Victim spent day drinking, court hears

The jury in a Tipperary murder and arson trial has heard that the 30-year-old victim spent his last day drinking at various locations in his native Clonmel.

PJ Hawkins was giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court on the eighth day of the trial of John Paul Buck (aged 29) of Heywood Close in the town.

Mr Buck has pleaded not guilty to stabbing to death father-of-one Fergus Roche at a house in the same estate in the early hours of October 1, 2005. He also denies setting fire to the vacant house.

Mr Hawkins said he met Mr Roche in a laneway around 10.30am on Friday October 30, 2005. They bought a few cans of beer before returning to the lane to drink them.

He said they parted company around 12.30pm, with Mr Roche cycling back towards the shop where they had bought the beer. Mr Hawkins drank some more before collecting his daughter from school at 2.30pm.

He said he met Mr Roche again around 4pm in a laneway downtown. He was with another man and a few females.

“Myself and Fergus were drinking a flagon of cider,” he recalled.

At 5pm, Mr Roche went to the garda station to sign on. Last week, the jury heard that he was on bail, awaiting trial for his part in a burglary.

At 6pm, Mr Roche joined the men drinking again, this time on the steps of a theatre. He said there were no injuries on Mr Roche’s face at that stage.

An hour later, they went to a pub into which Mr Roche looked to see “if he knew someone who’d give him the price of a bottle”. A 8pm, Mr Hawkins parted company with Mr Roche at Heywood Close.

Mr Roche met him and another man again around 10pm in the other man’s flat, where they drank more cider. Mr Roche left around midnight.

The trial continues before Mr Justice George Bermingham and a jury of six men and six women.