A man has pleaded not guilty to the murder of a young mother at a hotel in Dublin.

The body of Sonia Blount was found in room 346 at The Plaza Hotel in Tallaght by hotel cleaning staff two days after Valentine’s Day in 2014.

Eric Locke of St John's Park East, Clondalkin in Dublin denied the murder allegation when it was put to him this afternoon.

His trial is due to get underway before the Central Criminal Court on Thursday.

Newstalk.com's courts correspondent Frank Greaney says a jury has now been sworn in.