Wife killer Joe O’Reilly now works as a binman and has expressed a keen interest in murderer Graham Dwyer’s appeal behind bars.
O’Reilly, 50, who battered his wife Rachel to death in October 2004, is working in waste management inside the Midlands Prison in Co Laois. And sources say the killer, who was initially temporarily moved to the Midlands following his behaviour in Wheatfield Prison earlier this year, is now set to stay there for the foreseeable future.
“There are no plans to move O’Reilly back to Wheatfield,” a source said. “He’s working in waste management there now and has settled there.”
Read more: Wife killer Joe O’Reilly has new job in prison tuck shop
It is understood that as part of his duties, O’Reilly clears out bins across the prison system and is involved in composting and other manual labour jobs across the building. Meanwhile sources say O’Reilly has become obsessed with murderer Graham Dwyer’s upcoming appeal.
“He has spoken to people about it. He has a keen interest in it and the outcome of it. He believes that it could help him in some way,” a source said. Depraved killer Dwyer, who is serving life for the murder of childcare worker Elaine O’Hara is set to have his appeal heard next month.
It comes after a significant legal victory in the European Court of Justice for Dwyer – which found that Ireland’s system of retaining and accessing mobile phone metadata breaches EU law. All of that data was key to the State’s case against Dwyer for the 2012 murder of Ms O’Hara – and the ruling could now significantly help the convicted murderer in his appeal.
Joe O’Reilly was similarly convicted over crucial mobile phone evidence – though his conviction pre-dates the European law. However, sources say O’Reilly is still very interested to see how that ruling will affect Dwyer’s case – and on the basis of how that works out, he may then look at his own legal options.
“There’s no doubt that he’s very interested in it. O’Reilly is holding on to anything that might help him overthrow his conviction. He still believes he will be found to be innocent, and he still refuses to admit his guilt to this day,” a source said.
O’Reilly was moved to the Midlands Prison in August after prison bosses feared he was about to “get a hiding” because of his disruptive behaviour behind bars. Sources say the killer had been throwing his weight around the prison and had found himself in a
situation where numerous prisoners wanted to do him harm.
Read more: Wife killer Joe O'Reilly moved jails after inmates threaten to 'cut him up'
A decision was therefore made to move O’Reilly not only for his own safety, but in the interest of keeping the peace in Wheatfield Prison. Source say the killer, who is 15 years behind bars this October, could have been set for a move to an open prison after Wheatfield, and moved forward with some form of release in the next four or five years.
But due to his latest behaviour, coupled with the move to the Midlands, sources say O’Reilly can look forward to an even longer stint behind bars. Speaking to this paper in August, the mother of murder victim Rachel said she hoped O’Reilly’s prison move would teach him a hard lesson.
“It might soften his cough now. He will have to realise he won’t get his own way everywhere,” Rose said. Tragic Rachel Callaly was brutally beaten to death by O’Reilly in their home in Naul, Dublin, on October 4, 2004. O’Reilly was eventually convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in 2007.
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