Patrick Quirke’s murder trial has heard someone searched for Bobby Ryan’s name on Mary Lowry’s computer the day before his body was discovered.

Mr Quirke from Breanshamore, Co Tipperary denies murdering his ex-lover’s boyfriend Bobby Ryan on a date between June 3rd 2011 and April 30th 2013.

Yesterday, Detective Garda Paul Fitzpatrick gave evidence of a forensic examination of a computer seized from Patrick Quirke’s home in May 2013.

The jurors heard about Google searches relating to body decomposition and online coverage following the discovery of Bobby Ryan’s body.

Under cross-examination today, Detective Garda Fitzpatrick said he also examined a computer taken from Mary Lowry’s home.

He said he found an internet search for Bobby Ryan’s name on it the day before his body was discovered by the accused on her farm.

Social worker

Meanwhile, a social worker has told the trial that Patrick Quirke contacted her in 2011 to express concerns about the wellbeing of Mary Lowry’s children.

Deirdra Caverley's now based in Boston, and gave evidence from there this afternoon through a live video link.

On February 4th 2011, four months before Bobby Ryan went missing, she said she was working as a social worker in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

On that date, she said she took a call from Patrick Quirke who expressed concerns about the safety and wellbeing of Mary Lowry’s three children.

She said he claimed they were being left unsupervised for long periods of time, mostly at the weekends – that she’d be gone from 4pm until the early hours of the morning.

He told her that Mary was spending time away from her kids with her new boyfriend.

She said he stated that the wider paternal family were also concerned, and he felt Mary had “lost the run of herself” and had become “fixated on this relationship”.

Reporting by Frank Greaney