A court has heard that a woman accused of murdering her boyfriend in Dublin will not be well enough to attend court for several weeks.

Mercy Peters was admitted to the Central Mental Hospital shortly after she was charged with the murder of Tyrone McKenna (42) last month.

The McKenna family has lived at Marlay Court in Rathfarnham for many years, but Tyrone had only recently returned there with his girlfriend.

On July 17th his elderly father came home to find his son slumped at the foot of the stairs. He had been stabbed in the back.

Mercy Peters (41) - a native of Sierra Leone - was arrested and charged with his murder.

She became extremely distressed during her first court appearance and has since been admitted to the Central Mental Hospital.

Ms Peters was due in court again this morning, but the judge was told that she is still undergoing treatment and her doctors have advised that she will not be well enough to attend court in person for between four and six weeks.

Her case is due to be mentioned in her absence again next week.