A former soldier was given a five-year suspended prison sentence by a judge at the Central Criminal Court today after a jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of the 18-month-old son of his first cousin.

The killing of an 18-month infant was "bizarre in the extreme" but the guilt of the accused man depended on whether or not the act was voluntary, a murder trial jury heard today.

A 32-year-old man today pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the murder of an 18-month-old baby in Co Dublin almost two years ago.