Brian Meehan has failed in his attempt to have his conviction for the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin declared a miscarriage of justice.

The 47-year-old, from Crumlin in Dublin, was jailed for life in 1999 for his part in her assassination.

He tried to argue that “new or newly discovered facts” emerged during the 2001 trial of John Gilligan – who was subsequently acquitted of her murder.

However, the three-judge panel described his attempt as an “abuse of process” and dismissed his application.

Russell Warren, a self-confessed accomplice, gave evidence against Brian Meehan in 1999 and John Gilligan two years later. He was the State’s key witness and is now in the Witness Protection Programme.

A woman told both their trials that she saw a man fitting Warren’s description in the vicinity of Naas courthouse on June 26, 1996, the day Veronica Guerin was murdered.

It emerged during Gilligan’s trial that she failed to pick him out of an ID parade a few months later and Meehan’s defence tried to argue this was a “new or newly discovered fact” that wasn’t available during his trial and should result in his conviction being declared a miscarriage of justice.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the application, describing their claim of non-disclosure as “disturbing”.