Mother tells of son's love for horse riding and hurling

The mother of Midleton schoolboy Robert Holohan said at the trial of a young man charged with his murder, that Robert was a normal 11-year-old who loved outdoor activities and talking to people.

Majella Holohan speaking yesterday at the trial of her neighbour, Wayne O'Donoghue, said Robert wasn't very academic. He loved outdoor activities, particularly horse riding and sports such as hurling.

"He was very extrovert, he loved GAA, he loved horses. He was an outdoor person, an energetic boy - he loved cycling his bike and going on his roller blades - any 11-year-old would do the same," said Ms Holohan. "He was full of the joys of life, no worries or anything like that."

Ms Holohan said Robert had difficulty concentrating at school so they had him assessed. He was diagnosed by Prof Michael Fitzgerald, of Trinity College Dublin, as suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder but it was a very mild form.

He had been put on medication, Ritalin, and had been on two tablets a day while at school but that had been changed to one slower-acting tablet. He didn't take any over Christmas except for a quarter tablet on Christmas Day, as it was intended to help him concentrate in class.

Robert had also been diagnosed as dyslexic but he had been getting grinds once a week to help him and he was coping well.

Ms Holohan told the court how she last saw Robert at around 2.30pm on January 4th when he went cycling out the gate of their home at Ballyedmond on his new silver BMX which he got for Christmas.

She saw him turn right down Ballyedmond Hill. When she hadn't heard from him after an hour or so, she tried ringing him on the new mobile phone that he had bought with money he got over Christmas.

"I started trying him at 3.30 to 3.45pm, the phone rang out - I tried him three more times, the phone went to message - I left a message, 'Robert - it's mam - give me a buzz'," Ms Holohan told the jury at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.

She sent her daughter, Emma, to call around to neighbours, the O'Donoghues and the Tullys, but she came back and said there was no sign of Robert. As it started to get dark at around 5pm, she became very worried as Robert hated the dark.

There was evidence from 26 witnesses yesterday including Thomas Keohane snr and Thomas Keohane jnr who testified how they found Robert's BMX bike at Connery's Lane at Carrigoghna, about 500m from Robert's home at about 5.30pm.

Earlier, Mr Justice Paul Carney granted liberty to the accused's counsel to bring a motion for contempt against the editor of one newspaper over its coverage of the opening day of the trial.

He warned the jury to judge the case only on the evidence presented before them.

"I'm advising you that you must only take account of the evidence - the only people who can be guaranteed to hear every word of this case are the 12 of you, myself and the accused," Mr Justice Carney said.