A fire destroyed a large number of documents in a social welfare office two weeks before the office manager beat his wife to death, a murder trial has heard.
Mr Patrick Hennessy killed his wife with a car jack days after he was suspended from his job following an internal investigation by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs.
Mr Hennessy has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murdering Marie Hennessy on May 12th, 1999. The attack happened on Monday, May 10th, 1999, and Mrs Hennessy died two days later.
Mr Liam Kavanagh, the manager of the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs in Kilkenny told the court that in January 1999 he first became aware of "irregularities" in the Department's office in Callan, Co Kilkenny.
He said he wrote to Mr Patrick Hennessy, but did not receive a reply. A number of other irregularities arose in documents originating in the Callan office. On April 25th, 1999, a fire destroyed a large number of documents in that office, mostly relating to weekly employment sheets, monthly accounts and supplementary welfare allowance.
Mr Kavanagh agreed with George Birmingham SC, prosecuting, that the fire made the Department's investigations more difficult. He said part of the investigation was based on documentation relating to one claimant, Mr Pat O'Neill, which showed that Mr O'Neill had been overpaid by £2,400.
Det Garda Jim Ryan told Mr Birmingham that he met Mr Hennessy at St Luke's Hospital after Marie Hennessy had been rushed there by ambulance. He told Mr Hennessy he did not believe his version of events, and some moments later Mr Hennessy agreed to tell the truth.
Mr Hennessy later told gardai Marie was angry with him after he confessed he had been suspended from his job. They shouted at each other and she told him that he was "no good".
She swung her car jack at him but did not make contact, Mr Hennessy told gardai. He took the jack from his own car and walked back to her. She had her back to him and may have been crying. He hit her on the head with the jack and she shouted: "You bastard!".
He struck her a number of times on the head and she fell to the ground. He later cradled her in his arms, but she did not show any response. He rang 999 and asked for an ambulance and gardai.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Finnegan and a jury.