Councillor backs priest’s miscarriage of justice claim

A FIANNA FÁIL councillor has backed Holy Cross priest Fr Aidan Troy’s claim that the jailing of Dermot Laide for the manslaughter of Brian Murphy was a miscarriage of justice.

Monaghan County Councillor Brendan Hughes said he believed Dermot Laide should not have been the only person jailed for a crime which evidence showed others had been party to.

"I feel that to be the sole person convicted of manslaughter is a terrible indictment of that young man. There should be others in there (jail).

"The perception of the public is he has suffered more than he should have in terms of his involvement in this melee."

Cllr Hughes said while he empathised with the Murphy family, "in this particular instance, I feel Dermot Laide has been hung out to dry". Cllr Hughes comments incensed callers to RTÉ's Liveline radio show.

One woman, who identified herself as Brenda, said she was appalled that either Fr Troy or Cllr Hughes could regard the sentencing of Mr Laide as a miscarriage of justice. Criticising Fr Troy in particular, Brenda said: "for a man like him to say this is a miscarriage of justice these people [the Murphys] have lost a son and the most important issue in this is a child has lost his life. If they're talking about a miscarriage of justice, they should be talking about people they (the gardaí) haven't picked up in relation to this case."

She said Dermot Laide had kicked Brian Murphy "and this chap is now dead ... I think that guy [Dermot Laide] should have gone down for four years and it'll be a miscarriage of justice if he gets out a day earlier."

Fr Troy said he stood by his comments. "I honestly believe the jailing of Dermot Laide was a miscarriage of justice." He said he had spent hours talking to Dermot Laide. "I know the truth didn't come out and to that extent I've got grave, grave worries about this case." He said the case left more questions than answers and a similar case in Northern Ireland would be most likely referred to the Police Ombudsman.

Hitting back at criticism that he was ill-suited to speak about what the death of a child meant to parents, he said he felt his background in dealing with bereaved families gave him some credentials.

He also defended his friendship with the Laide family, saying it had not coloured his judgment, that if he felt Dermot Laide was guilty he "wouldn't have opened his mouth".

Fr Troy said he had spoken to Dermot Laide after he was sentenced and that "he was remarkably strong, recognising that at least the three-and-a-half years of uncertainty (while he awaited his fate) was over and in one sense the feeling that at last, something was happening".

Fr Troy said there were no plans to launch a miscarriage of justice campaign, that he believed the Laides would examine their legal options.