‘It was worse when you can’t stop it, and it’s your sister’

Behind James O’Reilly’s conviction for rape and abuse lies a system that fails Travellers

Helen O’Donoghue: Her family were in wagons and tents next to a national school in west Dublin. No one asked why the children were not in school. Photograph: Alan Place

Helen O’Donoghue: Her family were in wagons and tents next to a national school in west Dublin. No one asked why the children were not in school. Photograph: Alan Place

Helen O’Donoghue (51) was four when her father started molesting her.

She was eight when he first raped her – at a bog near Thurles, Co Tipperary. She was 11 when she became aware he was raping another sister. She was 12 when she first tried to take her own life.

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