An apprentice mechanic on the Naval ship LE Eithne was "foolish", "stupid", even "reckless" to put a crewmate on a guardrail from where he went overboard, but he was not a murderer, a defence counsel told a jury today.

A man on trial for the murder of his Naval Service crewmate told gardai he pushed the deceased into the chest who then went over the side of the ship and drowned, the Central Criminal Court heard today.

A man accused of murdering his Navy comrade told gardaí he broke a brush handle on the deceased's head in a row on board the Navy flagship, the LE Eithne.

A man accused of the murder of his navy comrade sat with his face in his hands staring at the deck when the captain of the LE Eithne informed the entire crew that a young sailor had drowned in the River Liffey.

A young sailor who was pulled in a lifeless condition from the River Liffey by his comrades had a number of cuts and grazes to his face, a murder trial heard today.

An officer on nightwatch aboard the navy flagship the L.E. Eithne has told a murder trial how he was alarmed to see a young sailor being washed away in the River Liffey a short time after he’d checked on him.

The captain of the Irish Navy flagship L.E. Eithne today insisted to a murder trial jury that the rescue procedures in place when a young sailor went overboard were carried out with speed and efficiency.

The captain of the Irish Navy flagship LE Eithne has denied that a young sailor who died after allegedly being assaulted and dropped from the side of the ship could not swim.

A 19-year-old sailor from Co Tipperary has been charged with assaulting 22-year-old Brian Gorey from Limerick, who was found dead in the River Liffey last Sunday morning.