A man who beat another man to death with a pickaxe handle has been sentenced to 12 years in jail at the Central Criminal Court.
Pierce Byrne (32), Hazelwood Crescent, Hartstown, Dublin, had pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of John Murphy (29) after a row in a Blanchardstown pub on April 15th, 2002.
Det Garda Mark Kelly told Mark Coffey SC, prosecuting, that the argument broke out in the Budabar in Blanchardstown after an allegation of child molestation was made by one of the Murphy group.
The row developed into a fight outside the bar involving Mr Murphy, his brother Mark, their friends, Byrne and Terence Keogh.
Keogh is serving a 10-year sentence for his part in the attack after pleading guilty in 2005.
Det Kelly told Mr Coffey that hand-held CCTV footage showed Byrne with his shirt off, shadow-boxing at the Murphy group.
Keogh fetched a pickaxe handle from his car and he and Byrne chased the Murphy brothers until they cornered them outside a house on Sheepmore Grove.
The court heard the attack lasted four to five minutes during which blows were mainly aimed at the head, and that Byrne and Keogh passed the pickaxe handle between them.
In a victim impact statement, Derek Murphy, brother of the deceased, told the court his brother's injuries were so bad his head had become "one big open wound". He said his brother had regained consciousness during the attack and had heard one attacker say to the other to "let him have another go".
However, he said, his brother John died protecting his brother. "His lifeless body was found draped across Mark, protecting him from the worst of the beatings."
Mr Murphy described the devastating effect the attack had had on his family. They had been unable to have an open coffin at the funeral because of the extent of his brother's injuries.
He told Mr Justice Paul Carney that the family believed their brother had been taken away from them in more ways than one.
"We inquired about donating his organs but we were told they were evidence. We couldn't hold the funeral because he was evidence." Mr Murphy said his family was suffering a life sentence. "For us there is no justice; no sentence long enough."
He said their brother would never see his daughter grow up.
Det Kelly told Mr Coffey the accused had moved to London after the attack. He handed himself in to police in Paddington Green station and was passed over to gardaí to be brought back to Ireland in 2003.
However, after his arrest he returned to England and was extradited back to prison where he has been since May 2005.
Det Kelly said Byrne had 14 previous offences, including several for theft and common assault, as well as drugs offences.
Mr Justice Carney sentenced him to 12 years, backdated to his arrest on May 13th, 2005.