A 36-year-old man accused of murdering an early morning gym-goer and the attempted murder of well-known coach Pete Taylor at Bray Boxing Club will go on trial at the Central Criminal Court in October this year, ending his fresh bid to be released on bail having been in custody for almost five years.
President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham said today that the question of Gerard Cervi's bail had been one of the "most difficult appeals" the court has had to consider, with the court having considered granting bail on "possibly the strictest conditions ever imposed by an Irish court upon a person".
Mr Cervi is charged with the murder of Bobby Messett (50) and of the attempted murder of Mr Taylor, who was also shot when a gunman entered Bray Boxing Club in Bray Harbour, Co Wicklow on June 5, 2018. Mr Cervi, who is originally from the East Wall area in Dublin 3, is further accused of the attempted murder of Ian Britton on the same date and location.
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His first trial at the Central Criminal Court, which had already been delayed due to Covid restrictions, collapsed after 10 weeks in September 2021 when Mr Justice Michael White told nine remaining jurors that one of their number had fallen ill and that it was "impossible to continue".
At an earlier hearing before the Central Criminal Court today, Mr Justice Paul McDermott fixed a date of October 2 for the trial. The case is expected to take six weeks.
Mr Paul Murray SC, prosecuting, told Mr Justice McDermott that he wanted to apply for a trial date and that Mr Cervi has been in custody since September 2018.
Mr Murray said the bail matter was pending before the Court of Appeal and that the Central Criminal Court might be of the view that to list the case for trial next month was unrealistic given the history of the case.
