O'Brien fails to halt theft and deception trial

Businessman Breifne O'Brien has failed to stop his trial on theft and deception charges.

Lawyers for the 51-year-old of Kilmore, Monkstown Grove, South Dublin had argued that he would be unable to secure a fair trial due to ongoing adverse publicity.

O'Brien is facing 19 charges of theft involving sums totalling about €11m from five individuals between 2006 and 2008.

They are named as Martin O’Brien, Pat Doyle, Evan Newall, Louis Dowley and Daniel Maher.

There are also 26 charges of deception.

The 51 year old businessman went to the High Court trying to permanently block his trial - arguing there had been adverse pre-trial publicity in the print and broadcast media.

The court has refused his application but it has found there would be a risk of unfairness if the case were to go ahead in the immediate future and so it has imposed a 12 month stay on the trial.