A Tipperary man's 26-year battle to clear his name will be decided next week when Frank Johnson's appeal against his murder conviction will be heard at the Court of Appeal in London.
Johnson, originally from Oliver Plunkett Terrace, Clonmel, has continually protested his innocence since he was convicted in September 1976 of the murder of John Sheridan, his friend and employer at Whitechapel, east London, in February 1975.
The appeal will be heard by Lord Justice Longmore, Mr Justice Wright and the Recorder of London from next Tuesday to Thursday.
The hearing comes almost three years after the case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
This followed the disclosure of evidence which supporters claim might have prevented Johnson from being charged for murder.
High-profile supporters on both sides of the Irish Sea include South Tipperary TD Mr Seamus Healy and Mr Billy Power of the Birmingham Six.
In a statement this week, Mr Power said Johnson was looking forward to his case finally being appealed. Johnson is represented by well-known human rights solicitor Ms Gareth Peirce, who successfully fought the convictions of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six.
The Court of Appeal will consider a statement from Mr Sheridan taken before he died which appears to substantiate Johnson's claim that he wasn't involved in the attack on his shop.Police originally denied the document existed but it resurfaced four years ago.
Mr Sheridan, a newsagent, was in the back of his shop in Whitechapel when a man appeared at the counter. As he went to serve him, he was doused with petrol and set alight. Johnson, a friend and employee, was in the shop. Mr Sheridan died three weeks later in hospital.
Johnson was arrested in December 1975 on the evidence of two co-defendants, Jack Tierney, a police informer, and David Smart, a former soldier. The prosecution claimed the three conspired to rob Mr Sheridan of £4,000, which was hidden in the shop. All three were convicted of the murder in September 1976. Mr Tierney and Mr Smart have since been released.