A man has been found not guilty of murder, but guilty of the manslaughter of his young neighbour outside a pub in Glenamaddy, Co Galway last December, following a six-day trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Galway.
The jury of seven men and five women took just over three and a half hours to reach their 10 to 2 majority verdict, finding Patrick Doherty (46) of Clooncon West, Glenamaddy, not guilty of the murder of Frank Fahy (20), of O’Keeffe Park, Glenamaddy, at the Square, Glenamaddy in the early hours of Monday, December 15th last year, but finding him guilty instead of Mr Fahy’s manslaughter.
Doherty, a native of Glasgow, who spent most of his childhood living in Belmullet with his grandmother and uncle and who had been living in Glenamaddy for the last ten years had denied murdering Mr Fahy but had pleaded guilty at the outset of the trial to manslaughter.
Mr John Hogan, BL defending, asked for sentencing to be adjourned to a later date for the preparation of a probation report on his client.
Mr Justice Paul Carney agreed to adjourn sentencing to Dublin on November 2nd next and he remanded the accused in custody to that date.
State pathologist, Prof Marie Cassidy gave evidence during the trial that the deceased died from a single five-inch (12.5 cm) deep stab wound under his right shoulder blade, which sliced through his right lung, severing the pulmonary artery and airways and causing the lung to collapse.
She concluded the cause of death was a single stab wound which had been caused by a single-edged blade.
The trial had heard evidence Doherty had been drinking heavily on the Saturday and Sunday prior to the stabbing in various pubs in Glenamaddy. He had ended up in Harte’s bar in the Square on the Sunday night where it was alleged he had been taunted by Gerard Costello, a friend of the victim, who was seen whispering into his ear on several occasions.
Gerard Costello denied in cross-examination that he had made lewd and insulting comments to Doherty about his wife and daughter that night to deliberately annoy and anger him. There had been “history” between both men and Doherty claimed Costello had broken his collarbone a year earlier even though he had not made a complaint to gardai about the alleged assault.
Doherty later admitted to Gardai that he left the pub near closing time, drove home, got a kitchen knife and returned to the pub with the intention of getting Costello. He told gardai he was sorry what for happened to Frank Fahy but he was not sorry for Costello, who had sustained four superficial stab wounds that night. He told them he was fed up of always being picked on and he just “snapped” that night.
Witnesses saw Doherty go over to Costello and the deceased as they stood outside the pub waiting for a lift home. They turned around to face Doherty and Frank Fahy went to push him away. Doherty then swung
the knife over Mr Fahy’s head and stabbed him into the back, just below the right shoulder. Mr Fahy pushed him away and ran to his father’s waiting hackney bus.
Other witnesses saw Doherty then stab Costello four times, before he too ran onto the bus.
John Joe Fahy, father of the deceased, told the jury he rushed his son to hospital in the back of his hackney bus. The young man went quiet on the way to Roscommon General Hospital. The extent of his injury only became apparent when his friends lifted him from the bus and laid him on the ground outside the hospital door. He was taken inside and pronounced dead at 2.30 a.m. following strenuous efforts by doctors to resuscitate him.
Mr Bernard Madden, SC defending, said his client had been deliberately provoked that night and he accused Costello of being the instigator or what had happened that night.
Mr Madden said Costello had deliberately and consciously engaged in an act of provocation that night knowing that Doherty had a temper when he had drink taken. “He [Costello] lit the tinder box to set that temper in motion. He did that deliberately and Doherty then went home and got the knife,” Mr Madden said.
Justice Carney thanked the jury for their deliberations. He told them these sort of cases were very distressing for everybody and he exempted them from jury service for life.