Father Brendan Smyth is due to go on trial in Dublin today on 78 child sex abuse charges. The 70-year-old cleric will be taken to the Central Criminal Court from Arbour Hill prison, where he has been held since his extradition from Northern Ireland last Easter.
Smyth, a member of the Norbertine Order with headquarters at Kilnacrott, Co Cavan, has already served two prison sentences in the North. He will be represented in court today by a Belfast solicitor, Mr Denis Maloney, who holds a certificate to practise in the Republic.
Mr Maloney said last night: "Hopefully this hearing will be the end of a very protracted matter which involved police investigations on both sides of the Border."