A 43-year-old man has been found guilty of the rape of his estranged wife at their home in Tipperary.
He had pleaded not guilty to two charges of rape on dates in April and May 2022.
A ”nolle prosequi” was entered on the first charge after a Central Criminal Court jury failed to reach a verdict on it.
The court heard the couple had been married since 2010 and had a daughter together but the marriage had run into difficulties after the woman said he was drinking to excess.
In 2015, she applied for a divorce and they were sleeping separately but continued living together for financial reasons.
on the night of May 15, 2022 after an argument the woman woke up to find the man raping her. She hit him twice with the rolling pin before he stopped.
When Gardai arrived the man was considered too drunk to be interviewed but was later questioned six times and denied any wrongdoing.
He was convicted of the second charge and Mr Justice Burns imposed a sentence of seven years with the final year suspended for three years.
