CO KILDARE, Ireland Child rapist Patrick O'Brien, 84, has died in a Co Kildare nursing home four years after being released from prison for raping and abusing his daughter Fiona Doyle.

A brave advocate and survivor, Fiona told the press that her rapist father had died, describing it as "the end of a nightmare."

"On Wednesday, my father died. It's a trying time for me and my siblings. It's the conclusion of a nightmare. He was my father, and as difficult as it may appear to others, I adored him. I wish it could be normal and that we could grieve normally. It's a mental battle for me."

O'Brien will have a private funeral, which Fiona hopes she can attend, having previously stated that seeing him laid to rest would be the final closure she requires.

His death comes just a month after Fiona disclosed to the press how she paid him one last visit to the nursing home as he was on his deathbed.

"He agreed to let me sit with him. He did apologize. He said I'm sorry for everything."

Fiona said her father's words meant a lot to her and gave her the closure she sought.

O'Brien, a native of Bray, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping and abusing Fiona, with nine years suspended. That was later changed after an appeal, with an additional three years added.

Fiona's abuse by O'Brien began the night before her First Holy Communion. It lasted a decade, with him sexually abusing her in a cemetery, on the beach, and during family vacations.

During his campaign of horrific abuse against his daughter, O'Brien would take her to Deansgrange regularly, where he would clean his parents' graves before taking her up to a tree near the plot and raping her.

When confronted by the press following his release from prison in 2019, O'Brien insisted he was not a monster. "I'm not a monster, I say. I despise that word."

When asked what he would call anyone he read about who had raped their daughter, he replied, "Well, I'd call him a right old bastard. I'd call him a f***ing bastard if he did that, and yes, you can call me that. But I'm not a monster."

O'Brien admitted he was "very sorry" for abusing his daughter but refused to accept that he raped her.

"It wasn't rape. Okay, I'll admit the sexual assault. However, I never raped her. Never."