The best friend of a 22-year-old woman who alleges she was raped by a neighbour in his car told a jury she was surprised at only being told about it some 24 hours later.
The witness, who is also the alleged victim's cousin, also agreed with defence counsel Mr John Phelan that she had not detected any urgency in the alleged victim's voice when she telephoned her to say she had something "bad" to tell her over lunch.
The idea that her friend had been raped never crossed her mind and she had not sensed then that she was "in real trouble". When she said she had been raped in the early hours of the previous Sunday and outlined the details of it she advised her to go immediately to the family planning clinic.
The alleged victim declined and also said she did not know if she wanted to pursue it any further. Her friend told the witness she was the only one who knew about it at that time. The witness's attitude to that was that it was up to the alleged victim herself.
It was the third day of the trial of a 25-year-old man who has pleaded not guilty to raping the woman in a west Dublin suburb on September 15th, 1996. The alleged victim's elder sister told the jury of five women and seven men she was "upset more than surprised" at not being contacted about the matter before others.
She became hysterical when she was called to the home of a male family friend and found her sister there in floods of tears. While they were close she would not have expected her sister to confide in her because she might adopt "a motherly approach".
She said, in further reply to Mr Phelan, she was not surprised that all women who are raped did not raise a "hue and cry" because of what they had to go through in giving evidence and being cross-examined in court. Her sister did not want to upset their parents by telling them. She was thinking of other people rather than herself.
A male friend of the alleged victim and her family said the alleged victim called to him on Tuesday, December 17th, in a distressed and upset state. She broke down crying.
The witness agreed with defence counsel Mr Bernard Condon (with Mr Phelan) that she wanted to know what she should do, and he said she should see the gardai.
The hearing continues before Mr Justice Carney.