Accused showed his tiocfaidh ár lá tattoo, says witness

A CORKMAN on trial for murder allegedly rolled up his sleeve to show the deceased — a young Englishman — a “tiocfaidh ár lá” tattoo after he claimed his father had been a loyalist.

Timothy O’Driscoll, aged 34, of 12 St Rita’s Avenue, Gurranabraher, Cork, denies murdering Lee McCarthy, aged 25, at 12 St Rita’s Avenue on April 17, 2010.

Stephen Monaghan told the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork that he, O’Driscoll and McCarthy had been drinking together.

“He was sound,” Mr Monaghan said of Mr McCarthy. “He said his father was LVF or something. I’d say he was only messing.”

O’Driscoll invited Mr Monaghan and Mr McCarthy back to his house. They were drinking beer and watching music videos.

However, later in the night, O’Driscoll punched and kicked Mr McCarthy, put his hands around his neck and stabbed him in the arm, Mr Monaghan said.

“He [O’Driscoll] started dishing out these weird tablets, white tablets and pink tablets,” said Mr Monaghan. “I said: ‘I know what they are, they make my tongue twist.’

“Mr McCarthy said his father was a LDF man. Mr O’Driscoll goes: ‘You are the son of a loyalist!’ He rolls up his sleeve and he goes: ‘You know what that means?’ Tiocfaidh ár lá was on his arm. Mr McCarthy goes: ‘What does that mean?’ Mr O’Driscoll goes: ‘Our day will come’.

“Mr McCarthy went to the toilet. Mr O’Driscoll said: ‘I am going to kill him.’ I thought he was messing. I said: ‘Go away and shut up, you dope, and relax, you’re the one who invited the young fella up and he’s doing nothing out of the way.

“He goes: ‘He is the son of a UVF man, or LDF or whatever.’

“When Mr McCarthy was coming out of the toilet, Mr O’Driscoll bumped into him. Mr McCarthy said: ‘What is wrong with you? I thought everything was OK, I thought everything was hunky dory.’

“He [O’Driscoll] started making all these teeth expressions with his face, froth coming out of his mouth. He went and gave Mr McCarthy a dig around the facial area. He grabbed him around the neck.”

Mr Monaghan said he heard Mr McCarthy telling O’Driscoll: “What are you doing this for? I thought we were friends.”

Mr Monaghan said he shouted upstairs to O’Driscoll’s mother, but that O’Driscoll said to stop or he would kill him.

Mr Monaghan said he then saw O’Driscoll stick something sharp into Mr McCarthy’s arm. Mr Monaghan left at this point.

Tom Creed, defence SC, said Mr Monaghan’s testimony contained various lies about the evidence.

Mr Monaghan said he had been on alcohol and tablets which he should not have taken, as he was on a methadone programme to get off heroin at the time.

“My memory don’t be so good,” he told Mr Creed.