Patrick Dooley challenges murder conviction as appeal court reserves judgment

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

Patrick Dooley was among three men who appealed their convictions for the murder of his brother, Thomas Dooley, at a funeral in Co Kerry. The Court of Appeal reserved judgment when the hearing concluded on 13 January 2026.

Patrick Dooley, Michael Dooley and Thomas Dooley Jnr had pleaded not guilty to murdering Thomas Dooley at Rath Cemetery, Rathass, Tralee, on 5 October 2022. The proceedings were reported on 13 January 2026.

On 12 January 2026, Patrick Dooley’s senior counsel, Michael O’Higgins, argued that a leading question put to a witness about a sword or machete allegedly held by Patrick should not have been admitted at the trial. Thomas Dooley Jnr’s barrister, Thomas Creed, argued that his client’s arrest and detention had been unlawful.

Michael Dooley’s counsel, Seamus Clarke, argued on 13 January that his client had been misidentified as a participant in the attack and that the judge should have withdrawn the case from the jury. He said Michael Dooley was at the graveyard but that other witnesses’ evidence of his presence did not incriminate him in the attack.

Dean Kelly, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said Siobhan Dooley had placed Michael Dooley behind her husband with a weapon and had correctly identified him in court. He said another witness placed Michael among a group running away after the attack.

Six defendants, including a teenager, were convicted of murder at the Central Criminal Court in Cork in 2024. Thomas Dooley Jnr was also found guilty of assault causing harm to Siobhan Dooley. On 30 July 2024, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring sentenced five defendants to life imprisonment. In March 2025, the man who had been a juvenile at the time of the attack received an 11-year sentence, with the final three years suspended.