'The shame nearly destroyed me,' says niece after man jailed for raping her when she was 8

A man who repeatedly raped and sexually abused his niece has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

The 64-year-old Tipperary man, who cannot be named to protect his victim's identity, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape, one count of attempted rape and three counts of sexual assault of the girl between December 1999 and May 2005. He has no previous convictions.