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Irish Times
04-08-2025
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, August 4th: On a dangerous time to be a woman, landlords and rent, and President Trump's favour
Sir, – Three times over the past week I have watched news reports on women survivors of physical, sexual, emotional and psychological violence perpetrated by trusted males, some of them close family members. I heard sisters Paula Fay and Catherine Wrightstone describe the lifelong sentence of emotional pain, broken trust, and struggle to reclaim self-worth that their brother inflicted upon them. I heard Niamh Herbert talk about the feeling of giving a piece of herself away on every step of her path to justice. I heard Nikita Hand say that the legal case has retraumatised her over and over again. And I listened as each one of these brave women encouraged others who have experienced similar abuse to speak out, reminding them that they have strength within, that their voice matters and that justice can eventually prevail. READ MORE All this, as the horrific news about the killing of Vanessa Whyte and her two children unfolded over the week. At what stage do we call a halt to the head-shaking, the hand-wringing, the repeated expressions of shock and bewilderment and acknowledge the fact that Ireland is not a safe place to be female? Why are we not collectively howling from the rafters at the violence, the depravity, the pervasive level of threat that is endemic in our society today? How many more women must be traumatised, brutalised or even die, how many more candlelit vigils take place before we take educational and legislative steps to ensure that this stops now? To position ourselves in the world as a liberal democratic state, and to uphold the values of such, presumes a basic equity among citizens. Have we fallen at this first step? – Yours, etc, CAROLANNE HENRY, Churchtown, Dublin 14. Landlords and rental income Sir, – If the article written by Dr Lorcan Sirr was an essay for one of his own economic courses with the title 'What do landlords actually earn?' I think he'd get a D at best. It's a scattergun attack on landlords premised by the claim that we're all part of a secret club milking it. The only actual earnings quoted are general income which include the salary from a job or business. I'm one of the small landlords he's trying to vilify. Not having the luxury of a defined benefit pension from a taxpayer's funded job, the properties are my pension. When the ECB increased rates recently the repayments on one property increased from €1,200 a month to €1,650, while because of rent controls my rent was stuck at €1,100. And yes those figures are correct, a pre-2008 property. There are plenty of landlords who aren't creaming it. – Yours, etc, CHARLES McLAUGHLIN, Portobello, Dublin 8. Is Trump doing us a favour? Sir, – The Department of Finance feels that up to 70,000 fewer jobs will be created over the next five years as a result of the US tariffs as these tariffs will result in a reduction of economic activity of roughly 1.5 per cent (' US tariffs will mean 70,000 fewer jobs created in Irish economy, Department of Finance warns ,' August 1st). However, we have been informed that our economy is operating at full employment (full employment equates with 4 per cent unemployment), our population has increased by 20 per cent over the past five years resulting in an acute shortage of housing, huge waiting lists for medical treatment, a shortage of school places and lastly our infrastructure is incapable of catering for our expanding population. So perhaps Trump has come to our rescue after all? – Yours, etc, JO TRESTON, Blackrock, Co Dublin. Sir, – The report that Department of Finance officials warned that up to 70,000 fewer jobs will be created in the next five years due to US tariffs should not be a cause for concern. The solution can be found by copying the action of president Trump last Friday when the Bureau of Labour Statistics revealed higher unemployment numbers. He simply sacked the commissioner, to be replaced by someone who will alter the figures in his favour! – Yours, etc, GERARD CLARKE, Dundrum, Dublin. Policing the traffic and gardaí Sir, – Regarding 'S ome frontline gardaí expressed lack of interest in doing their jobs, review finds ,' (August, 1st). Yesterday, I was almost knocked to the ground by a passing scooter on the pedestrianised South King Street, close to Grafton Street. I then noticed the scooter turning left down Grafton Street. As I approached the top of Grafton Street, I noticed two gardaí on duty, observing the throngs of people down along Grafton Street. I brought the matter of the scooter to their attention. Yes, they had seen it go down Grafton Street, and further, scooters are going up and down the street all day. Surprised at this ready acceptance of this situation, there was more to follow; 'And we can't do anything about it,' they said. Startled