A Woman Scorned

Ireland has had many famous murders, you know - killings that, for some reason, just grab the imagination. They turn up in ballads. Maybe it's the relationships involved, maybe it's the fascination of the characters. I don't know. But I'll tell you this, the trial of Catherine Nevin sure embedded itself in the popular mind, and no mistake. What a soap.

Of course, many people will tell you that the court case only revealed a fraction of the story. It may be true. Certainly, Tom Nevin was murdered and the court found his wife guilty.

But there was something deeply unpleasant about the reportage of the trial, which itself contributed to the fascination. Too many reporters told us about the clothes Missus Nevin wore to court, and her nails and hair. The lot. This dovetailed with the evidence concerning her facelifts and body tucks and whatever the hell else. Between one thing and another - the Garda Inspector, the judge, the shady reluctant hit men, it was a bizarre mix of the awful and the inept.

For the tabloids, this was their OJ story. So, we were regaled with her appearance, her clothes, her demeanour. And, when she was found guilty, they christened her 'The Black Widow'.

Well, maybe, maybe not. All I can say is that, whatever happened, the way she was depicted throws no credit on the journalists involved. It was cheap and it was easy. They would never give you that shit about a man.

In tabloid-land, there's still something about a woman.