Louth man (76) who abused twin sisters on weekly basis jailed for 5 years

By Francis Carroll, The Drogheda Independent

A 76-year-old man who indecently assaulted twin sisters in the 1970s and ‘80s, has been jailed for five years.

The victims waived their right to anonymity so that their abuser could be named.

Michael Griffin, Donore Road, Drogheda, pleaded guilty to eight sample counts of indecent assault, relating to a time between 1973 and 1982, starting when the sisters were aged 4 and until they were 12.

He was aged 24 at the beginning and married to an older cousin of the girls.

The abuse occurred during family visits to the home of their grandfather and at the home of Mr Griffin, a former member of the Army and retired An Post worker.

It involved touching and groping, putting his hands up their skirts and inside and outside of the victims’ underwear.

Judge Dara Hayes said it was “brazen offending, often in plain sight” which occurred on a near weekly basis.

It was “quite extraordinary” and concerning to the court that the defendant was able to do it in front of adults.

One of the victims explained at a previous sentence hearing at Dundalk Circuit Court that she was waiving her anonymity because she wanted to be remembered as a person and not as an anonymous victim.

Mary Cooney (56) added that she wished the defendant had married into another family and felt sad that she thought this.

Regina Cooney who, like her sister, had travelled from England, said one of the reasons for waiving her anonymity was to give others the confidence to go forward.

“I grieve for the life I should have lived,” Ms Cooney outlined in a Victim Impact Statement which she read out.

The two women made statements to gardaí about how they remembered being groped and touched over and underneath their clothes.

Mary Cooney recalled it happening every Sunday. They witnessed each other being assaulted.

Regina Cooney recounted on one occasion being “pinned to the corner” of a room by the accused after he closed the door. They were alone. He was towering over her.

She also remembered trying to remember to wear trousers as they thought this might stop him.

Revelations of the assaults led to a breakdown in relations between the sisters and other family members.

Michael Griffin denied the allegations. He made a voluntary cautionary statement at his house on June 27, 2022.

“I used to laugh and joke and mess and I’m still like that at 73,” he said.

He denied having any relationship with the twins, adding that he was “baffled” at the allegations against him.

Judge Hayes said that the Victim Impacts were “powerfully explained” by the women who said that they emigrated to the UK aged 18 “to get away from him and his influence over the family”.

Both sisters said they had never married nor had children, and that they had not engaged with the cervical screening process in the UK to avoid intimate examinations.

They detailed the devastating impact of the abuse on their lives, socially, psychologically, emotionally, psychosexually, physically and economically.

Michael Griffin, who has no previous convictions, was three years in the Army until May 1970. He retired from An Post in 2010 after a 40-year career, and was involved in his local church.

The third eldest of 12 children, he was 20 years married before that relationship broke down. He has little contact with his son and daughter. He is in a new relationship.

His counsel admitted a letter of apology in which he asked for forgiveness, was “late in the day”.

Judge Hayes noted that the Probation Service had concerns about the defendant’s acceptance of culpability and his remorse. He had been assessed at low-risk of re-offending.

The judge said that the abuse represented a very significant breach of trust. The victims both suffered a lifelong impact “and shouldered it for more than four decades”.

A guilty plea meant they didn't have to give evidence. The plea came on a trial date and the victims would have prepared themselves for a trial.

The court noted Michael Griffin’s remorse in a short letter and the reservations of the Probation Service in that regard, and the 20-year age difference between him and the twins.

A five-and-a-half year sentence was imposed, the last six months suspended, and backdated to November 14, 2025.