Former Irish rugby player Brendan Mullin goes on trial accused of ...

Former Irish rugby international Brendan Mullin has gone on trial accused of stealing more than €500,000 from Bank of Ireland Private Bank.

The 60-year-old, of Stillorgan Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to 15 charges against him.

He denies one count of stealing €500,000 from Bank of Ireland Private Bank, Mespil Road, Dublin 4 on December 16th, 2011, and eight other counts of stealing various amounts of money from the bank on different dates.

He further pleaded not guilty to one count of deception and five counts of furnishing information to Bank of Ireland Private Bank authorising payment of invoices while knowing or believing them to be false, misleading or deceptive.

The offences are all alleged to have taken place at Bank of Ireland Private Bank, Mespil Road on dates between July 2011 and March 2013.

The jury was told Mr Mullin previously worked for Bank of Ireland Private Bank on Mespil Road and is a former Irish rugby international.

Empanelling the jury, Judge Patricia Ryan said no one connected with Bank of Ireland or Bank of Ireland Private Bank should serve. She warned jurors they should not carry out any investigations into the case, either online or on social media.

The trial will take place before Judge Martin Nolan and is set down for four to five weeks, the court heard.

After the jury was put on the case, Judge Nolan sent them home until Friday at the earliest, telling them other matters needed to be dealt with in their absence.

Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phoneJoin The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to dateListen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis