‘BLACK WIDOW’ CATHERINE NEVIN has this morning lost her attempt to have her murder conviction declared a miscarriage of justice.

Nevin – who was found guilty ten years ago for the murder of her husband Tom at Jack White’s Pub at Brittas, Co Wicklow – was this morning told at the Criminal Courts of Justice that there were no new relevant facts in her case.

As a result, the trial judge said, there was no basis on which to revisit the earlier judgement that found her guilty of soliciting the services of three men to kill her husband Tom on March 19, 1996.

Nevin’s lawyer said she was “very disappointed”, adding that she had “had great faith in that court to vindicate the constitutional right to a fair trial.”

She said, however, that the verdict would be appealed, “almost certainly” to the European Court of Justice.

The Court of Criminal Appeal had previously refused a request from Nevin’s legal team to access secret Garda intelligence files on the three men Nevin was found guilty of soliciting.

It did order, however, that those secret files be made available to the three judges of the court.