by this, I reminded them that what they were observing was an act of law-breaking. I got the same answer about not being able to do anything to stop it. In frustration, I terminated the conversation, leaving them to continue their important job of observing the laws of the land being blatantly ignored in front of their eyes. – Yours, etc, EAMON O'FLYNN, Merrion Road, Dublin 4. Bargain cycling lanes Sir, – Rita O Brien (Letters, July 31st) claims that the ¤45 million spent on the Dundrum to Dún Laoghaire cycle lane is a bargain since the users will not be expected to pay a cent in road tax, insurance or licensing. By this reasoning, will all cyclists, pedestrians and EV drivers be exempt from any share in the massive fine coming our way due to massively exceeding our carbon budgets? – Yours, etc, COLETTE McNAMEE, Dublin 19. Sir, – Roads in Ireland are funded by the exchequer. Most taxes in the State are paid into the exchequer (income, VAT, etc). There is no 'road tax', although there is a 'motor tax' levied on most motorised vehicles. These funds also go to the exchequer. Since almost everyone pays some tax, everyone contributes to the cost of road construction (including cycle lanes) even if they don't drive or cycle. Introducing requirements such as motor tax, licensing, etc, for cyclists would dramatically reduce the rate of cycling, with the attendant negative effects on traffic congestion, public health, climate change, traffic congestion and so on. Whether or not the ¤45 million cost represents value for money is a different issue. – Yours, etc, CONALL DORAN, Co Sligo. Sir, – With reference to Rita O'Brien's letter, I wish to inform your correspondent that as a motorist I do not pay a cent in road tax. I do however pay motor tax, based on the CO2 emissions of my car, to offset the environmental impact of my car. As for insurance, that's paid to a private company that has nothing to do with the provision of transport infrastructure. Let's make cycling as difficult as possible to stop the indignity of motorists sitting in a traffic jam having to watch cyclists sail by. – Yours, etc, DECLAN RYAN, Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin 7. A generous offer Sir, –Frank McNally, Irishman's Diary (August 1st), writes about his annual jaunt to Ballybrit, bemoaning the lack of breakfast at his digs. I hereby offer him a bed with the full Irish for 2026 on condition he doesn't write about it! – Yours, etc, ANNE MARIE KENNEDY, Craughwell, Co Galway. Asylum and statistics Sir, – Nick Henderson of the Irish Refugee Council, in rebutting Senator Michael McDowell's suggestion that many asylum applicants are economic migrants, states that 'The data does not support this claim,' (Letters, July 31st). The only statistic he provides is that 60 per cent of asylum applications this year have been refused. He subjectively concludes that these were refused on technicalities such as insufficient paperwork, but that they were genuine asylum seekers. He then partly attributes blame for the IPA accommodation crisis to McDowell himself, as he did nothing about it during his five years as minister for justice. McDowell ceased in that role 18 years ago. I know we ideally want far-sighted politicians, but expecting clairvoyance is not realistic. – Yours, etc, DAVE SLATER, Kilkea, Co Kildare. Not so bonny photograph Sir, – I am in accord with Finn McRedmond's opinions in her Bonnie Blue article – apart perhaps from this being the best time to be alive (' Bonnie Blue: Why the free-sex 'content creator' is nauseating and wrong ,' July 31st) But why on earth is the article illustrated with a large, unavoidable and rather silly picture of Miss Blue? The Irish Times isn't social media and should avoid the 'Oh you are awful, tell me more' redtop vibe. Why publicise this person's image? Please, Irish Times remember your journalistic standards! – Yours, etc, MAIRIDE WOODS, Dublin 13. Filler thriller Sir, – I always smile when I turn over to the Letters page and see a smattering of short ones or 'fillers' as I like to call them. You just can't beat an eclectic and diverse mix of opinions. – Yours, etc, DEE DELANY, Raheny, Dublin 5. Germ supporter Sir, – Recent correspondence on our immune system and germs (Letters, July 31st and August 1st) reminded me of an expression often used by my late mother. When, as children, my brothers and I would often arrive home from an evening exploring in the fields or scrambling through the nearby woods stained from top to toe with soil and any other detritus that came our way and she would smile saying it was just 'clean dirt'. Looking back it's clear she knew the importance of beneficial bacteria and of building a robust immune system. Her philosophy has stood me in good stead to this day. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater in an obsessive desire to cleanse our environment of all germs, be they good or bad. – Yours, etc, PAT MULLEN, Kilkerley, Co Louth.
