A murder trial witness yesterday told a jury in the Central Criminal Court that he overheard the accused say he "didn't forget [his] past, what they done to me", minutes before the fatal stabbing occurred.
Mr Michael Doyle (22), of Tonduff Close, Greenpark, Greenhills, Tallaght, has denied the murder of Mr Mark O'Keeffe (20) on May 30th, 1997, at a football pitch in Tallaght, west Dublin.
Mr Mark Murphy, a prosecution witness, told the court that while walking to a local shop in Tallaght, he noticed Mr Doyle and a red-haired man walking slowly, drinking and talking between themselves.
Mr Murphy said he overheard Mr Doyle urge his companion to "Come on, come on, we'll go over" to where a number of youths were sitting on a football pitch.
The red-haired man tried to stop Mr Doyle when the accused allegedly said: "I don't forget my past, what they done to me," Mr Murphy said.
During cross-examination by Mr Barry White SC, defending, Mr Murphy agreed that parts of his statement to gardai were inaccurate but insisted the quote he allegedly overheard was correct.
"But the bit about hearing what was said is accurate. `I don't forget my past after what they done to me,' that's exactly what he said," Mr Murphy told the court.
" `After what they done to me' isn't there in the garda statement," Mr White said.
In his statement, Mr Murphy said he went home after an initial fracas allegedly involving the accused. Mr Murphy told the court that he did not go home and had actually been in the vicinity during the more serious scuffle resulting in the death of Mr O'Keeffe.
When asked why his account to gardai was different from his account in court, Mr Murphy said: "At the time I was going out with a girl who lived around the corner from [the accused] and I was worried about her and her family."
Another prosecution witness, Mr Tony Moody, told the court that after a "bit of a scrum between three or four people", the deceased man released the accused and "told him to go on his way".
The court had previously heard that during a scuffle on the day of the stabbing, the accused allegedly held Mr Leighton Kelly, a prosecution witness, in a headlock and waved a pint glass in front of his face.
When the accused returned to the football pitch, "we were all going to spread out. We weren't going to let him by," Mr Moody told the court. Mr O'Keeffe was also present, he said.
Mr Moody said he had half a brick in his hand to protect himself and younger children in the vicinity, adding: "I'd have just smashed the brick into his face anyway."
Mr White put it to Mr Moody that "at all times your intention was to be aggressive towards [another man] and Mr Doyle".
"I wouldn't say that," Mr Moody replied.
Mr Eamon Leahy SC, prosecuting, had previously told the jury that after a fracas involving youths attacking Mr Doyle with metal bars and a knife, the accused fled the scene and later returned with long kitchen knives hidden in his clothing.
Mr Doyle allegedly pulled the knives from his clothing and stabbed Mr O'Keeffe a number of times.
The trial before Mr Justice Kearns and a jury continues today.