Offaly man's Court of Appeal conviction for sexually abusing two boys upheld
Patrick Killally, a 49-year-old man from Edenderry, Co Offaly, was convicted by a jury of three counts of sexual assault of a boy aged six to nine between 1992 and 1996, and 40 counts of sexual assault, attempted anal rape, oral rape and anal rape of a second boy aged 12 to 14 between 2005 and 2007. He was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment by Mr Justice Paul Burns. Killally, who does not accept the verdicts, appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that a witness's testimony about him roaring at another child to come into a bedroom should not have been heard by the jury. On 25 July 2026, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy rejected the appeal, finding the evidence highly probative and admissible.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced25 Jul
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Killally was convicted of three counts of sexual assault of a boy aged 6 to 9 between 1992 and 1996, and 40 counts of sexual assault, attempted anal rape, oral rape and anal rape of a second boy aged 12 to 14 between 2005 and 2007.
- Where
- Edenderry, Co Offaly.
- When
- Offending occurred between 1992 and 1996 and between 2005 and 2007; the Court of Appeal ruled on 25 July 2026.
- Investigation
- A witness confronted Killally after hearing him roaring at another child to come into a bedroom, which the State said discredited his claim that he had never been left to babysit the injured party.
- Charges
- Killally was convicted of three counts of sexual assault of the first boy and 40 counts of sexual assault, attempted anal rape, oral rape and anal rape of the second boy.
- In court
- The Court of Appeal, with Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy presiding, rejected Killally's appeal, finding the witness testimony highly probative and admissible.
- Sentence
- Mr Justice Paul Burns sentenced Killally to 11 years' imprisonment.
- Other details
- Killally, 49, of Killane Drive, Edenderry, has no previous convictions and does not accept the verdicts of the jury.
10 statements extracted from the articles
- chargeKillally was convicted of three counts of sexual assault of the first boy between 1992 and 1996 (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeKillally was convicted of 40 counts of sexual assault, attempted anal rape, oral rape and anal rape of another boy between 2005 and 2007 (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe Court of Appeal rejected Killally's appeal (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMs Justice Isobel Kennedy found the evidence was highly probative and relevant and admissible (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe first boy was aged 6 to 9 and Killally was 14 to 18 at the time (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe second boy was aged 12 to 14 and Killally was 27 to 30 during the offending (irishmirror.ie)
- otherKillally has no previous convictions (irishmirror.ie)
- otherKillally does not accept the verdicts of the jury (irishmirror.ie)
- otherA witness confronted Killally after hearing him roaring at another child to come into a bedroom (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe State said the confrontation discredited Killally's claim that he had never been left to babysit the injured party (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 25 Jul2026Court rejects claim jury shouldn’t have heard he ordered child to come to room
Court of Appeal (Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy) rejected Killally's argument that a witness's testimony about him 'roaring' at a child to come to a bedroom should not have been heard by the jury, finding it was 'highly probative' of the prosecution case and closely related to the 'factual matrix.'
convicted, Patrick Killally, 49, male, named, irish (judged from name)Patrick Killallyvictim, malevictim, male