A married man charged with indecently assaulting two of his younger sisters as children has failed in his High Court attempt to prevent his prosecution.
One sister claims she was abused from the age of three to eight, and the other from the age of three to 14, in the early 1960s. The man is now in his 50s.
Both girls said they told their mother when they were children but were not believed and were punished for telling lies, Ms Justice Laffoy noted yesterday.
One girl had said her mother slapped her around the head and took her to the local priest, who "gave out" to her. One sister had stopped talking for some time after telling her mother.
One sister had said her brother stopped abusing her after he married in the late 1960s. The other had alleged the abuse continued while she was babysitting for him. It had been claimed that the brother was his mother's favourite and took on a dominating role as the father was alcoholic.
In 1985 the sisters allegedly told other family members and the brother had been confronted by one sister in front of his wife.
One family group wanted the man charged, while the other group did not. It had been claimed that threats were made against reporting the alleged abuse outside the family, and one sister had moved house.
A Garda investigation into the allegations was an offshoot of an investigation into allegations that the brother had abused his grandchild in recent years, on which no charges had been made, the judge said. The man was charged in 1997 with sexually assaulting his sisters. He denies the claims.
A psychologist had given evidence about the effects of the alleged abuse, Ms Justice Laffoy said. One sister had developed a major alcohol problem and been involved in two abusive relationships. She had lost her memory of her childhood years. The sister who had stopped talking withdrew socially and had severe psychological problems as a teenager. She was addicted to tranquilisers and had distorted memories of the abuse.
The judge was delivering her reserved judgment, refusing to prohibit the trial of the man on 64 charges of indecent assault of his sisters.
The judge said the delay in making the complaints was due, on the assumption the allegations were true, to the effects of the abuse.