A judge has told a man who abused his foster daughter for all of her teenage years that he had inflicted "terror, fear and isolation" on her.

Stephen Murray - of Humpreystown, Valleymount in Co Wicklow - can now be named because the survivor, Kelly Kemmy, chose to waive her right to anonymity.

Before passing sentence, Mr Justice Paul McDermott told Murray that the "gross sexual abuse" he inflicted was carried out against a "vulnerable young child" - and he said it was clear that what he did to her caused "physical and emotional pain."

He also described him as "devious" in the way that he kept it from his wife.

She, and other family members, were often asleep in the house while it took place.

Kelly Kemmy was just 11-years-old when he first abused her in 2009, and in the almost seven years that followed he went on to rape her over 1,000 times.

In her victim impact statement, the now 24-year-old survivor said the abuse felt like a "life sentence."

"I was the child and you were the adult telling me it was a secret," she told him.

She said she felt "completely alone," before adding that there was "no safe place" for her

Murray was jailed for 11 years.

Outside court afterwards, Kelly said she decided to speak out in the hope it would encourage others to come forward.

"Today marks a small step in my fight for justice.

"I was a child let down by both Tusla and my foster parents.

"While I live with this abuse for the rest of my life, some sort of justice was served today.

"I know first-hand how difficult it is to come forward as a victim, and I hope this verdict will be a ray of hope for all other victims of sexual abuse - and they may come forward and have the strength to find their own justice".