Having quashed Connolly's conviction, the three-judge appeal court on Thursday ordered that he be retried on the murder charge.

The application came after the court found last month that the trial judge's charge to the jury lacked balance and in parts may have been seen as “advocacy” for the prosecution case and "disparaging" of the defence case.

Stephen O'Sullivan (43) was on trial accused of giving or agreeing to give to Detective Garda David Bourke €20,000 as an inducement to reveal confidential information concerning an investigation being carried out by the Criminal Assets Bureau in relation to Stephen Bawn Motors.

The judge said the man was entitled to know the material available to the licensing authority in relation to its concerns

The case will return for trial at the Central Criminal Court