Irish Times
30-07-2025
- Irish Times
Sisters of rapist Richard Brennan want witnesses in trials to get paid leave from work
The sisters of a man who sexually abused them have called for reform of the legal system over leave for witnesses in trials. At the Central Criminal Court earlier this month Richard Brennan was given a sentence of eight years for offences against his three sisters in the 1970s and 1980s in Dublin . Brennan, with an address in Montana in the US, admitted days into his trial last March to 24 offences against Yvonne Crist, Paula Fay and Catherine Wrightstone. Now Ms Fay and Ms Wrightstone have called for witnesses to be given paid leave, the same as jurors, in trials. READ MORE Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Oliver Callan show, Ms Fay said when she told her employer she was going to be a witness in a trial and that it could take three weeks she was told all she was entitled to was annual leave or unpaid leave. 'There was nothing in law to protect me as a witness,' she said. 'I was completely committed to this process from the very beginning, and I feel that we need to be treated differently.' Ms Fay said witnesses, like jurors, were also doing their civic duty and as such should be treated the same as them. The abuse was committed by Brennan in the family home in Rathfarnham when he was aged between 16 and 24 and included four offences of rape against Ms Fay and two of rape against Ms Wrightstone when both women were minors. Following the trial the sisters voiced their 'deep disappointment' over the 'leniency' of his eight-year sentence. Speaking on the show, Ms Wrightstone said: 'I think Irish courts seem to have broad discretion over such cases as ours and lenient sentences, especially in historical sexual abuse cases, are sometimes justified on the basis of remorse, time elapsed. 'In terms of reform, I would love to see an introduction of mandatory binding sentencing guidelines that treat sexual abuse and rape as serious offences regardless of the time elapsed and create a statutory offence under sexual assault for sibling sexual abuse.' During sentencing, Mr Justice David Keane said among the mitigatory factors were Brennan's 'very late' plea of guilty, his apology to his sisters, his expression of remorse, his lack of previous convictions, that the offences occurred 40 years ago and that he was considered at low risk of reoffending. Ms Wrightstone told the radio show that 'one of the things that I find a little bit disturbing is the offender's recent good character as stated in character references provided by family and friends, who only know what that person allows them to know'. She said she and her sisters were trying to 'give voice' for those who could not come forward. 'We understand that it's a really challenging thing to do. We want to provide hope, that our legal system will help and that the gardaí will help and that hopefully other changes will happen,' she said. 'But we do recognise that there have been some that have lost their life under the weight of trauma, so we're here to give voice to those and we thank all of those brave women that came before us.'
Irish Times
19-07-2025
- Irish Times
Behind the ‘perfect family': How ‘great fear' stopped Dublin sisters revealing abuse by brothers
To the outside world, they must have looked like 'the perfect family', says Paula Fay, who grew up as Paula Brennan in Rathfarnham , south Dublin. 'We would have been regarded as fairly affluent; we went to Mass every Sunday as a family, all dressed to the nines,' she recalls. 'My mother would say to us: 'Anything that goes on in this house is to stay within the four walls of this house' and 'woe betide anyone who tells'.' Behind closed doors, the Brennans' family life was very far from perfect. READ MORE When then 12-year-old Catherine Brennan, now Catherine Wrightstone, disclosed in 1984 she was being sexually abused by her older brother Richard, her parents reacted with disbelief. Her mother called her 'a liar' and 'a dirty b***h' who was 'ruining' her brother's reputation, Catherine says. Richard Brennan who was sentenced to eight and a half years at the Criminal Courts of Justice last Monday for the rape of his sisters. Photograph: Collins Courts Her older sisters, Paula and Yvonne – now Yvonne Crist – then in their 20s, immediately believed her. They too were sexually abused by Richard and by their oldest sibling, Bernard, but they did not disclose that abuse until years later because of what Fay calls a 'massive fear'. 'We knew our mother would not believe us, she doted on Richard, especially when he wanted to be a priest,' Yvonne says. 