Catherine Nevin granted legal aid

Convicted murderer Catherine Nevin has been given legal aid in her bid to have her conviction declared a miscarriage of justice at the Court of Criminal Appeal today.

Mrs Nevin has initiated proceedings in which she is arguing that material not given to her lawyers at the time of her trial contained information casting doubt on the credibility and motivation of key

prosecution witnesses in the case.

An appeal against her conviction was dismissed in 2003 by the Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) but Mrs Nevin has now brought proceedings under the Crime Procedure Act 1993 to have her case declared a miscarriage of justice.

At the CCA today, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman granted Mrs Nevin legal aid, and allowed her to amend her notice of motion to include that the State disclose to her lawyers all material and documents that relate to her case.

Mr Sean Gillane BL for the DPP told the court that the DPP was consenting to the amendment. Mr Justice Hardiman adjourned the matter to a case management list next month.

Mrs Nevin's lawyers contend that documents, including garda security files on witnesses Gerry Heapes, John Jones and William McClean, are relevant and would assist her in undermining the credibility of the three men as well as and another State witness, Patrick Russell.

The material, the defence says, includes security files indicating that Mr McClean was a suspect in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings of 1974.

Mrs Nevin claims Mr McClean had during the trial denied he had any paramilitary connections but that a Garda Special Branch files going back to 1974 would have an effect on his credibility in that regard.

Apart from security files in relation to four witnesses that she is seeking for her miscarriage of justice application, she is also alleging a failure to disclose material relating to her husband and to Jack White's Inn.

She claims the material includes security files indicating that the pub was on a list of pubs with suspected IRA connections.

It is understood Ms Nevin will argue that any such material would indicate an alternative motive for killing Mr Nevin.

Mrs Nevin (aged 55), was convicted after a 42 day trial in April 2000 of the murder of her husband Tom at their pub, Jack White's Inn, Brittas Bay, on March 19th 1996.

She was also convicted on three counts of soliciting three different men to kill her husband in 1989 and 1990, six years before his murder.

She is serving a life sentence on the murder charge and a total of seven years on the soliciting charges.