’s father’s – farm. The rape occurred in a shed during one of these visits.
Reading his victim impact statement into the record, Mr Gallagher said: “It was never going to be easy for a male victim to come forward, especially when there is family involved.
“This has had and will continue to have a profound impact on my life going forward. The courage it took to break the silence is immense, but I hope my actions can pave the way for others who face similar horrors."
Mr Gallagher said he recalled a photograph being taken of him in the back garden kitted out in his Mayo gear in the run-up to the All-Ireland Final in 2006.
“I remember that boy as being happy and cheerful with no worries and loving life. That was before this happened and I changed forever," he said.
“I was only a nine-year-old boy when I was raped by my 15-year-old cousin… It was just a normal Sunday. I had attended mass with my family and headed over to my grandparents after our dinner.
“The nine-year-old I was didn’t know what was going on as I was forced to do what I was told by an older cousin I trusted.”
He said the rape was a “horrific incident” that had a major impact on his life.
“It is a disgusting memory I will never be able to forget. For years, I thought I was different from everybody else. Every day I looked in the mirror as a child and, even to this day, I will always have that gruesome memory in the back of my head. It will never leave," he said.
“Anytime I look through old photos I can always pinpoint if it was before or after the rape, I was always anxious, afraid and lacked in confidence."
Mr Justice Keane said Dylan Gallagher’s teenage years “were blighted by the damage caused to his relationship with his parents” before he acknowledged that, as Mr Gallagher stated in his victim impact statement, he has now sought justice and reclaimed his voice.
“It was impossible to listen to the victim impact statement given by Dylan Gallagher without intense admiration for his strength and resilience,” the judge commented before he also praised him for “the quiet dignity and perseverance he had demonstrated during the long legal process”.
Mr Justice Keane said the aggravating factors were Dylan Gallagher’s young age at the time and the profound impact the offence had on him.
He set a headline sentence of eight years, which was reduced to five years, having taken into account Noel Gallagher’s age at the time of the rape.
Mr Justice Keane took into account that Noel Gallagher has no other convictions. He said he could not give him any credit for a guilty plea as he continues to deny the offence and does not accept the jury’s verdict.
“He has shown no remorse, no apology and has made no amends,” the judge said.
Mr Justice Keane reduced the sentence to four years after he commented that he saw “no logical basis to suspend any portion of the sentence”.
Det Gda McHale said Dylan Gallagher did not understand what had happened. He tried to get out of going to visit his cousin’s home after that. He disclosed the rape to his family in 2019.
Noel Gallagher was arrested but “refuted the allegation”. He has no previous convictions and is a married man with two children.
Det Gda McHale agreed with Mr Coffey that Noel Gallagher has not come to any garda attention at all.
She also accepted that while he has maintained his innocence, he has been co-operative with the investigation and did not cause any issues for the gardaí.
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
