A "strict disciplinarian" who terrorised and sexually abused two of his daughters in Clare was jailed for 12 years by Mr Justice Carney yesterday.
The man also repeatedly raped a 15-year-old pregnant niece who came to live with the family. After she gave birth to a child and returned to the house, the abuse continued. To avoid making her pregnant, the defendant raped her anally.
Mr Justice Carney said the abuse of this girl was the "grossest breach of trust" and his own daughters were too terrified of him to complain.
The 49-year-old Clare man originally faced 66 charges but pleaded guilty in the Central Criminal Court to nine sample counts. The victims are now aged from 16 to 26.
He admitted three charges of raping the elder daughter on unknown dates from June 1991 to August 1996; one charge each of attempted rape and sexual assault of the second daughter in 1995; three charges of raping his niece from 1988 to 1991 and one charge of buggery of her in 1988.
A garda said one of the daughters, who is aged 19, made a complaint against her father in December 1996. She said he had been having sex with her since she was 12 until August 1996. She described her father as a strict disciplinarian who used a stick to administer corporal punishment and she was afraid of him.
In January 1997, the niece was interviewed but she denied anything had happened. Later she agreed she had been abused from the age of 15 when she was pregnant.
The man's second daughter also denied initially that she had been abused, but when her mother was granted a barring order against the defendant, she admitted he had repeatedly tried but failed to have intercourse with her. The garda said the defendant was unemployed and he abused the victims while his wife was out working.
Mr Barry White SC, defending, handed in a number of letters on his client's behalf, including two from neighbours. He said society in the past may not have viewed strict discipline in the manner it does today. Because of the discipline the case was not revealed earlier.
The defendant wished to apologise for his conduct and throw himself on the mercy of the court, Mr White said.