A court has heard that a man who is trying to withdraw his guilty plea for the murder of an elderly man in Dublin has been assessed by a psychiatrist.

Kenneth Cummins of Ringsend Park, Dublin 4 initially denied beating Thomas Horan to death at a senior citizens complex two years ago.

He changed his plea during the trial, but applied to vacate it just before his sister Sabrina was handed a life sentence for the murder.

He claimed he was having “hallucinations and wasn’t in a fit state” when he admitted to the crime and his application is due to be heard next month.