Increased sentence for former priest who raped sisters

Updated / Friday, 13 Nov 2026 13:37

A former priest who raped two of his sisters and abused another has had his eight-year prison sentence increased by six years after a successful appeal by the State.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last month sought a review of the sentence imposed on Richard Brennan, aged 65, on the grounds that it was unduly lenient.

Speaking outside court after the case ended in July 2025, Catherine Wrightstone, Yvonne Crist and Paula Fay, had expressed "deep disappointment" over the sentence handed down to their brother.

Brennan, with previous addresses in Rathfarnham and the United States, had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court in March that year to 24 counts against his three sisters, including 18 of indecent assault and six charges of rape.

He was aged between 17 and 24 years old at the time of the offending.

Brennan entered the guilty pleas on the ninth day of the trial, after each of the three women had given evidence before a jury and before the final victim was about to be cross-examined.

The 65-year-old was ordained as a priest in 1989 and moved to the US, but later married and had a family. He returned from the US for questioning and the trial.

Brennan was sentenced to a global term of nine years with the final 12 months suspended by Mr Justice David Keane in July 2025.

At the appeal hearing in October, counsel for the DPP, Fiona Murphy SC, argued that the discount given by the sentencing judge from the headline sentences was excessive, considering all the circumstances of the case.

She said there was no basis for a further reduction of one year suspended, adding that overall, the sentence imposed did not reflect the seriousness of the offending.

The Court of Appeal today agreed, quashing Brennan's original jail term and resentencing him to 14 years in prison.

Delivering judgment, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said Brennan had sexually abused his three sisters over a prolonged period of time and the offending involved repeated rape, exploitation of vulnerable children, a profound breach of familial trust and devastating consequences for each victim.