Accused claims he tried to stop another man from 'dancing on head' of homeless Corkman

James Brady said that Timothy Hourihane was his friend adding, "we were in treatment together, I knew him a long time."

James Brady (right) told the court he liked Mr Hourihane, who cheered him up when he was low and always gave him advice. He said that he never cared that Mr Hourihane was gay and accepted him for who he was. Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Cork Courts

A man accused of murdering Cork chef Timmy Hourihane said that he tried to pull another man off him who was "dancing on his head" saying "you gay bastard" as Mr Hourihane lay groaning on the ground.

James Brady said that he was “very close” to Mr Hourihane who "had a good heart". He knew Mr Hourihane for at least six years before his violent death on October 13, 2019.

Mr Hourihane had been “very good” to Mr Brady, who is on trial for his murder, even inviting him to stay in his tent at Mardyke Walk, Cork City, when he was homeless. They had been in an addiction treatment facility for many months in Blarney, Co. Cork, where they also worked in the kitchen together.

He liked Mr Hourihane, who cheered him up when he was low and always gave him advice. He said that he never cared that Mr Hourihane was gay and accepted him for who he was.

James Brady told the court Timothy Hourihane (pictured) had come to his tent on the night of the killing and had started stroking his face, telling him he was gorgeous. Mr Brady said that this was a normal interaction and they were just joking with each other.

The night of the killing, Mr Hourihane had come to his tent and had started stroking his face, telling him he was gorgeous. Mr Brady said that this was a normal interaction and they were just joking with each other and he pushed him off. He said it was a typical interaction between them and they were just "having a laugh" but another man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, got very angry about it, Mr Brady said.

“[Unnamed man] seemed to get very angry the way Timmy and I were connecting. Timmy started rubbing my face, I’d push him off, it was just the way we were. Next thing he got a slap. I was drinking but I was aware of what was going on.

“I said ‘what’s going on?’ “Timmy started walking off. [Unnamed man] turned around and said ‘what did he try to do to you in the tent?’ 

“I said 'he’s my friend, we were in treatment together, I knew him a long time.’ [Unnamed man] started following him [Mr Hourihane] over. [Unnamed man] drove at him.

“Everything kicked off. He [Mr Hourihane] was lying on the floor, [unnamed man] was on top of him. I said ‘that’s enough.’ All I heard was ‘[a woman shouting unnamed man’s name], stop, stop, you’re going to kill him.’ 

He was dancing, I mean dancing on his [Mr Hourihane’s] head. I ran over so fast. I caught [unnamed man] by the waist, the two sides, dragging on him, he kept ripping off me.

“He kept saying ‘you gay bastard, you gay bastard.’ He kept going back down. To be honest, my body froze. I kept seeing blood and everything. He [Mr Hourihane] was saying ‘ah, ah’. He was hurt.” 

Mr Brady said that he “never experienced anything like this” and was scared. He said that he suffers from anxiety and does not like fights.

"I was panicking. I said, 'we need to phone an ambulance, there’s something seriously wrong‘. I was scared, blood was coming from everywhere."

The unnamed man told him "this is between us, don’t you open your mouth," Mr Brady said.

“I was shaking, I knew there was something seriously wrong. He [unnamed man] went over to the lesbians’ tent and lit it on fire. There was blood everywhere. He took off his clothes, his jeans, threw them on the fire.

“All I saw was the tent burning and people running into the park. I was panicking.” 

He said that he had only known the unnamed man for about two months.

“That night he scared me. It was like a split personality. I’m sorry to God I ever met him,” Mr Brady said.

“I met Timmy’s mother in 2014, that’s how close we were. I’m blaming myself because he came to me [that night], and he got a box out of nowhere.” He said that he has been traumatised and confused since the attack.

“It was scary. I never witnessed anything like this. I’d be scared of two people having a scrap. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“I’ve been driving myself crazy, ’why was I there? Why was I there?’ In the morning he was dead.

“I'm sorry for saying it but I was there, I seen it. My head is just… I’m dazed. I'm just looking at Timmy with blood coming out.” Mr Brady made the statement on October 18, 2019, in an Enhanced Cognitive Interview with gardaí at an interview room in Blackpool, Cork. 

A video recording of the interview was played to the court. An Enhanced Cognitive Interview is designed to elicit the most information from a witness who is willing to cooperate with gardaí and impart information, Sgt John O’Connell, a Level Four interview advisor explained to the court.

Mr Brady, 28, of Shannon Lawn, Mayfield, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Mr Hourihane, a father-of-one was a trained chef from West Cork who was homeless at the time of his death. He suffered extensive bleeding in his lungs due to severe blunt-force head and facial trauma and died from blood inhalation with a traumatic cardiac arrest complicated by brain swelling and a lack of blood supply to the brain.

The trial in front of Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy and a jury of seven women and five men continues.