Former Clare minor football captain jailed for sexual assault of woman

Gordon Deegan

A former Clare county minor gaelic football captain has been jailed for two years and four months for the sexual assault of a woman.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed the 28-month prison term on Conor Gavin (32), of Paradise, Ballynacally, Co Clare, for the sexual assault of the woman at a house in Co Clare on July 18th, 2021.

The sentencing hearing was told that Gavin captained the Clare minor gaelic football team in 2011 and has also coached in recent years.

In sentencing, Judge Comerford said Gavin sexually assaulted the woman after making  the "very bizarre", "inappropriate" and "not rational" decision to strip down to his shorts and get into a bed uninvited with two women.

Gavin had returned to the house with friends after a night out.

Judge Comerford said: “There is not much scope for rehabilitation when one does not accept that there is an offence.”

The judge said Gavin will be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and will “suffer all of the disgrace that someone receives who has committed a sexual offence”.

Judge Comerford said there was limited mitigation in the case as Gavin had not expressed any remorse for the offence or apologised to the victim.

The judge said that no indication of any apology at any stage “accentuates the harm done by this offending”.

Judge Comerford said Gavin was still in denial over the "serious offence". The judge said it was not a planned sexual assault and was opportunistic.

Gavin denied the charge but was found guilty by a jury in February.

In her victim impact statement, the injured party told the court that she was hopeful that after today “I will be able to move on with my life and close this chapter of what I can only describe as a horror story I never asked to be part of”.

Reading from the statement in court, she said: “All I ever wanted was an apology and for Conor Gavin to admit what he had done to me and say sorry.

“I never got that and that is really hard. Conor Gavin had the audacity to take the stand during the trial and deny what was done to me. That to me is unacceptable and leaves a detrimental impact on my mental health.”

Tremendous amount of anger

In her victim impact statement, the woman said: “The past four years have been extremely exhausting. I have felt the greatest deal of shame one could possibly imagine and although I know what happened to me was not my fault, it is still a feeling that I cannot shake."

“I have a tremendous amount of anger which I’m unsure if I will ever fully be able to let go of…It is an extremely bitter pill to swallow having to accept that this is something I will never be able to erase from my memory and something that I will carry with me forever. I lost a part of myself that night which I do not believe that I will ever get back.

The woman said that almost four years ago on July 18th, 2021, her whole word was turned upside down when she was sexually assaulted by Gavin.

“An unprovoked assault which should never have happened,” she said.

The woman said having to write the victim impact statement was making her “relive the biggest nightmare of my life”, but added: “I am however going to take this opportunity to have my voice heard”.

The woman said that after the assault she “was in a complete state of shock and disbelief. I could not and did not want to believe that something like this had happened to me”.

On the impact that the sexual assault had on her, the woman said: “My self esteem shattered into a million pieces, and my self confidence was non-existent… I was a complete shell of myself”.

The woman said that she also suffered from panic attacks as a result of the assault. The woman paid tribute to her boyfriend for his support since the sexual assault.

Counsel for Gavin, Patrick Whyms BL, said his client accepted the jury’s verdict and would not appeal the jury verdict.

Mr Whyms said that on the night Gavin had six pints in the pub and brought cans of Bulmer’s cider back to the house.

He said his client consumed a lot of drink and his drinking “must have been a factor in the poor decision making to go into the bedroom, take off most of his clothing and get into the bed with two female persons”.

Mr Whyms said the DPP had directed that the case could be dealt with in the district court on a plea of guilty only.

Mr Whyms said Gavin had a good work history and currently works at a manufacturing plant in Shannon. Mr Whyms said it was in the public domain that Gavin captained the Clare minor football team in 2011.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.