Woman admits her graphic account "never happened"

The young woman who gave critical evidence at the trial of Nora Wall that she saw a young girl being held down by Ms Wall while the girl was being raped by Paul McCabe later told another nun: "It never happened."

Patricia Phelan (32), with an address in Kilkenny, was the main corroborating witness in the trial of Ms Wall and Mr McCabe.

She was present at the Four Courts yesterday and came into the appeal court after it directed she should be present to hear what was being said.

The court was later told Ms Phelan was aware of the effect of, and "stands over", an April 2001 statement in which she admitted she had lied about witnessing Regina Walsh being raped by Mr McCabe and being held down by Ms Wall.

The court was told that, after the June 1999 trial of Ms Wall and Mr McCabe, Ms Phelan had contacted a nun, Sr Mona Killeen, on November 22nd, 1999. Crying on the phone, she told the nun: "It never happened".

Three days later she told the nun she "made up" claims to the effect that she had walked into Ms Walsh's bedroom and witnessed a rape.

Sr Mona contacted gardaí and Ms Phelan made what senior counsel John Rogers, for Ms Wall, described as a "crucial statement" in April 2001. In that statement, she said the first time Ms Walsh had told her she had been raped by Paul McCabe in the presence of Nora Wall was about 1996, when Ms Walsh was about 18.

Ms Phelan said she did not know at that time that Ms Walsh had made a statement to gardaí. Ms Walsh had asked her about "Dominic" (Ms Wall) and had said she was raped and interfered with by Paul McCabe and that Sr Dominic had held her down on one occasion.

Ms Phelan said Ms Walsh had told her she was going to court and asked would Ms Phelan go with her and whether she would make a statement, if asked by gardaí.

Ms Phelan said she could not say if Ms Walsh had asked her to make a statement saying she had seen Paul McCabe rape her but she had made such a statement.

In her April 2001 statement, Ms Phelan said she "actually never saw this" (the events she described) but told gardaí the story as Ms Walsh had told her. "I made it sound as if I saw it."

Ms Phelan also said she believed "something did happen to Regina at that time", that she saw Ms Walsh shake when Mr McCabe was around and that Ms Walsh was "terrified" of Mr McCabe.

Ms Phelan said she gave evidence that she saw Mr McCabe rape Ms Walsh while Sr Dominic held her down. She said she knew this was wrong but she "just wanted to get back at Dominic" whom, she said, used to beat her.

She said her conscience had been bothering her since the trial and she had later told Sr Mona she had lied in court.

Ms Phelan said Ms Wall had since the trial told her: "I don't hold anything against you."

In a statement by Ms Walsh in September 1999, she said she had never asked Ms Phelan to give evidence in the case.