He pleaded guilty to rape and sexual assault of the girl when she was aged between six and ten.
The Central Criminal Court heard that the 47 year old – who cannot be named for legal reasons – had preyed on his daughter for his own sexual gratification between 2004 and 2008.
Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan described the abuse as “vile and terrible acts perpetrated against an innocent child”.
The girl – who is now 16 – told family members of the abuse in 2012 following which her mother contacted the Gardai.
Her father was arrested in January of 2013 and admitted the abuse.
Ms Justice Heneghan sentenced him to seven years on two counts of rape and five years on six counts of sexual assault to run concurrently.
The sentence was backdated to May 18th of this year when the man went into custody.
