Former Anglo Irish chairman to be tried in May

The former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank will go on trial for alleged breaches of the Companies Act 1990 in May 2016, a judge has confirmed.

Seán FitzPatrick, who was chief executive of the bank from 1986-2005 and chairman from 2005-08, has pleaded not guilty to 27 offences under the law.

These include 21 charges of making a misleading, false or deceptive statement to auditors, and six of furnishing false information over a five-year period.

Mr FitzPatrick’s trial has already been delayed due to adverse publicity.

However, his lawyer, Bernard Condon SC, argued against a May date on the basis the proceedings could take the whole of Summer to be resolved, creating difficulties in finding jurors.

Judge Martin Nolan confirmed the trial date of 25 May 2016 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.