THE victim of the Kerry sexual assault case has said she felt "like she was dying inside" when a priest claimed her attacker was innocent. The 24-year-old woman said she felt like she was the criminal instead of the victim when she saw Fr Seán Sheehy and around 50 other people queuing up to shake Danny Foley’s hand in a Tralee courtroom.
"I feel like I am the one who was on trial and they found me guilty. When I walked into the court and saw all of them standing there, I didn’t realise they had planned to shake his hand.
"When they did, I just crumbled. All I wanted to do was curl up and cry. One of the women who 
was there turned around to me and said I should be ashamed. I should be ashamed? They’re the ones who should be ashamed of themselves shaking a guilty man’s hand," she told the Irish Daily Star yesterday.
The woman, who was 22 at the time of the attack, said she was struggling to cope with life since the assault.
"He ruined my life and I have to start from scratch all over again. He took everything away from me, my dignity, my self confidence."
The woman also said she felt let down by the Castlegregory priest Fr Seán Sheehy who provided a character reference for Danny Foley and also shook his hand in court.
"I was hurt by that. As someone representing the Catholic Church, it felt like him and the Church had taken Danny Foley’s side. Then when I heard the same priest on the radio saying he didn’t believe Danny Foley was guilty, I just burst into floods of tears, I felt like I was dying inside. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk into a church again," she said.
Fr Sheehy has refused to apologise for shaking Foley’s hand despite the Bishop of Kerry Bill Murphy disassociating himself from his actions.
"I don’t have any regrets. I didn’t intend any slur on the alleged victim. I do believe he’s innocent," said Fr Sheehy.
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