'We went to Mass, the fear of God was always put in us.' It was a typically big Irish family of the time, with seven children and 17 years between the oldest and youngest children: Bernard, who was born in 1957; Yvonne (born 1959), Richard (1961), Paula (1964), Eamonn (1965), Catherine (1971) and Sinéad (1974). Last month Bernard Brennan, now 67, was jailed for 4½ years years after admitting 11 counts of indecent assault of Paula and Yvonne between 1972 and 1975 when all three were minors. His abuse began when he was 13, Yvonne was 12 and Paula was six or seven. [ Three sisters sexually abused by brother 'deeply disappointed' over 'leniency' of eight-year prison term Opens in new window ] On Monday, Richard Brennan, aged 64, was jailed for 8½ years for 24 offences against his sisters Paula, Catherine and Yvonne in the 1970s and 1980s when he was aged between 16 and 24. His abuse of Catherine began on her ninth birthday and continued, escalating to rape, until she was about 13. Catherine Wrightstone - née Brennan - aged nine, the year her older brother Richard started abusing her. His offences against Paula included rape and indecent assault, and occurred when she was between 14 or 15 and 17 years old. He admitted one count of indecent assault on Yvonne when he was 18 and she was 20. The abuse occurred against a difficult family background. Their father Richard Joseph Brennan, built up a successful public hygiene disposal business, but was an alcoholic and sometimes violent to his wife and children. His wife Máire Brennan struggled with serious mental illness and could be both verbally and physically abusive to her children. She spent long periods in mental health units, leading to some of the children being in care for a time. In the wake of the sentences of their two brothers, the three Brennan sisters – Yvonne, Paula and Catherine – talked to The Irish Times about life within the Dublin family home, how the abuse occurred and how the atmosphere in the home offered no protection for the sisters from their abusive brothers. 'It was an atmosphere of great fear, massive fear, across all of us,' Paula says. 'It was always about appeasing them [parents], keeping the peace, as if we were the adults.' Sisters Paula Fay and Catherine Wrightstone, whose brother Richard Brennan (64), previously of Rathfarnham in south Dublin, but who had been living in the United States, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 24 counts against his three sisters. Photograph: Collins Courts The girls were expected to do a lot of housework and Paula looked after her younger sisters, leading to her poor school attendance record. The Brennan family lived fairly comfortably. Encouraged by their parents, several of the children were accomplished singers and Yvonne went on to sing professionally in Ireland and the US. Paula was 'very frightened' of Bernard whom she regarded as an adult. 'He was given so much leeway around being an authoritarian in the house. He would twist a damp tea towel like a piece of rope and whack you if you didn't do what you were told,' she says. She was about six or seven when Bernard, aged about 13 or 14, began sexually abusing her. 'The biggest impact for me was on my education, I was afraid to speak; it became that I could not voice anything,' Paula says. The abuse often happened late at night when Bernard got into her bed or lifted her out of it and abused her in the room he shared with his younger brothers. His abuse of Yvonne began when she was 12 and followed a similar pattern. She believes she was 'groomed', including exposure to a pornographic video, and described Richard watching 'like a voyeur' while Bernard was abusing her. The female members of the Brennan family, back row left to right: Máire (mother), Yvonne and Paula. Front row left to right: Catherine and Sinéad Paula was 'overjoyed' when Bernard married young and left the family home but Richard's 'relentless' abuse of her continued until she was about 17. Catherine decided to tell her best friend Michelle Goggins about the abuse at the hands of Richard after a sex education class in 1984. Goggins encouraged her to report it, saying adults would stop it, and accompanied her to the home of a nurse linked with her school. That evening, the head nun at her school rang her father to inform him of her disclosure and Catherine recalled her parents 'screaming and roaring'. The next day, her mother 'called me every name'. 'She told me I was lying, these things happen in families,' says Catherine. Her parents took no action but family therapy meetings, facilitated by St John of God's, were organised later in 1984 following a referral by Dublin's Meath hospital when it could not diagnose a source of Catherine's lower limb disorder. The meeting notes recorded how her father dismissed Richard's abuse of her as 'just sexual curiosity'. [ Brothers' abuse of sisters was hidden in Dublin family for years Opens in new window ] Their mother ultimately walked out of a meeting, hauling Catherine with her; the rest of the family followed. Her parents discontinued the meetings. The Brennan girls with their parents: Richard (father), Catherine, Máire (mother), Sinéad, Yvonne and Paula Her younger sister Catherine was treated very badly at home afterwards, Paula says. 'I think I took the attitude: 'Oh my God, I don't want to be treated like that.' I really wish I had the courage she had to speak out, but I did not,' says Paula. Yvonne felt 'really sad for Catherine' and said she has a sense of guilt about not speaking up herself but feared 'we would be beaten to within an inch of our lives'. There were some grounds for that. When a 'kind' teacher previously asked her how she got lash marks on her back, arms and legs, she 'stayed very quiet' and did not reveal her mother lashed her with a stick. The teacher gave her a hug but the school took no action. Catherine, now a licensed clinical social worker, said their father had a history of 'overreacting to situations' and she has vivid memories of him inflicting two 'horrendous' beatings on her with his fists, the first when she was just six years of age. 