Every second or third day, Mary* was on the phone looking for help for her daughter after she was sexually assaulted, on her birthday, by four boys. “I needed support for her and for us, to try and deal with this and just to manage day to day,” Mary told the Irish Examiner. “When you have to think about it and tell someone,” she said, “I feel like it’s happening again.”Birthday nightmareShe can’t forget the day their world turned upside down, the day Elizabeth was celebrating her 15th birthday. “There, she later met friends of friends and, a couple of hours later, more friends — acquaintances, really — joined. “She went to school the following morning, and after school she went to her friend’s and told her friend.” she said.

Source: Irish Examiner January 29, 2026 13:32 UTC