Jury foreman in double murder trial excused after telling the court he is to take garda assessment test

At the Central Criminal Court, the jury foreman in the trial of Mark Nash, accused of murdering two women in 1997, was excused from duty after disclosing his intention to sit a garda assessment test. Mr Justice Carroll Moran determined that the foreman's aspiration to join An Garda Síochána presented a perception of bias, particularly given that garda witnesses and their credibility form part of the case. The jury was subsequently reduced from twelve to eleven members, and a replacement foreman was elected. Detective Garda Anthony Reidy, now retired from Mill Street station in Galway, gave evidence concerning interviews conducted with Nash on 16 August 1997. During questioning about an assault in Roscommon, Nash allegedly volunteered an account of stabbing two women in Phibsborough months earlier. The court also heard that Nash subsequently pointed out a house at Orchard View in Grangegorman, which he identified as the location of the alleged murders. The trial continues.