'There was such fear of stepping out of line,' says Catherine. Paula told Catherine in the 1990s she too was abused by Richard but was unable to tell her parents. Yvonne told her sisters of being abused about 2012, when Catherine wrote to the organisers of a youth group in Georgia for whom Richard was working, expressing safeguarding concerns. All three sisters reported their brothers' abuse to the Garda in 2019. Richard, having been ordained a priest in 1989, had moved to the US but left the priesthood in 1992 after meeting his wife Bridget. Richard Brennan on the altar at the Pro Cathedral in Dublin when he was a priest. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Other family members also emigrated to the US, including the parents. The children's father, who had stopped drinking after receiving treatment in Ireland, ran a successful pawnbroking business there. After their parents learned in 2012 that Richard's abuse extended beyond her, her father 'cried on the phone to me, apologising profusely for his inaction' over her 1984 disclosure, Catherine says. As a result, she felt able to care for him up to his death just a year later. Her mother's response was different. After Richard resigned his role with the youth group in Georgia and moved to Montana, claiming Catherine was 'yet again' trying to destroy his life, her mother did not speak to her for months, she says. Later, while her mother would not discuss not believing her in 1984, she was 'gentler and kinder' and 'behaved in a way that suggested she was sorry'. Both parents were wonderful grandparents, she added. It was a 'hard pill to swallow' when, two days before her death in 2014, her mother called Richard and told him: 'Your sisters forgive you.' The Brennan children: Richard, Paula, Yvonne, Bernard and Eamonn. Sisters Paula Fay, Yvonne Crist and Catherine Wrightstone Catherine avoided her brother when he came to the house because their mother wanted to see him before she died. Paula felt able to forgive her father before he died but said she struggles with repressed feelings of anger towards her mother over her reaction to the disclosures of abuse. 'It was about reputation; it was never about us,' she says. A year after their mother's death, the sisters' beloved younger brother Eamonn died by suicide and their sister Sinéad, who suffered health issues over many years, died in 2021. All three are unhappy with the eight-year sentence imposed on Richard and want the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to bring an 'undue leniency' appeal. 'The sentence is an insult – it sends the wrong message to survivors and especially to offenders,' says Catherine. 'It amounts to saying it doesn't matter how many times, or how many people, you rape. It's not good enough. Women's lives matter.'
Irish Times
14-07-2025
- Irish Times
Man jailed for eight years for sexually abusing three of his sisters
A man has been jailed for a total of eight years after admitting to indecently assault of three of his sisters and raping two of them when they were minors. Paula Fay was aged 14 or 15 when she woke to find her brother Richard in her bed lifting her nightdress. She said he told her he needed 'a favour' because he would be unable to have sex when he became a priest. Her sister Catherine Wrightstone said her brother's sexual abuse of her began on her ninth birthday. Sentencing Brennan in the Central Criminal Court on Monday, Mr Justice David Keane said an aggravating factor was that the defendant committed some of the offences when he was a seminarian at Clonliffe College studying for the priesthood. READ MORE He sentenced Brennan, with an address in Montana in the US, but formerly of Rathfarnham, Dublin, to a global total term of nine years imprisonment, with the final year suspended, for the offences against his sisters Yvonne Crist, Ms Fay and Ms Wrightstone. The global sentence sought to take account of all of Brennan's 24 offences, the judge said. He said aggravating factors included that, while some of his offending occurred when he was aged 16 and a minor, it continued until he was 24. All of the offences occurred at the siblings family home in Rathfarnham in the late 1970s and 1980s. Another aggravating factor was the breach of trust as a seminarian and a brother with particular responsibilities to his sisters whose trust he 'fundamentally betrayed'. The offences occurred in the family home which should have been a place of safety and security but was instead made one of fear, the judge said. He expressed 'immense admiration' for the three women for the determination they had shown for engaging and persevering with the legal process. Mr Justice Keane said he hoped they would get further strength from their brother's late admission of guilt. The three women gave victim impact statements in which they stressed the physical, emotional