Murphy received 'flying kick', court hears

Student Brian Murphy received a "flying kick" from a youth in a beige top who then told his friends "this is great craic", a witness has told the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Wexford man Paul Mooney said that he first witnessed a youth in a red shirt punch the person in the beige top in the face but he didn't react to it. The person in the red top then swung two more punches but he didn't connect with either.

Mr Mooney told Mr Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that the person on the receiving end looked confident when he was punched before walking away.

The witness said: "He looked pretty smug and confident when he was punched. I got the impression that his reaction indicated that he could take the guy in the red top if he wanted to."

Mr Mooney added that he was looking at the guy in beige when he was walking away and when he turned back he saw the guy in red on the ground being kicked by "definitely three people, possibly a fourth."

He said at this point that the guy in beige then returned to the scene and ran into the middle of the group with a "flying kick" to the man on the ground. He only kicked him once before he ran back out of the group.

Mr Mooney overheard him say "this is great craic" to his friends after he had delivered the kick.

When the witness was shown the beige fleece jumper that Sean Mackey, one of the accused, was wearing on the night he said it was similar to the one the person he saw was wearing. He also identified the red shirt that Brian Murphy was wearing on the night he died outside the Burlington Hotel.

Mr Mooney said that when the kicking had stopped the guy in the red got to his feet, looking quite dazed. He took a couple of steps forward before he did a semi-circle and fell on his face.

A friend of Brian Murphy's then came over and shouted: "Look what you've done. Don't you see what you've done?".

Andrew Frame (aged 22), from Nutley Lane, Donnybrook, Sean Mackey (aged 23), from South Park, Foxrock, Desmond Ryan (aged 22), from Cunningham Road, Dalkey, all Co Dublin, and Dermot Laide (aged 22), from Rossvale, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan have pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of 18-year-old Mr Murphy at Sussex Road on August 31, 2000.

The four former Blackrock College students have also denied committing violent disorder by using or threatening to use unlawful violence on the same date.

Mr Mooney told Mr Anthony Sammon SC, for Mackey, in cross-examination, that the flying kick he saw landing on Mr Murphy connected with his waist region or near the top of the legs.

Another witness, Fiachra O'Brien, told the court that he saw a person he believed to be Andrew Frame deliver a running punch to Brian Murphy and he fell to the ground. At that point about five or six people began kicking him.

Mr O'Brien said the kicking lasted for about 20 seconds but he couldn't see who was involved.

After it stopped there was still some fighting going on in the area but people ran to Brian's aid but he didn't seem to be responding.

Mr O'Brien said he did not know Andrew Frame personally but knew he played rugby for Blackrock College and the last time he would have seen him would have been on a rugby pitch within the year prior to Brian Murphy's death.

He said: "There seemed to be just an explosion of fighting after the punch I saw. I think I described in my statement that Andrew Frame was wearing a blue shirt on the night and had light brown hair."

Mr O'Brien told Mr Hugh Hartnett SC, for Frame, in cross-examination, that he drank six cans of beer in his flat before he went out, one pint in Madigan's pub in Donnybrook and then five or six bottles of Smirnoff Ice and possibly some shots in Club Anabel's.

He admitted that he was drunk and he had told the gardaí that. Mr Hartnett put it to the witness that he hadn't mentioned in the first of his two statements that he saw Andrew Frame delivering a running punch and also that his client was not wearing a blue shirt on the night.

The witness said he just presumed that he had said it in his first statement and disagreed with Mr Harnett that his second statement was made after his "memory was polluted by having conversations with others". The witness refuted this suggestion.

He said: "If he was wasn't wearing a blue shirt then he wasn't. I couldn't be certain. I told the gardaí that at the time I had difficulty describing anybody. I believed the person I saw to be Andrew Frame but it was dark."

Another witness, Ms Caroline Croke, told the court that she saw Sean Mackey receive a blow to the back of the head from a guy in the red shirt and he then punched him back. She turned away at this point and when she looked back a large group ran from behind her and began to attack the guy in the red shirt on the ground.

She said she then saw Mr Mackey walking away from the scene with a mobile phone in his hand.

Ms Croke said she also saw Dermot Laide, another accused, standing at the pedestrian entrance of the Burlington Hotel looking over to where some people were tending to Brian Murphy.

She said he licked the back of his hand, as if it was cut, and he flinched. She saw another guy with him with a light-coloured shirt and she said there seemed to be blood stain on the back the size of an old pound coin.

The trial continues before Judge Michael White and a jury of eight men and four women.