Patrick Quirke's murder trial has heard he told Gardaí he was not jealous about his former lover's new relationship and never took issue with him.

Mr Quirke, from Breanshamore in Co Tipperary, denies murdering his ex's boyfriend - whose remains he found in a tank on her farm in 2013.

Bobby Ryan left Mary Lowry's home in Fawnagown, Co Tipperary on the morning of June 3rd 2011.

Patrick Quirke, the man accused of murdering him, found his remains in an underground run-off tank on her farm almost two years later.

When questioned about the discovery, he told Gardaí he had not gone near the tank since 2008 and when asked why he did not tell them about it during the initial search for Bobby, he said he did not think of it.

He denied being jealous about Bobby's relationship with Mrs Lowry - the wife of his late brother-in-law with whom he had an affair with.

He said he did not meet Bobby on the morning he went missing and denied knowing the body was there all along.

Like everyone, he said, he had hunches about what happened.

"Everyone had notions," he said. "Was he attacked? Did he leave for Spain?"

He said he felt Mary had a "couldn't care less attitude" after he went missing, and described her answers to some of his questions about it as "strange".

Main image: Farmer Patrick Quirke arriving the Central Criminal Court Dublin in Dublin | Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Reporting by Frank Greaney