The trial of four men accused of beating an HIV-positive drug addict to death was held up by a third day of legal argument in the absence of the jury yesterday.
Mr Hugh Byrne (33), Dolphin House; Mr Mark Cooke (25), Dolphin House; Mr John Fitzpatrick (35), Fatima Mansions, and Mr William Kenny (55), St Anthony's Road, all Rialto, deny the manslaughter of Mr Josie Dwyer in Basin Lane, Dublin on May 14th, 1996.
They also deny charges of assaulting Mr Alan Byrne and of violent disorder on the same date. The jury is expected to return to the trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today.
The prosecution alleges that Mr Dwyer, a heroin addict, was beaten to death after an anti-drugs meeting in Dolphin's Barn.