Friend saw murder accused with blood on face, court hears
The friend of a Dublin man accused of murdering an Arklow 21-year-old, says he saw his friend running up the road - blood on his face, being chased by four men - after a fight which started in Arklow’s Rascals Disco, a court has heard.
Anthony O’Reilly, aged 22, with an address at Cleggan Park, Ballyfermot, Dublin, is charged with the murder of Daniel McDonald, aged 21, on Main Street, Arklow on February 2, 2007.
O’Reilly has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr McDonald, dangerous driving causing the death of Mr McDonald and intentionally or recklessly grabbing the steering wheel of Jenny Tobin’s car causing it to swerve in the direction of Mr McDonald.
The Central Criminal Court at Dublin has heard there was back-to-back nudging in Rascals on the dance-floor, which broke into a fight between O’Reilly and Mr McDonald who were thrown out by bouncers.
O’Reilly’s friend Keith Ennis told Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins and the jury of six men and six women after O’Reilly and Mr McDonald were thrown out of the nightclub there was more "giving out" on the street.
He walked off to go to the toilet but said he did not go back to the area outside the nightclub.
“This was an area I didn’t even know. I didn’t want to be going back down to fight a whole lot of people that I don’t even know.”
He said he went to get O’Reilly’s red Honda Civic and as he drove around Arklow’s one-way system he stopped behind a black car he thought was O’Reilly’s friend Alana Twomey.
He got out to talk to her and he said O’Reilly walked past him and got into his Honda Civic taking off with the engine revving and the car swerving because of the speed.
“The next thing I saw was Anto (O’Reilly) coming running up the road with four fellas chasing him and blood on his face.”
He said he knew something had happened and ran and hid in the bushes for two hours, calling his mother to come and pick him up.
He did not know what happened until the next day.
O’Reilly seemed terrified, he said.
Billy Hayden who was in Rascals when the initial fight broke out said about 10 minutes later he heard people saying "Saca’s dead".
Witnesses in the trial have told of two other incidents outside Rascals where O’Reilly got into a black car and Mr McDonald chased him trying to kick him through the passenger window.
Mr McDonald’s leg got stuck as the car drove off but then witnesses said he rolled away.
The black car came back and witnesses have said they saw it swerve in Mr McDonald’s direction.
The court has heard O’Reilly then returned driving his red Honda Civic at speed, driving past Mr McDonald and his friends, giving them the fingers.
Glen Murphy told the court it drove to the bottom of the town then came back "doing speeds like you would see on the Mondello racetrack".
Mr Murphy said Mr McDonald told him he was going to stop the car and walked out onto the side of the road.
He said he saw the driver deliberately pull the steering wheel to the right to hit Mr McDonald.
When the red car stopped Mr Murphy said a "lad got out of the car and legged it. He showed no remorse, didn’t turn his head, he ran".
The trial continues.
