A trial judge yesterday threatened to send various media reports to the Attorney General in connection with the coverage of the trial of five Limerick men accused of murder.
Mr Justice Carney told the jury he had yesterday morning perused various media reports and found a huge amount of them to be inaccurate and prejudicial.
He said it was not just tabloid newspapers he found to be at fault, but also broadsheets that were out to create mischief.
Instructing the jury to ignore anything they may read, hear or watch on TV, Mr Justice Carney said that he had the power to put jurors into a hotel to protect them from the media.
He said he had absolute faith and confidence that they would act on the evidence before them and not on anything they might glean from the media.
He told the court he may later refer some of the growing amount of material to the Attorney General to consider what steps might be appropriate.
The jury returned to the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cloverhill Courthouse yesterday afternoon after various legal matters had been discussed in their absence in the morning.
They were then shown photographs of the body of the deceased man, Kieran Keane, and injuries to Owen Treacy, the chief prosecution witness.
Det Garda Austin O'Callaghan, of the Technical Bureau, told the court he visited a site at Drombana, Limerick, and took a number of photographs.
Asked to describe a book of four photos, he said the first was of "the body of the deceased, Kieran Keane."
Photograph No 2 showed Mr Keane's head, while Nos 3 and 4 were of the deceased with his hands tied behind his back and of staining underneath a tarpaulin at the gates of a partially constructed house.
Other photos circulated to the jury showed injuries to the face, head, arms and chest of Owen Treacy, which were taken on February 2nd last while he was in hospital.
Another witness, Det Garda Gerard Fitzgerald, also told the jury that he accompanied Mr Treacy as he pointed out a number of locations in Limerick including Fairgreen, Roundwood Estate, Rosbrien and Drombana, Bushy Island, Limerick.
The five accused men have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Kieran Keane (36), of Garryowen Limerick, at Drombana, Bushy Island, Co Limerick, on January 29th last and to the false imprisonment of Mr Keane on the same date.
They also plead not guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Keane's nephew, Owen Treacy (31), of St Munchin's Street, Limerick, on the same date and at the same location and to falsely imprisoning Mr Treacy.
They are: Mr Desmond Dundon (20), Hyde Road, Limerick; Mr David Stanners (31), Pineview Gardens, Moyross; Mr James McCarthy (24), Delmege Park, Moyross; Mr Christopher Costelloe (20), Moylish Avenue, Ballynanty Beg; and Mr Anthony McCarthy (21), Fairgreen, Garryowen.
The trial before Mr Justice Carney and a jury continues today.