A north Co Dublin man who was extradited from Spain on Friday is to stand trial in November charged with murdering his wife in 2001.
Mr Colin Whelan (33) of Clonard Street, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, appeared before the Central Criminal Court in Dublin this morning after he was remanded in custody on Saturday.
He was again remanded in custody today and will stand trial on November 8th next.
He was charged in April 2001 with the murder of his wife, Mary, at their home. Sgt Patrick Marry, of Balbriggan Garda Station, arrested Mr Whelan at Dublin Airport on Friday after he was flown back from Madrid under the new European extradition system.
At the hearing on Saturday at Bridewell District Court, a solicitor for the State asked Judge Patrick Brady to remand Mr Whelan in custody. Mr Whelan's solicitor, Mr Michael Hennessy, said he had no further applications.
Mr Whelan, who was accompanied by one prison officer, sat in court for up to an hour before his hearing, wearing a dark grey suit, a shirt and tie. He appeared more clean-shaven than at his earlier court appearance and did not speak during the hearing.
Sergeant Marry took the witness stand to give evidence of having executed the bench warrant for Mr Whelan's arrest when the accused arrived at Dublin Airport from Spain last Friday. He then identified Mr Whelan.
Counsel for Mr Whelan, Mr Luan O'Braonáin, asked that a late trial date be set, given the recent publicity in the case.
Mr O'Braonáin said the events of the "recent past" would still be fresh in the minds of the jury otherwise. He said he was making the application to ensure his client had a fair trial.
Mr Justice Paul Carney set the trial date for November 8th, which he said was the next available date in the court diary.
The judge told Mr O'Braonáin he knew "perfectly well" why the current situation had arisen and said November 8th was "not tomorrow, next week, or next month".
Mr Whelan was arrested earlier this month in Majorca where he had been working in a bar and held at a jail in Madrid before his extradition. He was the first Irish person to be extradited under a new EU-wide system that allows such extraditions to be "fast-tracked".
Some time after he was charged in 2001 his car and some belongings were found in Howth.