Victim plans to stay in Listowel
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ONE of the few positives to come from the now infamous Listowel sexual assault case is that Danny Foley's victim will not be forced to flee her home town.
Despite being made feel like the guilty party and even being refused service in a local establishment, the victim in this case is confident that she will, one day, be able to get her life back on track among her family and friends.
The woman, who was born and reared in the town and who is now raising her son there, says she has been overwhelmed by the support she has received from all over the county and country and she will be staying put.
At a press conference on Saturday, the 24-yearold described how she was unable to walk down the street of the town without having to endure 'hassle' from several angles in the immediate aftermath of the case.
"It has been really hard. Listowel is such a small town and even though nobody knows me, in Listowel they do," she said. "They are staring at me and giving me dirty looks and I was even refused service in a local chip shop in town because he used to work there."
However, thanks to support from her family and friends, she is now finding the confidence to stand her ground, realising that all she did was tell the truth.
"When the court was over I was getting hassle and it had crossed my mind [to leave Listowel] but hopefully now I can stay in my home town. I hope people can just not look at me that way any more and judge me."
She said that with the support of her family, friends and counsellors she has begun to feel stronger and 'to live my life again.'
She said that although she felt 'devastated' at Fr Sheehy's radio comments about 'the miscarriage of justice,' she was hugely encouraged by the support she received from Listowel parish priest, Canon Seamus Linnane.
"The Canon of Listowel parish visited me [on Friday] and wished me well and told me that he was there for me and he hoped me and my son would have some kind of good Christmas and wished me all the best. I was shocked when I saw him but it meant so much to me," she said.
