Witness denies acting as 'vigilante'

A witness at the Central Criminal Court trial of a Dublin man accused of killing a 32-year-old father of two in North Dublin three years ago has denied that he acted as a vigilante on the night of the incident.

Mr Emmett Taaffe told defence counsel Mr Brendan Grehan SC in cross examination denied that he had not attacked a group of youths for revenge for an attack on his younger brother "Tone". "How could I be acting like a vigilante? I was acting like a concerned brother."

Peter Dolan (aged 42) of Tulip Court, Darndale denies the murder of Mr Raymond Brown during a disturbance at Clonshaugh Drive in Coolock on April 2 2005. He also denies assaulting Mr Taaffe on the same occasion.

Earlier Tone Taaffe told prosecuting counsel Mr Paul Burns SC he had been supposed to have been at work for Irish Rail but had felt "the few pints coming up on me" after spending the earlier part of the evening at a benefit at Inis Fail GAA club.

As it wasn't particularly busy in work he asked if he could return home. On arrival he noticed a group of youths sitting on the wall who shouted abuse at him as he went past them into his house.

He said that his father-in-law, who lived with him, had told him that the group had been troublesome earlier in the evening.

Mr Taaffe said he asked them to move on but they refused. So he went back into the house and came out with a baseball bat.

He denied that he was intending to do anything other than frighten the group but he said one of the group threw a crutch at him. He told Mr Grehan "I chased him and another lad came up behind me and hit me with another bat."

Emmett Taaffe said he received a phone call from his brother at about 1 a.m. "He said he had been hit across the head with a crutch and that youths were outside taunting him and his children were in the house screaming."

He had also been at the benefit at the GAA club with his best friend, Mr Brown. After he received the call he phoned another brother, Padraig, to come them. He said he had not pressured Mr Brown to come with him; he was just "being a friend".

Mr Taaffe said they drove past Tone's house and saw a group of 18-20 people a short distance away. One of them had a crutch.

Padraig Taaffe told Mr Burns Emmett asked him did he have "anything" in the car. When he said he didn't they drove back to his house to fetch a baseball bat and two "monkey" hats because Mr Brown was afraid of being recognised locally.

Emmett Taaffe said that Mr Brown was not carrying any kind of weapon.

He denied he was motivated by revenge but was simply standing up for his brother. "I was hitting the people who had busted his head open and put his kids in fear."

He insisted that the group were all in their late teens and were all male but agreed with Mr Grehan that he had not been sure that this was the same group who had attacked his brother.

He flatly denied the suggestion that he had been the leader of an armed posse and said that witnesses who saw at least two men wearing balaclavas and carrying baseball bats getting out of a dark coloured car were either lying or mistaken. "They must have been looking at two different cars. It must have happened afterwards."

Mr Taaffe said he ran into the group swinging the bat and must have hit four or five people. He said Mr Brown was unarmed but was punching and kicking. After a while he looked round and saw Mr Brown fighting in the front garden of one of the houses.

He said he knew the man he was fighting and so shouted out to Mr Brown that he was fighting the wrong person. Then he said he saw Mr Dolan come out of the next door house and run over to Mr Brown. He appeared to "dig" him several times but then he saw the "glint" of the blade in the street light. "I realised it wasn't digging it was a knife."

Mr Taaffe said he went over and hit Mr Dolan with the hand that was holding the bat to get him away from Mr Dolan. Then he dragged Mr Dolan away and went to meet his brother Padraig who had arrived at the other end of the street. He denied that he had asked his brother to come and collect them.

He helped Mr Brown into the backseat then got into the front passenger seat and the car took off at speed. He told Mr Burns he expected Mr Brown to have sufficient strength to close the door but when he turned round he found his friend had fallen out.

They stopped the car and went back to where Mr Brown was lying in the road. Mr Brown later died in hospital.

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