An Italian man who allegedly cut open his Dublin landlord's chest and tried to eat his heart has admitted murder, a court heard on Monday.

Dressed in black, Saverio Bellante, 34, from Palermo, Sicily, appeared at Blanchardstown district court in Dublin on Monday morning, charged over the murder of Tom O'Gorman in what Irish police have described as a very unpleasant, bizarre killing. He offered no plea. He refused legal representation and will defend himself, the court was told.

Pathologists said O'Gorman, 39, suffered dozens of knife wounds to his head and chest so severe that a lung was missing. Bellante called police to report the killing in Castleknock and was said to have told officers he cut open O'Gorman's chest and tried to eat his heart after a dispute over a chess match.

A garda detective sergeant told the court that when cautioned at Blanchardstown garda station early on Sunday morning Bellante replied: "I am guilty."

The accused had been living in Ireland for the past two years and worked for a multinational company in the Irish capital.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill district court on 17 January.

The judge ordered that he be given a medical assessment in Cloverhill prison.

His alleged victim was a Catholic activist who belonged to the traditionalist Iona Institute, which promotes marriage and opposes abortion.

He had been living at his family home since his mother died in 2012 and is survived by a brother and sister.

Bellante had lived in O'Gorman's home for several months before the killing.