A man accused of a series of sexual assaults on his three nieces told gardaí the allegations were "a tissue of lies from start to finish". The 59-year-old has denied 16 counts of sexual assault on the sisters on dates between 1990 and 2003.
The women are now in their 20s and allege they were aged between five and 15 years when the abuse took place at locations in Co Louth.
Yesterday, their father, a brother of the accused, vehemently denied the allegations were made by them after a dispute began between him and the accused relating to work. Dundalk Circuit Court heard the dispute is now before the High Court.
Earlier this week the eldest sister told the jury her uncle sexually assaulted her with carpentry tools and a gun. She says he "poked" her back passage with a gun while out hunting, and later in a workshop assaulted her private parts using the handle of a screwdriver and a hand-held electric sander.
The second sister described three assaults which all took place in the workshop. She alleges her back passage was "stabbed" with the butt of a gun and her private parts were assaulted. The third sister said the accused stroked and then touched her private parts in the workshop. All witnesses agreed they had willingly gone to the workshop to see their uncle. They all denied making up the allegations and being "brought" by their father to the Garda station to make their complaints.
Two said they were not aware of the dispute between their father and the accused until recently.
Yesterday, their father replied "untrue" when Roddy O'Hanlon, defending, said the dispute with his brother had "inspired you to bring your daughters down [ to gardaí] to make complaints". He also denied trying to get the accused "sectioned" or placed in a psychiatric hospital in 2003 about the time the allegations were made.
The Garda sergeant who investigated the complaints said that when he read the statement of the second sister to the accused he replied: "it's a complete and utter tissue of lies from start to finish" and "that is a litany of lies, a fabrication, not one word of truth". An engineer, who carried out sound tests inside and outside the work shed for the defence, said that anybody inside it could not be confident of not being heard outside.
However, in reply to Kevin Segrave BL, prosecuting, he said he tested whether a radio inside could be heard just outside it. He had not gone into the back porch which was the closest part of the house to the shed. He had not carried out any tests inside or outside the house, he said.
Another brother of the accused said there was always somebody in the garden or around the shed. He said there was "no inkling of any sort" that something suspicious may have been going on inside.
The evidence has concluded and the jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict today.