and psychological impacts of the abuse they suffered. They said they had found the trial retraumatising. In mitigation, the judge took into account Brennan's 'very late' guilty plea, apology and expression of remorse to his victims, that he had no previous convictions and had co-operated with gardaí. He also took into account he is now aged 64 and answering for offences that occurred when he was aged 16-24. The judge said he had been given 20 character references from Brennan's friends and colleagues in the US, as well as testimonials from his wife Bridget and their adult children, and had considered them insofar as he could. Brennan was ordained in 1989 but left the priesthood after meeting his wife in the US in 1992 and they married in 1993, the court heard. Ms Fay and Ms Wrightstone, accompanied by family members and supporters, were in court for the sentence decision on Monday. Ms Crist watched the proceedings via video link from her home in the US. Brennan, who has five adult children, has been in custody since last March. His wife and a family friend travelled from the US for his sentencing. After his sisters gave evidence, and just before the last woman was cross-examined in his trial last March, Brennan indicated he was entering a guilty plea and ultimately pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including six offences of rape. He pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault of Ms Fay between early 1978 and late 1979 and four offences of rape on dates between 1979 and June 1981. He was aged between 16 and 20 and she was aged between 13 and 17 at the time. He admitted 13 counts of indecent assault of Ms Wrightstone on dates between June 1980 and late 1985 and two counts of rape in 1984 and 1985. He was aged between 19 and 24 and she was aged between nine and 14 at the time. In relation to Ms Crist, he admitted one count of indecent assault against her in the family home between June 1979 and June 1980 when he was aged 18 or 19 and she was aged 20. The judge noted Ms Fay was aged 14 or 15 when first assaulted by her brother, when she woke in her bed to find him pulling up her nightdress. He asked her for sex, telling her she would be doing him 'a favour' because he was studying for the priesthood and would be unable to have sex with any girl. She wanted him out of her room and felt she had no option but to give in. The first incident of rape occurred when she was 16. Ms Wrightstone said she was first abused by Brennan when she was nine and the abuse continued into her teens, progressing to rape when she was aged 12 or 13. During the first incident of abuse, he told her he had something to show her, took her to her bedroom and performed oral sex on her which she found disgusting. She said she cried and vomited afterwards in the bathroom. In other incidents, he examined her maturing body as if he was a doctor and told her this was what he was supposed to do as a big brother. The abuse was so frequent she could not say how often it took place, she said. Although she disclosed the abuse in 1984 to a specialist educator linked with her school, her parents failed to act, the court heard. The family were referred later that year for family therapy but her parents withdrew from that and Brennan's abuse continued. Ms Crist was aged 20 and sleeping in the family home after singing in Jury's hotel when she woke to find her brother naked on top of her and seeking sex. She screamed and told him to leave, he initially refused but left after she grabbed the phone and said she was calling the Garda. In submissions for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Fiona Murphy SC said the offences fell into the more serious bracket, involving more than one victim and breach of trust. In submissions for Brennan, John Byrne SC said he is the third oldest of seven children. They had a 'somewhat chaotic lifestyle' and fraught parental relationships, which involved the children seeing frequent violent outbursts fuelled by their mother's mental illness and their father's alcoholism. Brennan and two of his sisters spent a period in institutional care. The court had heard the parents, who died in 2013 and 2014, did not deal with Ms Wrightstone's disclosures in 1984 of her abuse by her brother, counsel said. She was not believed and it was regrettable the matter was 'swept under the carpet' then as had there been a full investigation, that might have prevented the abuse progressing further and getting worse. Mr Byrne said his client had been naturalised into deviant sexual behaviour from an early age by his older brother Bernard and this case could not be divorced from his brother's earlier case. Counsel said, while it was not part of this case, Richard Brennan, claimed he had been sexually abused by Bernard and invited by his brother into a situation where he was sexually abusing his sisters. Last month, Bernard Brennan (67) was jailed for a total of 4½ years after pleading guilty to 11 counts of indecent assault against Ms Fay and Ms Crist on dates between 1972 and 1975. Ms Fay was aged seven and he was aged 18 at the time of the first offence against her. Ms Crist was aged 13 and Brennan was aged 15 when he started abusing her.
