We have betrayed one of our defenceless fellow citizens

Grace is entirely innocent, and has lived a life of innocence, but that has not protected her, writes Fergus Finlay

WHAT do you do if you desperately need help, yet can’t ask? How do you defend yourself if you have no voice, no physical ability to run or fight, no friend in your corner? How do you protect yourself if you’re abandoned, alone, and utterly defenceless?

It’s a story that’s been covered extensively and with professional rigor and restraint by this newspaper and by the RTÉ programme This Week. It is the most disturbing story I’ve heard for a long time.