Barry McDonagh appeals convictions for 17 rapes and sexual assault

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

Barry McDonagh, a 61-year-old Cork man, was jailed for seven and a half years in October 2024 after a Central Criminal Court jury found him guilty of 17 counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The proceedings were reported on 31 October 2025.

McDonagh appealed his convictions at the Court of Appeal. His senior counsel, Colman Cody, argued that evidence about his temper, including evidence concerning an assault on McDonagh’s wife, was irrelevant and highly prejudicial. The defence also argued that the jury’s verdict was unsafe and that the jury should have been discharged after a question referencing Tunisia.

Sean Guerin SC, for the DPP, said the evidence was relevant to the complainant’s state of mind and that evidence of an assault on McDonagh’s wife had already been admitted with the defence’s consent. Justice Peter Charleton said the three-judge court would reserve judgment.