On September 1st, 2024, the defendant sent a text to Fiona Timmermans saying: "I'm going to cut your throat, you're dead."

IT all began against Westmeath seven years ago here in Portlaoise on a sunny Saturday afternoon in May.

The "spotter" in a gang who gunned down veteran criminal Eamon Kelly over a decade ago has failed in a bid to overturn his murder conviction