Brian Murphy's mother 'stunned, shocked' at appeal court decisions

The family of the slain teenager Brian Murphy said tonight that the criminal justice system was “in tatters” and had swung too far in favour of the accused.

Dermot Laide had his four-year sentence for the 18-year-old’s manslaughter overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal, while Desmond Ryan’s nine-month sentence for violent disorder during the August 2000 incident was also quashed.

The Court ordered a retrial for the charge of manslaughter against Laide but did not order a retrial in Ryan’s case.

Denis Murphy said he was absolutely shocked by the court’s verdict on those charged with his son's death.

“We would be adamant that the re-trial has to take place and take place very quickly for there to be any credibility to be restored to what in my view is a criminal justice system that’s in tatters,” he told RTE radio.

His wife Mary said she felt “stunned, shocked and a real sense of powerlessness” when she heard the judgment.

Denis Murphy said there could be no justice which would bring back his son, who was kicked to death during a 15-to-30 second confrontation outside Club Anabel on August 31, 2000.

“I believe that over the years, the pendulum has swung too far in favour of the accused,” said Mr Murphy.

“There are loads of protections now built into the system that weren’t there historically and over the years, every precedent that arises out of a criminal trial tends to push the balance in favour of the accused,” he added.

Laide, 23, from Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, is in custody at the Midland Prison and still has a year to serve of a two-year sentence for violent disorder.

Ryan, 24, from Dalkey, Dublin, was out on bail and walked free from court.

Lawyers for Laide had argued that his conviction was unsafe because he had been identified to the jury as the “Mr A” who was named in statements from his co-accused as the man who kicked Murphy on the ground.

At the Court of Criminal Appeal, Judge Brian McCracken said, in his judgment, that it was probable that the jury had in fact identified Dermot Laide as Mr A.

“There is again a real possibility that they convicted Dermot Laide because they believed he was the person who kicked Brian Murphy,” he said.

He ruled that Laide’s conviction for manslaughter should be set aside and a retrial held.

In relation to the charge of violent disorder, he said there was ample evidence that Laide was a participant in the fighting and that he struck Brian Murphy a number of times.

Judge McCracken said the court was satisfied that Laide’s conviction had not been prejudiced by media coverage of the case.

He said the trial judge had quite properly directed the jury not to read colour pieces about the case in the press.

He added that the trial judge had also dealt properly with the publication of two articles, which had reported evidence given in the absence of the jury.

“Such reporting is an extremely serious matter which can pervert the course of justice and this court is very pleased to note that the learned trial judge dealt with it as such.”

In relation to the appeal of Desmond Ryan the court found that gardai had acted unlawfully when they arrested him at his home on September 26, 2000.

It said there appeared to be no evidence that the Gardaí had informed Ryan of the intention to arrest him when they were conducting a search of the house using an invalid search warrant.

“The inviolability of a citizen’s dwelling is an important constitutional right and it cannot be trespassed upon without explanation in clear and unambiguous terms,” the judgment said.

The court further found that the unlawful nature of the arrest meant that Ryan’s detention at Harcourt Terrace garda station was also unlawful.

Evidence gathered during the gardai interview, such as statements and memoranda, ought not to have been admitted during the 36-day trial last year.

The judgment said that it did not consider the remaining evidence would have been enough to sustain Ryan’s conviction for violent disorder.

“If a retrial were to be ordered, the statements taken after the unlawful arrest and memoranda would still be inadmissible and the court therefore will allow the appeal of Desmond Ryan in full and will not order a retrial.”

Laide and Ryan showed no obvious emotion when the verdict was read out.

The two men were accompanied by family and friends, including Fr Aidan Troy, the Ardoyne parish priest who achieved international fame during the Holy Cross school protests.

Laide sat outside afterwards talking to his girlfriend, while Ryan waited in the Law Library at the Four Courts. Neither made any comment.

In the original trial, which lasted from January 13 to March 15 2004, Laide, Ryan and two other men – Andrew Frame, 23, from Donnybrook, Dublin and Sean Mackey, 24, from Foxrock, Dublin – were charged with the manslaughter of Brian Murphy and violent disorder.

Frame was acquitted of violent disorder during the trial, while Mackey was jailed for two years for violent disorder.

Last year, the Court of Criminal Appeal rejected an appeal by Mackey against his conviction.