Witness denies alleged murder victim called accused 'scum'

The main witness in the trial of two brothers accused of murdering a neighbouring farmer, has denied that the dead man called one brother “scum” and told the other there was “bad breeding” in him.

The evidence was heard during cross-examination of John Dempsey, the central eye-witness and the brother of the dead man, Edward Dempsey (aged 49), who died ten months after the alleged assault on a Co Laois farm in December 2006.

“Daniel-Joseph” Byrne (aged 39), of Hammer Lane, Borness, Mountmellick in Co Laois, and Jason Byrne (aged 33), of the same address have both denied murdering Mr Dempsey, a father of two, who died in October 2007.

The prosecution is arguing that the case is one of joint enterprise, and that the ultimate cause of Mr Dempsey's death were the injuries he received during the alleged assault on the farm.

In earlier evidence, Mr Dempsey has told the jury that he and his brother “Eddie” drove to the Byrne's farmyard at Hammer Lane to get back a heifer which had strayed onto their land.

The witness described how the brothers were standing inside their yard smiling, with their hands resting on sticks, and invited them in saying “come on in and get your heifer.”

He said Eddie, who was 6 foot 3 and weighed 17 stone and had “more guts” than him, went in, and the gate was closed behind him as the brothers “turned on him” and began beating him with sticks.

Mr Dempsey said Jason Byrne beat Eddie on the leg with the handle of a brush so that he could hear “the bone in his leg cracking” and that DJ Byrne hit him “full-force” across the head, after which Eddie collapsed onto the ground covered in blood.

But during a lengthy and heated cross-examination by Jason Byrne's defence counsel, John Shortt SC, it was put to Mr Dempsey that the Byrnes had actually repeatedly told Eddie Dempsey not to come on to their property.

Mr Short suggested that despite this, Eddie pushed the gate in on top of DJ Byrne and said to him“ there's bad breeding there I can see it in your eyes”.

He also told Jason Byrne he was “scum” and “even the Guards wouldn't keep you,” Mr Short suggested.

“Very untrue, my brother was a very well-spoken and educated man...he was a quite a gentle man,” Mr Dempsey replied.

Mr Short also said Jason Byrne had a hazel-stick in his hand, and had never struck Mr Dempsey, while he said DJ Byrne accepted he had hit Eddie in the upper body, but had only done so to keep him back.

“Jason hit my brother with the handle of a brush, I know what the handle of a brush looks like, I heard the bones cracking in his leg and I don't think you'd hear that with a hazel-stick,” the witness said.

“I suggest to you that your version of events is not correct,” Mr Short said, adding that the Byrnes had handed over a hazel-stick to the Gardaí, but they had never discovered the handle of a brush during their investigation.

“Well I'm sorry to tell you I'm telling the truth,” Mr Dempsey replied.

At another stage of the cross-examination, the presiding judge, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, interrupted Mr Short to instruct him not to raise his voice.

Mr Dempsey's reply of “he's sort of frightening me your honour” was greeted with laughter from the courtroom, and Mr Short apologised to the witness.

At another stage of the trial the witness said “you're hassling me now like...the pressure on me...but work away, you're the boss”.

“Well, I don't know what the purpose of that little speech was,” Mr Short replied before continuing the cross-examination.

The case resumes in the morning before the jury of ten men and two women.