Aaron Connolly retrial ordered after murder conviction quashed

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal ordered a retrial of Aaron Connolly after quashing his conviction for the murder of Cameron Reilly. The retrial was ordered on 4 June 2026.

Connolly had pleaded not guilty to murdering Reilly, 18, at Shamrock Hill, Dunleer, Co Louth, on 26 May 2018. A jury found him guilty on 15 December 2022. On 20 December 2022, Mr Justice Tony Hunt imposed a mandatory life sentence at the Central Criminal Court.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge’s charge to the jury lacked balance. It said there was a real possibility jurors could have perceived that he was convinced of Connolly’s guilt and was pressing them to return a guilty verdict. The court quashed the conviction in May 2026.

The jury had been told Connolly’s DNA was found on Reilly’s body. Connolly initially denied sexual contact but later admitted through his lawyers that he had performed oral sex on Reilly that night. He maintained that Reilly was alive and standing when he left. Defence counsel Michael Bowman said lies could be told out of fear and panic and did not by themselves prove murder.

Judge John Edwards remanded Connolly in custody to appear before the Central Criminal Court on Friday morning, where he was expected to apply for bail. The proceedings were reported on 4 June 2026.