'I can now name the paedophile that ruined my life': Cork woman abused by uncle waives anonymity

Ten-year-old girl was abused while parents were away

Thu, 27 Feb, 2025 - 17:48

A ten-year-old girl spending a weekend at her aunt and uncle’s house while her parents went to a concert in Dublin was sexually assaulted by her uncle three times in one night and today he was jailed for three years.

Judge Helen Boyle said 70-year-old Michael O’Riordan, of 94 Friar Street, Cork, had been guilty of an egregious breach of trust by the molesting of Olivia McCarthy when she was only ten years old, in a case investigated by Detective Garda June O’Shea. The abuse happened around 30 years ago.

A jury found him guilty of charges which stated that he carried out the sexual assaults when she was in bed. At one stage she pretended to sleepwalk in a vain attempt to get away from him but the abuse continued later that night.

Ms McCarthy waived her right to anonymity at Cork Circuit Criminal Court and said: “For the first time in my life, I can now name the paedophile that has ruined my whole life. That monster’s name is Michael O’Riordan. I have decided to name this child molester because I believe, as a society, we have a problem with silencing the victim and protecting the abuser.

"Childhood abuse goes way beyond the trauma inflicted on the individual victim. Trauma travels through families and even generations.

“I lost my whole family when my mother died. My mom died in pain with no peace because of the hurt that you have caused. This paedophile robbed me of the happiest of memories of my mom with her sisters. We were meant to be able to keep my mom's memory alive with the love and laughter but you robbed us of that.

“Because of your disgusting behaviour my life has been left in tatters. Because of the constant stress and need to hide from you in my childhood, I have developed a chronic pain condition, fibromyalgia. This disease has ravaged my body and has me in such pain all the time that I am mostly bedbound in pain, I'm in such bad health my 70-year-old father has had to become my full time carer, I'm only 40 years old.

“I now have to fight with the Irish government everyday to try and get safe and affordable access to medical cannabis which is the only drug that allows my body to relax from the pain for a bit.

'He dragged me through the courts without remorse'

“You took my chance to be a mother. I knew from a young age I could never bring children into this world because the only thing scarier than what I went through is the thought of someone so close being able to do that to my children. This is how deep the trauma I experienced from your depraved sexual acts go. You made me afraid of the world.

“This paedophile has taken a not guilty plea. He dragged me through the courts without remorse and has taken most of my life from me. He has shunned me from my family and made me develop insecurities and chronic illnesses that will never fade.

"I want to express my gratitude and thanks to my dad Dave, my two sisters Aileen and Evelyn and my uncle Garry for standing by for these long four years. And to June and Mary-Jane (Somers) of An Garda Síochána protective services unit and their impeccable team, thank you for always making me feel safe to express my trauma.

“If people can take one thing away from this trial it is to please stop the silence. The only person silence is helping is the sexual predator. We need to start having the uncomfortable conversations and stop revictimising the victim. It’s heartbreaking how common child sexual abuse is in our society but it’s living behind a wall of silence. We need to break this wall of silence and shine a light on these paedophiles instead of constantly protecting them.”

Judge Boyle noted that the accused was married to a sister of the victim’s mother. “This has caused a split in the family… That is your (Michael O’Riodan’s) fault, it is because of your actions on a ten-year-old child. She and her family had to bear the consequences of that.”