Man pleads not guilty to murder of Timmy Hourihane in 'tented village' in Cork City

Timothy Hourihane was assaulted at Mardyke Walk, Cork. He later died in hospital. Picture: Provision

A man has pleaded not guilty to the murder of a man in a so-called “tented village” in Cork City.

James Brady, 28, is accused of kicking 53-year-old Timmy Hourihane “like a football” in the head and the groin as part of a "sustained" assault on October 13, 2019, at Mardyke Walk in Cork City.

A second man – who cannot be named for legal reasons – is also charged with murder. He faces an additional charge of criminal damage to a tent on the same date and will be tried separately.

At the time of his death, Mr Hourihane was one of a number of homeless people who were sleeping in a tent near UCC.

The jury at the Central Criminal Court in Waterford heard on Wednesday that the father of one was found injured and unconscious by the fire service next to his tent which had been set alight, with clothes and other items thrown onto the blaze.

Mr Hourihane later died at Cork University Hospital.

He was from Kilcrohane in Bantry, West Cork, and was a trained chef, having worked for the Hilton Hotel chain in the UK previously.

It is the State's case that James Brady, of Shannon Lawn, Mayfield, Cork, took part in the assault on Mr Hourihane.

Opening the trial for the State, Siobhan Lankford SC brought the jury back to summer 2019, where a number of "people who were otherwise homeless" had pitched tents at two fields in an amenity area at Mardyke Walk, near UCC, on the western side of Cork city.

Tensions

She said there were tensions between different groups of the "camp" and that Mr Hourihane and Mr Brady had had previous disagreement.

Mr Hourihane himself had moved out of the camp for about three weeks but returned in the days before his eventual death.

The fatal incident involving Mr Hourihane, Mr Brady, the unnamed man, and the unnamed man's female partner took place at about 12.20am.

Flowers at the spot where Timothy Hourihane was assaulted. Picture: Dan Linehan

Ms Lankford said the woman who was present at the time will give evidence that she "begged" the two men to stop kicking Mr Hourihane while he lay on the ground, and that she threw herself on top of the victim to protect him, but to no avail.

She outlined that the jury will hear from multiple witnesses, but cautioned that some of their accounts will differ.

One witness will say that they saw James Brady kicking the victim as though he “was kicking a football”.

Another witness, who is now deceased but who had been living in the camp at the time, gave a statement to gardaí that he saw the accused “frazzled, with his hands in his pockets”, while the assault was taking place.

This man had told gardaí he heard Brady say they needed to call emergency services.

The trial is expected to take two-and-a-half to three weeks.