A jury at a trial at the Central Criminal Court, Cork has heard that a 44-year old postman died of catastrophic head and facial injuries inflicted with a golf club in the front garden of his home.
A 21-year old man and two teenagers are on trial charged with the murder of father of five Barry Daly in Doneraile, Co Cork, last October.
All three deny the charge.
On Saturday, 11 October, Doneraile’s local GAA team won the North Cork Junior B hurling championship, beating Ballyclough in the final.
Afterwards, everyone from the area was celebrating, and “a very large amount of alcohol was consumed.”
Mr Daly, a father of four, had been attending the celebrations with another man when there was an altercation and Rachel Kelly, the girlfriend of Alex Deady, was punched.
Alex Deady of Glen View, Convent Road, Doneraile, is one of three people charged with the murder of Mr Daly.
The other two are teenagers and cannot be named because of their age.
Their trial heard that after the altercation on Doneraile Main Street, Mr Daly and the other man left and went to Mr Daly’s home at Rockview Terrace on the outskirts of the village, while others tried to talk down Alex Deady.
He blamed Mr Daly for punching his girlfriend.
Prosecuting Senior Counsel Lorcan Staines in his opening statement told the jury Alex Deady got a golf club but a good samaritan took it off him.
Later, he said, Alex Deady and two teenagers walked to Mr Daly’s home.
The court was told all three had a golf club, and Alex Deady was wearing no top.
Mr Daly was found dead or dying in the front garden of his home a short time later, with catastrophic head and facial injuries inflicted by a golf club.
Alex Deady and the two teenagers are charged with Mr Daly’s murder.
He and one of the teenagers replied “not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter” when they were arraigned.
The second teenager replied “not guilty” when he was arraigned on the murder charge.
A jury of five men and seven women has been sworn to hear the trial, which is expected to last five weeks.