Sweetman pleads not guilty to Fanning murder

A man in his early fifties pleaded not guilty today to the murder of a Co Tipperary man in 1996.

A jury was sworn in at the Central Criminal Court to try Ivor Sweetman for the murder of Danny Fanning (aged 71) at his home at Stephenstown, Rosegreen in Cashel on February 6, 1996.

Sweetman - with an address at Bawnlea Green, Jobstown, Tallaght in Dublin - also pleaded not guilty to the false imprisonment of Mr Fanning's wife Brigid and daughter Roseleen.

He also denied a charge of possessing a sawn-off shotgun to endanger life or property on the same day.

The trial is expected to begin Thursday.