The children who were the victims in the infamous Roscommon child abuse case are now able to live a normal life, according to the lead investigator who brought a prosecution against their parents.
Sgt John Hynes, who is based in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, will be given the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) Excellence Award this evening for his work on the case.
Sgt Hynes dedicated the award to the children and said there could have been no trial and conviction without their courage and fortitude.
The six children were sexually abused and neglected for years by both of their parents. The father, who pleaded not guilty at every stage and stood trial, was jailed for 12-and-a-half years in 2009; the mother, who pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, received a seven year sentence.
The children involved are now between 12 and 22. The oldest two are with relatives and the youngest four are at foster homes.
The oldest two have now engaged a legal firm to look at suing the State for neglect.
A recent report into the activities of social services found evidence of persistent failure by State authorities despite mounting evidence of mistreatment.
Despite that, Sgt Hynes said they were now "very happy children" and he paid tribute to the relatives and foster families who had taken them in after the parents were arrested.
"These children have fantastic relatives and fantastic foster families who have given them a new lease of life," he said.
"From the dealings I have with them since the trial process finished, they are going to school, enjoying school, taking part in sport and mingling with people. They can now live a normal life."
Sgt Hynes (48) said he was 29 years in the force and the Roscommon case was "by far the worst" he had ever seen.
Despite his experience of child abuse cases, he still had no understanding why parents would want to sexually abuse their children or why any adult who would want to abuse children in the first place.
"Those children should have had the love and affection of their parents, they should have been able to tell the difference between right and wrong. I don't think we could ever comprehend how any parent could do that to their own flesh and blood," he said.
He said child sex abuse was the "most heinous" of all crimes and there could be no forgiveness of those found guilty of such abuse.
"We all know how innocent children can be. To take advantage of that innocence and ruin their childhood is the worst thing that could happen to you," he maintained.
Sgt Hynes said the law on incest should be updated to ensure that women can get the same sentence as men. Currently the maximum sentence is 14 years for a man and seven for a woman.
The sergeant also send that he does not intend to ever speak in public about the case again because the continuing publicity was hurting the family.