A Mayo woman who was sexually abused by her cousins when she was a young child has said that her father’s death seven years ago led to her being able to report the abuse to gardaí.
Danielle Gallagher (33) has 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, County Leitrim, last May.
Strained relationship
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”, Ms Gallagher said as it “opened the door to me being able to come forward”.
Aidan Gallagher of Dadreen, Killadoon, Westport, was convicted of six charges of oral rape of his cousin on dates between 1998 and 2003 in sheds around their homes, while 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.
Thomas Gallagher has one child and his partner is due to give birth to twins imminently. He was diagnosed as having Motor Neuron disease last October 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.
Due to be ordained
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 David Keane said 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 are currently on remand in the Midlands prison, share a prison cell and at the moment Aidan Gallagher is assisting his brother.
Mr Justice Keane remanded the men in continuing custody and adjourned the case to October 9th, next. He directed the Prison Service to prepare and provide a report about their ability to facilitate Thomas Gallagher and the progression of his illness.
Ms Gallagher read her victim impact statement into the record in which she 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”. 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.
Counselling
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 said before she 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 her statement.
First incident
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 at 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 co-operated 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 last October 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.
