Traveller died from 'close-range gunshot wounds'

A traveller who was murdered in his bed during a dawn raid on his caravan by two men wearing balaclavas, died from two close-range gunshot wounds to his chest, a jury at the Central Criminal Court heard today.

State pathologist Prof. John Harbison told the jury that Mr Thomas Harty (aged 26) was a "fit young man who died from blood loss due to the accumulation of one litre of blood in his lung due to a gun shot wound".

There were two shots, one to his chest and a second shot to his back. "Both shots were lethal. The principal cause of death was the accumulation of blood in the left lung but there was also bleeding into the abdomen due to damage to the liver from the second shot," Mr Harbison told the court.

Prof. Harbison was giving evidence on the second day of the trial of Mr Patrick Harty (aged 30) for the murder of Mr Thomas Harty at Woodlands Park Halting Site, Ballymorris, Portarlington, Co Laois on Sunday 16 May 1999.

The accused, with an address at Carrowbrowne Halting Site, Carrowbrowne, Headford Road, Galway, denies the murder charge and a second charge of possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life.

In his evidence today, Prof. Harbison said x-rays of Mr Thomas Harty’s body revealed "two entire pellet patterns" of up to 400 pieces of lead lodged in the chest from the two shotgun wounds. He revealed that the second bullet wound in Mr Harty’s back was blackened with shotgun powder.

He said: "This was an indication of a very near discharge" and concluded that the victim died from "two shotgun discharges into the chest".

"A sawn-off shotgun with two barrels was the most likely weapon," he added.

Prosecuting counsel Mr Edward Comyn SC told the jury on Thursday that the accused was the driver of the getaway car for two men who broke into Mr Thomas Harty's caravan and shot him twice as he lay in bed.

He said that even though the accused did not go into the caravan nor did he have the gun or pull the trigger, he was "equally guilty as the men who pulled the trigger as it was a part of a joint enterprise".

"All the people who were in that arrangement are equally guilty of murder," he added.

Giving evidence today, Sr Francesca Kelly who lives close to the halting site, told the court how she was woken from her bed at dawn on Sunday 16 May 1999 by a relative of the victim.

"Christina Harty was at the door. She seemed to be very distressed and very upset and she told me her brother was shot. I didn’t think he was badly injured at that stage," she said.

"I dialled 999 and asked for an ambulance and I rang the Garda Station in Portlaoise," she added.

Ballistics expert Detective Thomas Carey told the jury that damage to the door of Mr Thomas Harty's caravan "was recent" at the time of his death.

"The bottom half of the door was pulled out, possibly a shovel could have been used or the bottom door could have been pulled out by hand".

A long wooden handled shovel was identified in court by Garda Peter O’Byrne yesterday as the same shovel found at the scene. Det. Carey also confirmed a slash hook and small hatchet were found in Mr Harty’s caravan.

The court heard on Thursday that the Harty family was split into two feuding branches, one called the 'Donnacha' Hartys of which the deceased was a member and the 'Nay' Hartys of which the accused is a member.

"The Nay Hartys held to blame the Donnacha Hartys, particularly Thomas, for the violent death of one of their own," Mr Comyn told the court.

Mrs Harty revealed under cross-examination by defence counsel Mr Gerard Clarke SC on Thursday that her husband, Mr Thomas Harty, had been charged with the murder of Mr Danny Harty of the ‘Nay’ Hartys prior to his death.

The failure of several Garda witnesses in court yesterday was due to "a failure in communications" Mr Justice John Quirke told the jury today.

"It is not going to happen again because steps have been taken to ensure it does not happen," he added.

Legal argument continues in the absence of the jury until next Wednesday.