Woman pleads guilty to killing child (4), denies murder

Eoin Reynolds

A woman has pleaded guilty to killing a four-year-old boy but denies the child's murder and is to go on trial at the Central Criminal Court.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott on Tuesday swore in a jury of eight men and four women to hear the woman's trial, which is expected to last up to five weeks.

The judge told the jury that the allegation is one of murder and that the deceased was aged four-and-a-half at the time of his death on March 16th 2021.

The accused, aged 32 and from the south west of the country, cannot be identified due to an order made by the court. When arraigned on the murder charge, she replied: "Not guilty of murder, guilty of manslaughter."

The trial is expected to begin on Wednesday.