Connolly, of Willistown, Drumcar, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of 18-year-old Cameron Reilly at Shamrock Hill, Dunleer, Co Louth, on May 26th, 2018.

Having quashed Connolly's conviction, the three-judge appeal court on Thursday ordered that he be retried on the murder charge.

The application came after the court found last month that the trial judge's charge to the jury lacked balance and in parts may have been seen as “advocacy” for the prosecution case and "disparaging" of the defence case.

The trial jury heard that Aaron Connolly (pictured) initially denied that anything sexual happened between him and Cameron Reilly on the night and had told gardaí that he was 'straight'.

The 24-year-old opened up about his alcoholism in an interview to mark World Mental Health Day