A WITNESS in the trial of two brothers accused of murdering a farmer in Co Laois has denied that the man who died had called one of the accused “scum” and told the other there was “bad and dirty breeding” in him.
DJ Byrne (38), Borness, Mountmellick, Co Laois, and Jason Byrne (32) of the same address have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Edward Dempsey in October 2007.
John Dempsey told the Central Criminal Court that on December 18th, 2006, the Byrnes “invited” his brother into their yard to get a heifer that had strayed on to their land. He said they then “turned on” his brother and began beating him once he got inside the gate.
Mr Dempsey (49), a married father of two, died in Portlaoise Hospital on October 11th, 2007, 10 months after the incident.
Under cross-examination by John Short SC, defending, John Dempsey denied that he, his brother and their farm worker Tom Gorman (23), approached the Byrne farmyard on the day in question. It was “untrue” that they were told at least four times by the Byrnes not to come on to their land.
He also denied that his brother approached the Byrnes’ yard in an aggressive fashion and told Jason Byrne he was “scum” and said “the guards wouldn’t even keep you”. Mr Short suggested that Eddie Dempsey then turned to DJ Byrne and said there was “ bad and dirty breeding” in him.
Mr Dempsey denied this, saying he had never heard anything being said and it was all “lies.” He told the court that the two Byrnes were standing in the yard and they told Eddie to “come on in and get your heifer”. He said DJ had the handle of a shovel in his hand and Jason had the handle of a brush.
Mr Dempsey said he saw Jason beating Eddie on the legs and DJ hitting him over the right ear “with the greatest power”. “Blood came out of his mouth, his nose and his ear and was all over his coat.”
Mr Short said that after carrying out extensive searches at the scene and seizing material, gardaí had never found the handle of a brush. “I say to you that Jason Byrne never had a brush handle . . . he had a hazel stick.” Mr Dempsey replied: “Don’t take me for a fool, someone spent a lot of money on you, I know when I seen the handle of a brush.”
Mr Short said that Jason Byrne had never hit Eddie at all, to which Mr Dempsey replied: “I could hear the handle of the brush against the bone of his leg, he was hitting him that hard.”
Mr Short asked him about a conversation he had with a younger member of the Byrne family earlier that day, after Mr Dempsey had unsuccessfully tried to get their heifer out of the Byrnes’ field and back on to their land.
“You said you were going to sort this out for once and for all . . . you said you can f**k off and tell the guards, they’ll do nothing to me.”
Mr Dempsey denied he had ever said that to “the young lad”.
Det Garda Pat Lynn said he saw the Byrne brothers in the yard when he arrived at Hammer Lane.
He told the court: “DJ said to me: ‘I hit him, you can arrest and charge me’ . . . He was holding the handle of a shovel. I shook my head in disgust.”
Det Garda Lynn said he did not speak to either of the Byrnes, but he put Eddie Dempsey in the back of his car and brought him to Portlaoise Hospital.
The case continues.