A man charged with raping his wife has alleged that there was a conspiracy between gardai, his wife and his father-in-law to "get at him" because they did not like him.
He told the Central Criminal Court that his wife's father, who had retired from a high-profile position, possessed a high-powered rifle capable of shooting an elephant. The accused man threw a cartridge from the gun on to a bench in the courtroom. He claimed that he got the cartridge from his son.
The 41-year-old father of a family denies three charges of rape, attempted anal rape and aggravated sexual assault on his wife on the night of July 18th/ 19th, 1998, at their home.
In cross-examination, he told Ms Maureen Clarke SC, prosecuting, that the "conspirators" had rubbed semen found on the floor of their sitting room on to his wife's nightdress. A forensic scientist earlier told the court that semen was found on the nightdress, but that DNA testing had not been carried out on it.
The accused man told counsel that he had asked his wife for a separation, but she had declined, as their house was built on her father's land and she did not want to sell it.
He had drunk three cans of beer on the night of the alleged rape and said that his wife had been drinking also, but he had not told gardai about her drinking due to "shame". He denied a suggestion that he was lying and that drinking had not played any role in the incident.
He agreed with Mr Philip Sheahan, defending, that he had finally "snapped" after 10 years of physical and verbal abuse perpetrated on him by his wife.
The trial continues.