Accused ‘messier’ than drunk friends

Friends of a 23-year-old man suspected of being involved in a fatal hit and run told yesterday of drinking with him into the early hours, on the day of the incident.

One told of seeing Shane Fitzgerald slouched over a bar in a hotel. Another agreed he was “messier” than others in the group.

Mr Fitzgerald, aged 23, of Upper Knockeen, Knockduff, Meelin, Newmarket, Co Cork, denies dangerous driving causing the death of cyclist Paud O’Leary, at Scrahanfadda, Gneeveguilla, Co Kerry, on July 1, 2012.