Aaron Connolly’s murder conviction quashed on appeal

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

The Court of Appeal quashed Aaron Connolly’s conviction for the murder of Cameron Reilly on 18 May 2026.

Connolly, of Willistown, Drumcar, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Reilly, 18, at Shamrock Hill, Dunleer, Co Louth, on 26 May 2018. He was found guilty by a unanimous jury at the Central Criminal Court in December 2022. Mr Justice Tony Hunt imposed the mandatory life sentence. The proceedings were reported on 20 December 2022.

The Court of Appeal found that Mr Justice Hunt’s charge to the jury lacked balance and could have been perceived as advocacy for the prosecution. Delivering its judgment, Mr Justice John Edwards said the trial judge had given impeccable instructions on the law, but repeatedly expressed personal views about the evidence.

Mr Justice Edwards said the appeal court was satisfied that Mr Justice Hunt had not intentionally sought to influence the jury inappropriately and had tried his best, unsuccessfully, to avoid doing so.

The Director of Public Prosecutions was to decide whether to apply for a retrial, and the matter was put back to 4 June.