Donegal priest refused Supreme Court appeal of rape conviction

A Donegal priest has been refused permission to bring an appeal against his conviction for raping a teenage parishioner in a church sacristy to the Supreme Court.
51 year old Daniel Doherty of Carrigart argued prejudicial evidence was put before the jury at his trial in 2006 at the Central Criminal Court.
He was found guilty of twice raping the 13 year old girl on dates in 1985 and received a 7 year sentence.
The Court of Criminal Appeal today rejected his claim that his appeal should go before the higher court to determine a point of law of exceptional public importance.