Case No. 1095Rape · Co. Dublin
Dublin woman raped in 2005 meets attacker through restorative justice
Ailbhe Griffith, a 21-year-old woman, was raped in 2005 in Dublin after a man sat beside her on a bus, followed her to her stop, and dragged her into a garden where he hit, strangled, bit, and sexually assaulted her. Two young men chased and captured the attacker. The man pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Nine years later, Ailbhe met her attacker face-to-face through a restorative justice process facilitated by Dr Marie Keenan, and the convicted man, who had vowed not to apologise, said sorry after the one-hour meeting.
- Reported26 Aug
- Arrested
- Charged
- In court
- Verdict
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Ailbhe Griffith, a 21-year-old woman, was raped in 2005 in Dublin.
- A man sat beside her on a bus without speaking, followed her to her stop, then grabbed her by the neck and dragged her into a garden where he hit, strangled, bit, and sexually assaulted her.
- Two young men appeared, chased the attacker, and captured him.
- Where
- The assault occurred on a four-minute walk from the bus stop to her home, two minutes from her doorstep, in Dublin.
- When
- The rape took place in 2005 when Ailbhe Griffith was 21.
- In court
- The man pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
- Other details
- Nine years after the incident, Ailbhe Griffith met her attacker face-to-face through a restorative justice process facilitated by Dr Marie Keenan.
- The one-hour restorative justice meeting ended with the convicted man saying sorry, despite having vowed not to apologise.
- Ailbhe Griffith is now a mother to a 14-year-old daughter.
41 statements extracted from the articles
- whatAilbhe Griffith was 21 when she was raped in 2005. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe assault occurred on a four-minute walk from the bus stop to her home. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe man sat beside her on the bus without speaking until she got off. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatHe grabbed her, had her around the neck, and dragged her backwards into a garden where he hit and strangled her. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatHe bit her and sexually assaulted her. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatHe hit her head off a wall during the attack. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatTwo young men appeared, asked if she was okay, and chased and captured the perpetrator. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatAilbhe met her attacker face to face nine years after the incident through restorative justice. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe restorative justice meeting lasted one hour. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe convict sat in his jail cell with no remorse for years and vowed not to apologise before the meeting. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatA stranger sat beside her on the bus and followed her to her stop. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man chased her, grabbed her by the neck, and dragged her into a garden where he hit, strangled and threw her. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man bit her and sexually assaulted her. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man hit her head against a wall during the attack. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatTwo young men appeared, chased the perpetrator and captured him. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatA two-vehicle road traffic collision involving a scrambler and a van occurred at the junction of Collins Avenue and Ballymun Road (irishmirror.ie)
- whatCollopy was a passenger on the scrambler (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe scrambler was driving at speed when it collided with the van (irishmirror.ie)
- whatCollopy suffered catastrophic injuries in the collision (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe male passenger's condition is described as critical (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe scrambler driver and passenger, both males in their 20s, were taken to hospital for serious injuries (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe assault happened two minutes from her doorstep. (dublinlive.ie)
- whereThe assault occurred two minutes from her home in Dublin. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereCollopy has an address at Cardiffsbridge Avenue in Finglas, Dublin (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe rape took place in 2005 when Ailbhe Griffith was 21. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe collision occurred at approximately 3:35pm on Monday 25 August 2025 (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationGardaí are keeping watch at the hospital where Collopy is being treated (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe man pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced to nine years in prison. (dublinlive.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe restorative justice practitioner was Dr Marie Keenan. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherAilbhe Griffith is now a mother to a 14-year-old daughter. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherAilbhe Griffith met her attacker face-to-face nine years after the incident through a restorative justice process facilitated by Dr Marie Keenan. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe convicted man said sorry after the restorative justice meeting. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherCollopy has 24 convictions to his name (irishmirror.ie)
- otherCollopy was involved in another crash incident just weeks before the collision (irishmirror.ie)
- otherCollopy was hospitalised in a bike-related incident in 2024 (irishmirror.ie)
- otherCollopy was previously sentenced to three years with one suspended after being convicted of drugs charges in 2023 (irishmirror.ie)
- otherCollopy was caught with a large amount of cannabis for sale or supply at Abbotstown Drive in Finglas on 19 January 2022 (irishmirror.ie)
- otherCollopy was given an 18-month suspended sentence for his part in the Finglas brawl (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe Finglas violent disorder incident took place in August 2022 (irishmirror.ie)
- otherGlen Ward admitted firing a semi-automatic rifle on New Year's Day 2022 at the back of a house in Finglas (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThere are tensions in the Finglas area (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 26 Aug2025Gardai watch hospital amid 'grave' fears for Mr Flashy pal after scrambler crash
Reports the collision and provides extensive background on Collopy's criminal history, including his association with Glen 'Mr Flashy' Ward, 24 previous convictions, and prior traffic incidents.
victim, Darragh Collopy, 21, male, irish (judged from name)Darragh Collopyvictim, 20s, male - 26 Aug2025Woman raped on way home says everything changed after later contronting attacker
Feature interview in which the victim describes the 2005 assault in detail and recounts the restorative justice meeting held nine years after the incident, during which the convicted rapist apologised.
victim, Ailbhe Griffith, 21, female, irish (judged from name)Ailbhe Griffithconvicted, male - 26 Aug2025'I was raped near Dublin home – facing attacker years later changed everything''
Provides Ailbhe Griffith's detailed first-person account of the 2005 assault, the restorative justice process facilitated by Dr Marie Keenan, and specific quotes from the hour-long meeting, including the attacker's apology after the encounter.
victim, Ailbhe Griffith, 21, female, irish (judged from name)Ailbhe Griffithconvicted, male