Former priest and Irish Times columnist has abuse conviction quashed

The Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of Barry Fergal Jennings, a 57-year-old former priest and Irish Times columnist from Cloonkeerin, Frenchpark, County Roscommon. Jennings had been sentenced to four years imprisonment following his conviction in March 2022 on six counts of sexual assault against a schoolboy at locations in Dublin between September 1998 and December 1999. He had denied the charges. Ms…