Rough Beast: My Story and the Reality of Sinn Féin is the highly anticipated memoir from former Irish Senator Máiría Cahill. Growing up in west Belfast, steeped in the traditions of Irish republicanism, Cahill seemed destined for a political career within Sinn Féin, but at the age of 16, she was sexually abused by a prominent member of the IRA and life as she knew it changed forever. In this episode, Cahill speaks to Kathy Sheridan about the lasting impact of the abuse, the trauma of the subsequent IRA “investigation” and why, in 2014 she decided to wave her anonymity and share her story.

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