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A woman who falsely claimed she had been raped "put on an Oscar winning performance" during an emergency 999 call to police , a court heard.

Judge Patrick Durcan made the comment about 47-year-old Christina Dowie after finding her guilty of making a false report of rape in two phone calls to the emergency services on March 18 last year.

Judge Durcan imposed a suspended six month jail term on Ms Dowie, saying her actions on the night were "reprehensible".

She made the calls in order for Irish police to give a lift back to her home in Shannon from Sixmilebridge - five miles away.

He said: “All she wanted was to use the Garda as a cheap mode of transport.”

An intoxicated Ms Dowie made two ‘false rape’ 999 calls on the night and in the second call three hours after the first contacted the ambulance service.

In response to the 999 call for the ambulance, two mobile patrol units along with an ambulance arrived at Ms Dowie’s boyfriend’s home, the Irish Mirror reports .

However, Ms Dowie told the ambulance crew that she didn’t want them when they refused to allow her bring her pet Chihuahua, ‘Charlie’ on board the ambulance.

(Image: Eamon Ward)

In evidence, Sgt Ann-Marie Starr said: “Ms Dowie refused to go in the ambulance because the ambulance wouldn’t take her dog and I was there when she asked them to leave as they were of no benefit to her.”

Recordings of both emergency calls were played in court and in the first call at 2.30am on March 18 to the 999 number, an audibly upset Ms Dowie said ‘I was raped and my boyfriend watched it’.

Police rushed to the scene at her boyfriend’s home and Sgt Starr said that on arriving at the home, Ms Dowie had her bags packed at the door and said “I’m ready - let’s go’.

Sgt Starr said: “She just wanted to be taken and driven back to Shannon.”

The police said her boyfriend, Declan Cullinan told officers at the scene that Ms Dowie “considered Gardai to be a cheap taxi”.

Sgt Starr said: “Ms Dowie was highly intoxicated and wasn’t distressed in any way and she wanted basically for us to give her a lift back to Shannon.”

Sgt Starr said police called a local taxi firm to come collect Ms Dowie from her own phone.

In her call to the ambulance serve after 5.30am, Ms Dowie said: “I need an ambulance. I got a pain in my back - my boyfriend says I have been raped.”

Sgt Starr said Ms Dowie was even more intoxicated when police called in response to the 5.30am call.

In an interview with police in August 2015, Ms Dowie said: “I should have got into police car and ambulance - I wasn’t rationally thinking - I didn't mean to waste your time.”

In evidence, Declan Cullinan said the two were out drinking on St Patrick’s Day and Ms Dowie went into the gent’s toilets in a pub by mistake.

Mr Cullinan said: “I said to her ‘anything could happen to you in there' and may be that is what put it (being raped) into her head.

“She is not a bad person. It was put into her head and she is a very sensitive person.”

Solicitor for Ms Dowie, John Casey said that Ms Dowie has emotionally had a very difficult life.

He said: “She did not cover herself in glory on this night.”

Judge Durcan said that he would suspend the six month sentence as there was no investigation into the allegations and no person was named.