Man accused of murdering member of rival motorcycle club 'panicked', jury hears

The barrister for a man accused of murdering a member of a rival motorcycle club in Limerick says it was not a planned and cold-blooded killing.

Man accused of murdering member of rival motorcycle club 'panicked', jury hears

The barrister for a man accused of murdering a member of a rival motorcycle club in Limerick says it was not a planned and cold-blooded killing.

He was addressing the jury for a final time on behalf of Alan McNamara from Mountfune in Murroe, Co Limerick, who claims he acted in self-defence.

Defence barrister Hugh Hartnett began his closing speech by describing the case as tragic – tragic because of the way Andrew O’Donoghue died, and tragic that his client - a happy, family man with a love of horses and motorbikes - is now before a jury charged with his murder.

He said Mr McNamara accepted killing him, but the real question is what caused that to happen and what was in his mind before that.

He said he woke up on July 20, 2015 full of panic after being assaulted and threatened by members of the Road Tramps MC the day before.

He heard Harleys gathering at their clubhouse nearby and he thought they were planning to harm them so he went up there with a gun.

When he arrived, he said he thought he was looking at men with guns so he panicked and fired the gun, hitting Mr O’Donoghue in the head.

He said Mr McNamara insisted he acted in self defence and urged the jury to return a verdict of manslaughter instead of murder.

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