Closing arguments in murder case

The main issue in the trial of a Dublin man accused of murdering a woman with a lump-hammer is whether he was so provoked by the deceased biting his penis that he temporarily lost his self-control, a jury in the Central Criminal Court were told today.

Mr John O'Neill (aged 57) from Mercer House flats, Mercer Street in Dublin has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter but not guilty to the murder of Rosemary Dowling (aged 49) at his flat between October 24 and 25, 2005.