Witness was standing beside murder victim, court told

The key witness in the trial of a 38-year-old accused of murdering a man in 2003 has told the court today that he was standing beside him when he was shot dead in a remote gateway.

Darren Byrne has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Paul Ryan (aged 27) at Coolderry, Birr, Co Offaly on April 12, 2003.

Mr Byrne, of no fixed abode, has also pleaded not guilty to possession of a sawn-off shotgun with intent to endanger life at that location on the same date.

It is the prosecution’s case that Byrne, who has a nickname of “Fats”, shot Paul Ryan in the back left-hand side of his head after travelling to Birr with him and John O’ Hanlon in the early hours of the morning of April 12, 2003.

Mr O’ Hanlon has previously pleaded guilty to withholding information and had served time for the offence, the court heard.

He said he was with Mr Byrne and Mr Ryan when they travelled down to Coolderry in the early hours of the morning.

He told the court it was dark when the vehicle reversed into a gateway and he and Paul Ryan got out to urinate.

When they were finished urinating he said he heard a loud bang 10 inches away from him.

“He just dropped,” said Mr O’ Hanlon, who added that Mr Ryan then “fell onto his face.”

“I could hear him (pointing to the accused) screaming: ‘relax, relax, relax’”, he added.

“There was a red mist…it settled all over me,” Mr O’ Hanlon told the court.

“He said it was him or us, that it was him setting us up,” Mr O’ Hanlon told the court.

The witness told the court he recognised a sawn-off shotgun with tape on the handle, which was shown to the court saying: “that’s the gun”.

Mr O’ Hanlon said he grabbed the gun and put it back into the car and said he was concerned about a mobile phone being in the car.

“I knew that phone would put his car in that area. I couldn’t understand the logic of it.”

He said the accused later got rid of the phone when they got back to Derry, where they had been living together.

“I was of the opinion we’d get blamed so we came up with a story that Coates and Suggs would get blamed,” Mr O’ Hanlon told the court.

When asked by Mr Patrick Gageby, SC prosecuting what his motivation was for going to the gardai he said: “I couldn’t live with it”.

Mr O’ Hanlon, a former heroin addict who the jury heard had a long criminal history, said he knew Mr Byrne since he was born.

He said Mr Byrne asked him to stay with him in Skerries prior to the incident because “there were certain people demanding money off him”.

He told the court the accused worked alone and “he sold drugs on his own” and “was seen as a good earner”.

Mr O’ Hanlon agreed with Mr Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that he had been dealt with in relation to the case, had served time and “could not be touched”.

He agreed with Mr Grehan that on the morning of his own trial Mr O’ Hanlon was charged with withholding information.

“You can’t be touched now in relation to this offence, you’ve been dealt with”, said Mr Grehan.

Mr O’ Hanlon denied shooting Mr Ryan when Mr Grehan put it to him: “Mr Byrne didn’t shoot Paul Ryan…You know very well who shot him.”

“I know I didn’t shoot him”, Mr O’ Hanlon replied.

Mr O’ Hanlon agreed with Mr Grehan that a drug debt was sold to a very well known and violent gang called “the Westies”.

He said Shane Coates, who is now deceased, was trying to collect a drug debt from both Mr Ryan and Mr Byrne.

The trial continues before a jury of seven men and five women presided over by Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan.