The Court of Appeal will decide next month on an application by the teenager known as Boy B to introduce fresh evidence at his appeal against his conviction.

He was one of two boys convicted of the murder of schoolgirl Ana Kriégel in 2018.

His legal team claims he was subjected to “manipulation and pressure” by Gardaí when he gave statements that were used to convict him.

They say the prosecution team relied heavily on those garda interviews and without them, there would have been “almost no evidence against him”.

However, the prosecution says gardaí went out of their way to respect the fact they were dealing with children and no new evidence should be allowed in the appeal.

Boy B was not present in court, although his parents were.

Ana's family were not present. Her father Patrick died at the weekend.

A judgement will be made before the end of the month.

Reporting from Barry Whyte at the Central Criminal Court