The Court of Criminal Appeal today refused to grant the disclosure of information relating to the 1974 Dublin Monaghan bombings, sought by Catherine Nevin as part of her attempt to have her murder conviction declared a miscarriage of justice.
Mr Paul Anthony McDermott SC, for the office of the Department of the Taoiseach argued there was "absolute privilege" attached to the material collected by the McEntee inquiry into the bombings.
He said when the inquiry's chairman, Mr Paddy McEntee SC, handed over custody of the "three or four presses" of "secret" documents to the Taoiseach's office, he did so because they could give rise to a risk to people's lives, State security and relations with external agencies.
The findings of the 2007 report could not be published for legal reasons.
Counsel for Nevin, Mr Hugh Hartnett SC, had claimed that questions arose as to the identity of a man who stayed in the Four Courts Hotel between the 10th of May and the 16th, 1974, suspected of being involved in the Dublin Monaghan Bombings.
Catherine Nevin sought access to the material claiming it would assist her in undermining the credibility of William McClean, one of the key witnesses at her trial tens years ago.
The three judge court declined a production order today, holding that it was not satisfied the McEntee inquiry information was relevant, in particular because it related to an incident "a generation" before the trial of Catherine Nevin for the murder of her husband Tom.
However, the CCA of Justice Adrian Hardiman presiding, sitting with Mr Justice Liam McKechnie and Mr Justice George Birmingham did agree to review confidential garda files alleged to exist on Mr McClean, one of which its claimed is in the possession of the Special Detective Unit.
The court said it would decide whether or not to disclose these documents, on the basis of their relevance to Nevin's attempts at proving her conviction is unsafe, or if they suggest "a new line of inquiry".
In April 2000, Nevin (58) was convicted of murdering her husband Tom at their pub, Jack White's Inn, Brittas Bay on March 19th, 1996.
Nevin was also convicted of soliciting Mr McClean, and two other men Gerry Heapes, and John Jones, to kill her husband.
She is serving a life sentence on the murder charge and a concurrent seven-year term on the soliciting charges. Her appeal against conviction was dismissed in 2003.
The convicted murderer is seeking an order requiring the DPP to answer whether Mr McClean, Mr Heapes and Mr Jones were ever State informers and whether Mr McClean, with whom Nevin denied having an affair, had paramilitary connections.
The hearing of her application was adjourned today, to resume at a date during the next legal term.
Earlier, the court heard from Sunday World reporter, Niamh O'Connor whose article on a "top secret" garda file was published in February 2008.
The court heard this "bombshell garda document" was a "suspect antecedent form" on Mr McClean which lawyers for Nevin claim is a "newly discovered" fact, not made available to them during her trial.
Mr Tom O'Connell SC, for the DPP, said William McClean's character had been vigorously attacked during the trial, and "emphatically" denied any links to paramilitary organisations.
Ms O'Connor told lawyers for Nevin, that she saw the "suspect" file and "other material" which was provided to her by a "trusted source".
The article claims William McClean was working "as a double agent", and was a "registered garda informer".
The court has already heard garda evidence that the "suspect antecedent history" file, despite its title, was "worthless" and had "no intelligence value".
The court also heard today that Ms O'Connor was asked to "spin" stories on Catherine Nevin in a "positive" light in exchange for an exclusive interview with the convicted murdered.
The journalist said she was approached by a representative of Nevin following the publication of an article in 2008.
She refused to name the individual but agreed that the "extraordinary approach" was made by "a professional person".
Ms O'Connor added that she had written a book on Catherine Nevin and believed she had murdered her husband, Tom.