Credit union volunteer breaks down as she tells Adrian Donohoe murder trial of moment she thought she was going to die

A credit union volunteer broke down crying today as she told a murder trial of the moment she thought a robber was going to kill her after she witnessed the fatal shooting of a garda.

Bernadette McShane was sitting in her car when she heard a loud bang and saw Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe fall to the ground.

She said: "When I saw the man running towards me I thought he was coming to kill me because I had seen too much."

Aaron Brady (aged 28) from New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Det. Gda Adrian Donohoe who was then a member of An Garda Siochana on active duty on January 25, 2013 at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth. Mr Brady has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbing approximately €7,000 in cash and assorted cheques on the same date and at the same location.

Ms McShane told prosecution counsel Dean Kelly BL that she worked as a volunteer for the Lordship Credit Union.

On the Friday night in question, she counted the money and cheques from the tills and gave it to her colleague Pat Bellew who was to travel to Dundalk with a garda escort to a safety deposit box. The unmarked garda car arrived at about 21.25.

In the carpark, Ms McShane got into her car and she saw Mr Bellew begin to pull off in his own car. As Ms McShane started her own car she heard two loud bangs. She said: "I thought they were fireworks and turned to look to where the other cars were parked and I saw men running."

Aaron Brady. File image

She said she saw one of the detectives falling to the ground and at first thought it was a "duck reaction, like he was jumping to avoid something." She added: "When he didn't move I realised it must have been a gunshot."

She saw people running all around the car park towards the detectives and towards Mr Bellew's car.

One of the men started running towards the witness. Ms McShane began to cry before continuing: "At that stage, when I saw the man running towards me I thought he was coming to kill me because I had seen too much."

The man smashed her car window, she said, and shouted: "Give me the fucking money."

When she told him she had none he demanded her handbag which she threw towards him. He then told her to open the glove box, which she did, revealing there was nothing inside. She heard a voice from somewhere saying, "Are you right there lads?" and the man ran off and jumped over the front wall of the credit union.

When Mr Kelly asked her for information about the man she had seen, she said: "I was afraid to look but I did see a man there in dark clothes with a balaclava.

But my fear was that if I looked and took in too much information he might kill me because I would know too much.

She thought she saw a walkie talkie in the man's hand but she couldn't be sure. She said the man was not slim but "on the bulky side" and he was agile in the way he jumped over the wall.

She couldn't place his accent although she knew it wasn't a strong Belfast or north Antrim accent.

The man she heard saying "are you right there lads" had a different accent but she couldn't place it.

The trial continues in front of Mr Justice Michael White and a jury of eight men and seven women.