Accused denies funeral murder

A 30-year-old man has denied one murder and two attempted murders at a funeral in Sligo almost three years ago.

As his trial opened in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin today, Martin McDonagh (aged 30), formerly of Cherry Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Patrick 'Deuce' Ward (aged 38) at a funeral in Ballymote, Co. Sligo on May 10, 1999.

He also pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Patrick 'Jaws' Ward Senior and 'Jaws' Patrick Ward Junior at the funeral on the same date.

The trial jury heard that the shots were fired outside the graveyard in Ballymote at around 2pm. Members of the Ward and McDonagh Travelling families were attending the funeral of Patrick 'Skillet' Ward, who had died on May 8, 1999.

Opening the prosecution case before the jury, Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley SC said that witnesses would give evidence that when members of Patrick 'Deuce' Ward's family arrived in a van at the graveyard, a crowd came from behind and threw stones and rocks at the van.

When members of Patrick 'Jaws' Ward's family approached the cemetery, stones were thrown at them. Then the crowd "opened up" and six men appeared, at least five of whom had guns in their hands. All six men were named in court. The prosecution alleges that one of them was the accused.

Words were exchanged between Patrick 'Jaws' Ward and another man, who then allegedly directed the six to "shoot them, shoot them".

Mr Vaughan Buckley said that there were some gardai at the funeral who were there to ensure there was no trouble. One of the gardai would give evidence that after shots were fired, he saw the accused man, Martin McDonagh, discarding a pistol in a ditch outside the graveyard.

The accused was arrested days later, on May 14, after receiving treatment in Sligo General Hospital for a gunshot wound to the leg.

The prosecution counsel said that a number of discharged cartridges were found on the road outside the graveyard.

He said that a Garda ballistics officer, Detective Garda Kevin Higgins would give evidence that a number of those recovered cartridges were discharged from the pistol that the accused threw in the ditch.

Mr Vaughan Buckley said that although the fatal bullet removed from Patrick 'Deuce' Ward did not come from the gun discarded in the ditch, the prosecution alleged that Martin McDonagh was part of a common design or joint enterprise with others on the day.

"Whether his gun was the gun that discharged the bullet that entered the deceased is irrelevant if you consider that he was one of the ones there with a gun and was part of a joint enterprise", he said. "If they were acting in a joint enterprise, they are all equally guilty."

The trial continues before a jury of seven women and five men, and Mr Justice Carney tomorrow.