A YOUNG Dublin man accused of murder told gardaí that he "never thought" he would be capable of "sticking a blade into someone", the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday.
Mark Green (20), Tritonville Rd, Sandymount, Dublin 4, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Alan Young (19), George Reynolds House, Ringsend, at or near Bremen Rd, Irishtown, Dublin on March 11th last year.
Mr Young was found near Irishtown sports stadium with a stab wound in his chest.
A recording of interviews conducted between gardaí and Mr Green at Donnybrook Garda station in the hours after the alleged murder was shown to the jury. Mr Green was seen telling Det Sgt Mark Kavanagh and Det Garda Maeve O'Sullivan that he "didn't mean it to happen." He told them: "Sticking a blade into someone, I never thought I'd be capable of doing that.
"I was waving the knife. I extended my arm when Alan [ Young] walked at me and the blade punctured him."
Mr Green told gardaí that on the Saturday night he had been having a pint in the Irishtown House pub when Mr Young approached him.
"He [ Mr Young] came over and hit me a slap in the face and started saying, 'You're a scumbag' and that I went round telling people he sold E to people who died, which I never said, 'cause he never sold E."
Mr Green told gardaí that Mr Young had "punched and kicked" him later that night but that he "didn't want to fight."
Mr Green said that he went to a friend's house and got a knife for "protection".
Mr Green told gardaí that when Mr Young arrived he "started shouting in my face . . . I didn't run at him. I took the knife from my pocket and said, 'Don't you dare' as he walked toward me. I had the knife in my right hand . . . The blade was pointing kind of towards him. He kept coming towards me and then shouted, 'He's after stabbing me'."
The video showed Det Sgt Kavanagh asking Mr Green why he tried to attract the gardaí's attention after the alleged murder and Mr Green telling him: "I knew I'd done something wrong and 'cause I wouldn't know how to live with it if I didn't say anything. I was thinking about killing myself and I was thinking about going to Irishtown police station cause I knew I had to tell the police."
Detective Garda O'Sullivan told the court yesterday that Mr Green was "in a distressed state" during the interview and "continually asking if Alan would be okay."
The trial continues today.