Anger as outlaw Kelly is granted ‘dignified burial’

The priest who presided over the funeral Mass of Ned Kelly — more than 130 years after he was hanged for murder — said he has received a torrent of abuse for granting the infamous outlaw a Catholic church service.

The notorious bushranger, who was the son of Tipperary-born John “Red” Kelly, was finally granted his dying wish yesterday when he was given a Catholic burial in Australia. It followed a memorial Mass in Wangaratta, Victoria, last Friday, which more than 300 mourners attended.

But the decision to grant him a Catholic farewell just two years after his remains were exhumed and identified has triggered an outcry Down Under, where many see Kelly as a cold-blooded killer.