James O'Reilly Fernhill Paedophile
James O'Reilly Fernhill Paedophile

A newspaper story published in February 2007 prompted the recent incarceration of former sports coach and Fernhill Paedophile James O’Reilly, who, at the age of 91, became one of the oldest men ever imprisoned in Ireland for sexually assaulting four young gymnasts under his supervision.

During the interview, a prominent individual in the sports community of Arklow, Co Wicklow, recognised for his position as a Community Games organiser and coach of gymnasts and football teams, stated: “It is my firm belief that they (children) will not go astray if they are engaged in sports.”

The reading of those remarks motivated one of James O’Reilly’s victims to disclose the abuse she endured to the gardaí, whose ensuing investigation revealed that her experience was far from singular.

During a session of the Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court last week, an old grandpa paedophile nonce, who is blind, partially deaf, and wheelchair-bound, received a 12-month prison sentence, with Judge Terence O’Sullivan labelling the nonagenarian as a “sexual predator.”

In February, James O’Reilly, a widower with two adult offspring from Fernhill, Arklow, County Wicklow, admitted responsibility to the sexual assault of four young girls in the town of South Wicklow over three decades prior.

The admissions by the retired painter and decorator from Mullingar, pertaining to each of his four victims, were presented before a jury comprising seven women and five men, who had been sworn in to adjudicate his trial at Bray Courthouse.

Merely 24 hours prior, James O’Reilly had entered a plea of not guilty before the identical jury to eight counts of indecent or sexual abuse and one count of attempted sexual assault at St Mary’s College Sports Hall in Arklow, concerning the same four young females he taught.

The acts transpired on unspecified dates between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 1994, during which the accused operated a gymnastics training club with his deceased wife, Sadie, who passed away in December 2021. [HIS ENABLER]

Despite becoming completely blind in 1996, James O’Reilly persisted in training and coordinating contests for the Community Games—a duty he commenced in 1978—until he resigned three years ago.

In a victim impact statement, the lady who reported James O’Reilly after viewing his interview in the Irish Independent stated that reading it 18 years prior had motivated her to seek justice.

She described the article as one which “glorified” James O’Reilly and was all about “your great deeds which you have done for the children of Arklow.”

“Every cell in my body was repulsed by this interview,” she told the court.

Addressing James O’Reilly she stated: “You were trusted to provide a safe space for me and the other children. You took this power and used it for your own gratification.”

She added: “There are no words to describe the level of fear, embarrassment and shame that I experienced that day.”

“The level of fear when you would enter the girls’ changing rooms – no child should ever have to experience,” she observed.

The court heard that the thought of having to stand up as a witness and give evidence in front of a jury had made her physically ill and she attributed his guilty pleas to “a stroke of divine intervention.”

As a mother now of three young girls, the woman explained how she had repeatedly refused requests from one of her daughters to join her friends in gymnastics.

“In my eyes, once you put on a leotard, you became a target,” she commented.

The woman, who is now in her 40s, said it was only when her own daughter turned nine that she realised the true extent of what O’Reilly had inflicted on her.

Speaking after James O’Reilly was sentenced to 12 months in prison, one of his victims who had told the court she expected he would not be jailed because of his age said it was hard to see an elderly man being wheeled out of court by prison guards.

However, she added: “That same man was not sorry for what he had done to us. He showed absolutely no remorse.”

The four victims also said they had been let down by others in Arklow who knew what James O’Reilly was doing but who chose to protect him rather than vulnerable young children.

“It’s bittersweet. I do feel down as it was widely known within the community. We were just little girls and people chose to turn a blind eye,” said one woman. [PEOPLE ALWAYS KNOW]

“I don’t feel like this is a celebration but we finally got our justice,” she observed.

James O’Reilly, who was born on New Year’s Day in 1934, is likely to mark his 92nd birthday in prison.


If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.