A man accused of murdering his friend at a New Year’s Eve celebration sent a text after the stabbing saying his friend had jumped on him and his "rat bird" had started it all.

Minutes before Karl Breen inflicted the three stabs wounds, which killed Martin McLaughlin, he was pictured on CCTV hugging and embracing his friend, a court has heard.

A jury has been sworn in at the Central Criminal Court to hear the trial of Karl Breen who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 21-year-old building labourer Martin McLaughlin.

A 25-year-old Dublin man has appeared in court charged with assaulting another man who died of stab wounds in the north of the city over the weekend.

A KILDARE-based horse-trainer and car-dealer has become the first man in the history of the State to be jailed for his role in an illegal dog fight.