Perhaps the best known figure in Irish pirate radio, Eamon Cooke, has been jailed for 10 years for sexual assault of children.
Cooke, known in the industry as, Captain Cooke, was convicted on 33 counts of sexual assault on four girls on dates between May 1974 and January 1989 at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin today.
The 66-year-old married man, with addresses at Heatherview Avenue, Tallaght and Wheatfields Court, Clondalkin was convicted by jury last December after a 15-day trial.
The founder and owner of Radio Dublin, the country's oldest pirate radio station, was sentenced was sentenced by Mr Justice John Quirke today who said Cooke had not shown remorse for actions.
Mr Justice Quirke handed down a 10-year sentence for attempted rape of one of the girls, and four years for attempted unlawful carnal knowledge of another, consecutive to a five-year sentence for the sexual and indecent assaults counts.
All of the girls were under 15 years of age at the time and some were as young as six years old when the abuse began.
Inspector Gerard Kelly told prosecuting counsel Mr Patrick J McCarthy SC that Cooke had eight previous convictions spanning 51 years for shooting with intent, possession of firearms, arson, malicious damage, dangerous driving and contempt of court.
He was jailed for five years for the shooting with intent and possession of firearms charges in 1957 and for six months for the dangerous driving offence in 2001.
Gardai found he had four of his children in the car after a high-speed chase. He served 21 days imprisonment for contempt of court in 2001 also. There was a gap of 30 years in which he had no convictions.