Paul Kelly loses sexual abuse conviction appeal

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

Paul Kelly’s sexual abuse conviction appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 23 July 2026.

Kelly had been convicted in November 2024 of sexual assault and rape offences against his younger brother at their family home in Kerry, and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on 3 April 2025.

The appeal court rejected arguments that a witness’s wording made evidence of the abuse inadmissible and that the jury should have received a corroboration warning.

The court said the trial judge had applied the correct principles and found no material inconsistencies in the witnesses’ evidence.