O'Reilly sentenced to life for wife Rachel's murder

Joe O'Reilly was this afternoon transferred to the Midlands prison in Portlaoise from Mountjoy where he spent the first night…

Joe O'Reilly was this afternoon transferred to the Midlands prison in Portlaoise from Mountjoy where he spent the first night of a mandatory life sentence after being found guilty at the Central Criminal Court yesterday evening of the October 2004 murder of his wife Rachel.

There were loud cheers in the packed court room shortly before 7pm when the foreman of the jury announced the unanimous verdict after just over nine hours of deliberations.

After the jury announced their verdict, Mr Justice Barry White asked O' Reilly to stand and said: "Mr O' Reilly, you have been found guilty by this jury. The sentence prescribed for murder is one of imprisonment for life and I am now imposing that sentence on you, thank you."

Mr Justice White refused leave to appeal.

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O'Reilly showed no emotion as the sentence was passed but there were whoops of joy from the public gallery and the Callaly family cried tears of happiness and held hands.

After the verdict was announced, the mother of Rachel O'Reilly Rose Callely made an emotional impact statement and was applauded after addressing the court.

In her statement she said: "If I could have given my life for you that awful day I would have" adding that the grief and distress "would never diminish".

As she made her way from the witness box after giving her statement, one of the main gardai in investigation, Det Sgt Patrick Marry, embraced her in a prolonged hug of support.

Speaking outside the Four Courts Ms Callely said: "My daughter has got justice today and we are so happy". She said that while the family would be able to get their lives back "in some shape" it would "never be the life we knew. But we have justice for our dear Rachel."

Mr Justice White thanked the jury and exempted them from jury duty for the rest of their lives.

He told the court that the case had attracted extraordinary media attention and said that throughout the trial he had been unable to turn on the television or to open a newspaper without seeing news of the case.