Catherine and Friends

Inside the Investigation Into Ireland's Most Notorious Murder

The trial and conviction of Catherine Nevin for her role in the murder of her husband Tom monopolized the attention of the country for weeks. It was the main topic of conversation in pubs, homes and workplaces as newspapers daily carried new and salacious details of the "Black Widow's" scheming, as well as images of her glamorous and expansive wardrobe, on their front pages. In the days before murders became a daily occurrence in Ireland, the allegations of contract killers, extra-marital affairs, fraud and involvement with Republican organisations seemed better suited to the big screen than a small town pub. Pat Flynn led the investigation against Catherine, a woman whom he had encountered several times before these events unfolded. He had witnessed her fabricate accusations of sexual abuse against his Garda colleagues while she continued to enthral his superior officers and Judge O'Buachalla. He describes how holes in her version of the events on the night of the murder were found, along with evidence of how she had been plotting for years to have her husband murdered.