BreakingNews.ie
05-06-2025
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Man (67) jailed for subjecting his younger sisters to 'horrific' and repeated sexual abuse
A man who subjected two of his younger sisters to 'horrific' and repeated sexual abuse in the 1970s has been jailed for four-and-a-half years. Bernard Brennan (67), formerly of Rathfarnham, Dublin, but most recently residing in the United States, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of indecent assault in various locations within the State between 1972 and 1975. He has no previous convictions. Advertisement His sisters, Yvonne Crist and Paula Fay, waived their anonymity so Brennan could be named. Passing sentence in the Central Criminal Court on Thursday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the facts of the case were 'appalling'. He said that while the abuse Brennan pleaded guilty to fell under the historic term of 'indecent assault', today the abuse would constitute offences that have a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. However, he noted the court was bound by law to the maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment and that Brennan was a juvenile when he committed the abuse. Advertisement Brennan pleaded guilty in advance of his trial date to four counts of indecent assault against Ms Crist and seven counts of indecent assault against Ms Fay. Ms Crist was aged 13, while Ms Fay was just seven years old when the abuse started. Mr Justice McDermott said some of the abuse perpetrated against the sisters was 'horrific to hear and to describe'. He said they gave 'eloquent, moving statements' outlining the horrors they have experienced and the pain they have suffered as a result of the abuse. He said the devastation the abuse caused was 'unspeakable' and the penalties to be imposed were 'by reason of history and nothing else'. He set a headline sentence of 21 months for each count and reduced this to 15 months, taking mitigating factors into account. He imposed four concurrent sentences of 15 months on Brennan, amounting to five years' imprisonment. Advertisement He reduced this to four-and-a-half years and backdated it to when Brennan went into custody earlier this year. At a previous hearing, Detective Garda Neil Fogarty told Patrick McCullough BL, prosecuting, that in relation to Ms Fay, the abuse started when the then seven-year-old was called in to the house by Brennan – then aged 14 years old – and forced to take off her clothes in front of a group of local boys. Brennan touched her inappropriately in front of these boys and from then on the abuse escalated, to include oral rape. He would wake her in the night to abuse her. The court heard he threatened Ms Fay that their family would be split up if she told anyone about the abuse. Advertisement Ms Crist was 13 and Brennan was aged 15 when he started abusing her. He would wake her in the night, sexually assault her and make her watch pornography. He digitally penetrated her and performed oral sex on her. She was afraid to call out or tell her parents for fear of physical punishment, the court heard. Brennan subjected both girls to abuse in front of and with a third party, the court heard. A letter was found from Brennan to his father, dated 2012, in which he apologised to his parents for abusing his sisters, but stated that he had no memory of it. Advertisement In her victim impact statement, Ms Crist said it has been hard to trust anyone in her life except her sister. 'Incest has affected me, and I have had to bury it deep inside,' she said. 'You took my innocence, and I will never forget that,' she said. 'I have become a strong person, and I have met these challenges head-to-head.' 'I forgave you, my brother, a long time ago, but I have had to hang onto the past until now. The truth has now been told, and you will now be known as a sexual predator for the rest of your life.' 'You have put us through hell,' she added. 'May you never find peace again.' Ms Fay also read her victim impact statement to the court, in which she said she was 'silenced' in her childhood and felt 'invisible, worthless and inferior'. 'Growing up as a child, I always felt incapable, insufficient and inadequate,' she said. 'I should have felt safe in my childhood home.' 'I struggle with being alone because that's when the thoughts of self-doubt come back.' She said the legal process has been a long and arduous one, starting back in 2021. 'I have felt so much freedom since, and so much weight lifted off my shoulders,' she said. 'I chose to survive. Today, I truly became a survivor. I now have justice.' Det Gda Fogarty agreed with Miska Hanahoe BL, defending, that her client has no previous convictions in Ireland or any other jurisdiction. The garda agreed with counsel that he immediately stated he would travel from the United States to Ireland and indicated that he would plead guilty. Ms Hanahoe said her client offers an unreserved apology to both of the injured parties. She said Brennan has suffered profound guilt and shame throughout his life. Ireland Two teenagers sentenced for roles in rape of girl... Read More Counsel said he grew up in a violent home and that his only sexual education was from pornography, which he re-enacted. She said her client has no memory of the abuse but does not dispute the evidence of his sisters. She said he has never tried to minimise his wrongdoing. He asked the court to take into account that the Probation Services have placed him at low risk of reoffending, that he has co-operated fully with the gardaí, that he has shown remorse, and his age at the time of the offending. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at or visit Rape Crisis Help .
