Gardaí ‘too busy’ to answer call for help

A DUBLIN murder trial has heard that gardaí did not respond to an incident that preceded the killing because they were too busy.

An officer from Garda Communications was giving evidence in the trial of a 25-year-old mother who has admitted killing a 66-year-old taxi driver almost four years ago.

Claire Nolan, of Sheephill Green, Blanchardstown, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of father of four Michael Duffy on January 26, 2008, by crushing him with her car.

However, she has pleaded guilty to his manslaughter in his son’s driveway on Wellview Grove in Blanchardstown. The prosecution has not accepted the plea.

Garda Kenneth Kennedy told the Central Criminal Court yesterday that at 1.23am on the day in question, Blanchardstown Garda Station entered a call from the victim’s son, Francis Duffy, over an incident at Wellview Grove.

In his opening speech, Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, said the call was made before the victim arrived to the scene.

Garda Kennedy told Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that no Garda car responded.

“At nighttime, it’s very busy so there would be calls held,” he said.

He said the incident was supplemented at 1.47am with a statement that people were fighting on Wellview Grove. He was informed four minutes later that a uniformed unit from Blanchardstown was on its way.

Garda Aisling Dooley testified that she and her colleagues arrived at the scene at 1.52am to find Michael Duffy lying on the ground.

He was not moving, his face was bruised, eyes swollen and there was a lot of blood on him, she said. Neither she nor her colleague could get a pulse from him. Paramedic and firefighter Paul Cahill said Mr Duffy had all the signs of cardiac arrest and was taken to hospital after six minutes of resuscitation had failed.

Francis Duffy’s former next-door neighbour and the defendant’s former friend gave evidence via a TV link from Australia.

Marie Dutton Cunningham said she, Nolan and two others were drinking wine and snorting cocaine in her kitchen that night.

She said she heard something outside, went out and saw Francis Duffy breaking into Nolan’s Nissan Micra.

She said the others came outside and a “punch-up” broke out between their male friend and Francis Duffy. She said that she and this friend then went into another house to clean a knife wound he had sustained, and she presumed Nolan had gone home.

“I heard like a screeching of a car,” she said, adding that they ran outside.

“Then I seen Fran’s dad... lying on the ground.”

Ms Dutton Cunningham confirmed to Mr Grehan that some sort of sleeping tablets were also taken.

“I know we were pretty wasted,” she said.

“An awful amount of drink, cocaine and tablets were involved that day and night.”

She estimated they drank about six bottles of wine.

The trial continues.