A man convicted of rape for a third time has been jailed for 13 years at the Central Criminal Court.
High Court judge Paul Carney described him as deserving a life sentence.
David Hegarty, formerly of Nutley Road, Mahon, Cork, last week pleaded guilty to his third rape when he attacked a nurse in the early hours of the morning in May last year.
Hegarty's third rape was similar to his previous offences - a random attack on a woman in the early hours of the morning.
At a bus station in Cork he attacked a nurse who had just returned to work in Ireland after a trip home.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said it was an opportunistic rape of a defenceless person. He said Hegarty had a propensity to rape and there was a possibility he would do it again.
The judge said he believed he should be able to protect society by imposing a life sentence. But because the Court of Criminal Appeal had overturned a decision in a previous case, he was unable to do so.
Hegarty was jailed for 13 years. After his release he will be supervised for ten years.
