The jury in the O'Reilly murder trial saw brief flashes of happiness yesterday as they heard about Rachel O'Reilly's life before she was murdered in 2004. They heard how she was reunited with her birth mother, Teresa Lowe, in 1991 and was nurturing a relationship with her second family.
Ms Lowe told the Central Criminal Court that she was 17 when she gave birth to Rachel, whom she called Teresa, in 1973. She made it known that she would not object to being contacted some day - and 18 years later her attractive blonde daughter came looking for her.
Ms Lowe's son Thomas, a carpenter, told how he became a regular visitor to his sister's home as they got to know each other. He did work for Rachel around the house, saying "I wouldn't charge her" because he did not charge family members.
"I was on very good terms with her," he reflected. "We were very close."
The jury had a glimpse of the rural idyll of life in the north Dublin countryside as Thomas recalled how Rachel had a habit of leaving a back door open in her Naul home. He warned her about it "but Rachel said she was completely safe there".
The jury also heard of friendly chats between Rachel and her next-door neighbour, Maura Moore, who described the deceased woman as "a lady" and "very nice".
Victorious days were recalled when businessman John Austen told how Rachel and her husband Joe played softball and were involved in two attempts to break the world record for the longest softball game.
But an unhappier picture was drawn when Mr Austen was asked about problems in the O'Reilly home. He told how the couple were sleeping in separate bedrooms and how Joe O'Reilly was thinking about moving into an apartment.
He was considering an apartment in nearby Balbriggan so he could be close to his two young children, Mr Austen said. "I would have categorised Joe as a very caring father," he added.
Mr Austen attended a dinner party at his partner's home with Joe O'Reilly and Nicki Pelley, whom he described as Mr O'Reilly's "close friend". The dinner was held less than a month before Rachel O'Reilly's death. Asked how close the friendship between Mr O'Reilly and Ms Pelley was, he said that there was little conversation between him and Mr O'Reilly on the issue.
"Did I see intimacy between them? No," he said, but he also answered "no" when asked if it was only a platonic friendship.
Mr O'Reilly sat stoically as this evidence was being heard, clasping his hands and occasionally taking notes. He was one of the few people in Court 2 to have a comfortable seat yesterday due to the public's fascination with the case.
Court staff talked about moving the trial to a larger courtroom as people crushed in to watch the proceedings. Some of them had queued for up to an hour before the doors opened.
The public interest will continue to be fuelled next week when State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy takes the stand.
