A former seminarian's prison sentence has been increased by two years following a Court of Appeal ruling that his original five-year term was unduly lenient. Aidan Gallagher, aged 41, of Dadreen, Killadoon, Westport, County Mayo, was convicted by jury in May 2023 of six counts of oral rape of his cousin on dates between 1998 and 2003. The Central Criminal Court jury sat in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy found that the sentencing judge had erred by treating all offences as committed while Gallagher was a minor, despite one occurring when he was 19 years old. The court imposed a revised sentence of seven years on each count, running concurrently. Gallagher had denied the allegations across two trials. The victim waived anonymity to allow her cousin's naming in reporting. Gallagher, who was due for ordination, has no previous convictions.
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Original report plus public source leads and related archive reports used for review context.
Public source leads
- Leitrim man jailed for rape and sexual assault of niece - BreakingNews.ie BreakingNews.ie · Thu, 20 Nov 2025 08:00:00 GMT
- Two brothers jailed for seven years for sexually assaulting their cousin as a child - The Journal The Journal · Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT
- Mayo woman says father's death led to her being able to report sex abuse by cousins - BreakingNews.ie BreakingNews.ie · Mon, 24 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT
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