Murder accused was nicknamed 'crazy', court hears
A man who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of a Cavan woman on the grounds of diminished responsibility was nicknamed "crazy" by his friends, the Central Criminal Court at Dublin has heard.
Brendan McGahern (aged 28), with an address at Corlismore in Co Cavan has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Amy Farrell at Glenlara, Cavan, on January 20, 2006, but guilty to her manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.
The Director of Public Prosecution has refused to accept his plea.
Brendan McGahern senior told the court under cross-examination today, his son was nick named “crazy”.
“His friends called him crazy I don’t know why,” he told defence counsel Mr David Kennedy SC.
He said his son was very easily led.
Yesterday he told the jury of eight men and four women his son was difficult and always different from his other children.
“It was very difficult with Brendan as a result of his birth. He was never the same as the rest, he was always different.”
“As a parent you know there’s something wrong but it’s very hard to establish what it is,” he said.
This morning McGahern’s mother Eileen said the umbilical cord had been wrapped around McGahern’s neck during his birth.
As a baby he was good she said but his problems began when he was a toddler.
A priest at his first school said McGahern always had a blank stare on his face.
He was eventually put into a special needs class where his mother said he did well but when he reached secondary school he was forced back into mainstream schooling because the school, St Patricks College had done away with special classes.
“He was terribly bullied at that school so we had to take him out.”
McGahern could not read or write so she said she did not see the point in buying school books for him but the school suggested she should so the other children wouldn’t know he was illiterate.
Mrs McGahern said he son eventually went into Youth Reach a programme for early school leavers where he got into bad company.
She said they were travellers and others who used to beat him up.
“I suppose he thought I can’t win with them so I might as well join them.”
He would go drinking and his parents often had to pick him up, the court heard.
“Because of his disability the drink made him worse,” Mrs McGahern said saying her son could be aggressive.
McGahern went into rehab but they could not control him either, she said and he eventually started spending time with a friend who took him stealing and moved on to breaking into houses.
“Stealing cigarettes from shops and he smashed a car when he was drunk and we helped out and paid money for that but he still done time for it anyway,” she said.
The case continues today.
