Louise O’Keeffe, behind her lawyer above, began her case against the Irish Government in the European Court of Human Rights today.
Teacher Leo Hickey sexually abused Ms O’Keeffe when she was eight and attending Dunderrow National School in Co Cork in 1973.
In 1998 Hickey was convicted of 21 sample charges involving 21 children from 380 charges.
Ms O’Keeffe has tried to hold the State liable but the High Court dismissed her case, as did the Supreme Court.
It’s believed 200 similar cases have been dropped since the Supreme Court case.
The State tried to stop Ms O’Keeffe’s application to the ECHR, arguing her failure to sue the Diocese of Cork and Ross, which owned the school, showed she didn’t exhaust legal avenues in the Irish court system.
Watch today’s proceedings in Strasbourg here.
Cork woman’s abuse case opens in the European Court of Human Rights (RTÉ)
(Hat tip for video: Conor O’Mahony)