This was, said prosecuting counsel Mr Edward Comyn SC, a case which could present a jury with "a conflict between the heart and the head", writes Paul Cullen.
On the one hand, there was the tragedy of 18-year-old Brian Murphy, who went out for a night's entertainment three years ago and ended up being kicked to death.
And on the other hand, counsel solemnly told the eight men and four women on the jury, there was the tragedy that four young people stood accused of such a serious crime.
The four defendants, three from south Dublin and one from Monaghan, directed an impassive gaze from their bench across the narrow confines of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
To their left, the public gallery was crowded. It included friends and classmates of the accused, as well as many of the more than 100 witnesses due to be called in the case.
Also present were the parents of the dead man, Denis and Mary Murphy.
The four accused - three of them aged 22, and the fourth 23 - are charged with the manslaughter of Mr Murphy outside Club Anabel in the Burlington Hotel in August 2000. All pleaded not guilty.
The three Dublin defendants all wore dark jackets and ties, while the bespectacled Dermot Laide from Monaghan wore a light-blue jumper.
Mr Comyn outlined the grim circumstances in which Mr Murphy lost his life in the ruckus.
As the nightclub closed and revellers queued for taxis, a disagreement arose between Mr Murphy and one of the accused, Mr Andrew Frame.
Mr Comyn said it was unclear who started it, but a scuffle developed, and grew into something far more serious.
Mr Murphy got isolated from the larger group and was knocked to the ground and kicked in the head and body by a group of up to six people.
He became unconscious and died in St Vincent's Hospital 90 minutes after arrival.
The State Pathologist found he had died from brain damage, inhalation of blood and multiple facial injuries.
Mr Comyn then outlined the challenge posed to the jury by the death of a youth and the consequent possibility of jailing four young people.
"When death ensues in these serious circumstances this sadly is the predicament juries face," Mr Comyn pointed out.