Early trial date for man (95) charged with historic indecent assaults on child
- Dignity 4Patients
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
By Gordon Deegan - The Irish Times - 08.05.2026 - [Age No Barrier] - [IRELAND]
A judge has set a trial date for a man aged in his 90s who is charged with the alleged indecent assaults on a child over a two-year period at an Ennis address almost half a century ago.
The accused will be aged 96 on June 30th when the trial is due to commence at Ennis Circuit Court, and is believed to be the oldest man before the courts charged with alleged sex offences.
At Ennis Circuit Court, solicitor Donough Molloy for the accused told Judge Francis Comerford that he has furnished the State with a medical report on his client.
Molloy told the judge that it may not be appropriate to set a trial date at this point.
Counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford said that the medical report raises a number of medical issues.
She said that the State may have to get its own medical report on the accused, a wheelchair user.
Comerford said that given the age of the accused “we are anxious to get a trial date”.
The judge said the medical issues “is something that should be brought to a head sooner rather than later”. He added that if he put the trial back “the issues are more likely to rise as time passes”.
The trial date was set for June 30th.
The man is charged with seven counts of indecently assaulting a female then aged under the age of 18 at an Ennis address over a two-year period from August 1st, 1978, to August 31st, 1980.
At the time of the alleged offences, the man was aged 48-50.
In the District Court on February 25th, Det Nadine Keane of Henry Street Garda station, Limerick, gave evidence on serving the Book of Evidence in the case.
She said that she arrested the accused in the car-park of Ennis Garda station after midday on February 5th for the purpose of charge.
Det Garda Keane said that the accused replied “no comment” after caution to each of the eight charges.
Sgt John Burke of Ennis Garda station told the court the complainant in the case “was a child” at the time of the alleged offences.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm.
Dignity4Patients Commentary:- For far too long, survivors of non-recent sexual abuse were ignored, silenced, or made to feel their voices didn’t matter. This latest case before the courts involving allegations dating back almost 50 years is another reminder that accountability has no expiry date and that age is no barrier to prosecution. It's a shame the survivors of Michael Shine's abuse were not afforded justice, due to age and other health factors that halted criminal trials after years of judicial reviews, delay tactics and errors by the DPP. https://www.rte.ie/news/investigations-unit/2022/0818/1316482-dpp-michael-shine-child-abuse/
