The High Court has ordered a man aged in his 70s to pay his former neighbour €350,000 for sexually abusing her when she was a child.

Sean Connolly of Kilkea, Castledermot in Co Kildare was jailed for two years at Naas Circuit Court in 2011 - having pleaded guilty to six sample charges of sexual assault in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He first abused his victim, Noelle Doyle, when she was aged seven while purporting to fix her bicycle.

Awarding damages today, Mr Justice Kevin Cross described Ms Doyle as an 'admirable person of courage who has done society a great service by bringing this disgraceful matter to the attention of her parents, the gardaí and the courts'.

She made a brief outside court, urging other abuse survivors to come forward.