A man accused of murder was chased by a gang of youths minutes before another man was stabbed to death, a prosecution witness in the Central Criminal Court said yesterday. Mr Michael Doyle (22), Tonduff, Close, Greenpark, Greenhills, Tallaght, Dublin, has denied the murder of Mark O'Keefe (20) on May 30th, 1997, at a football pitch in Tallaght. Mr Michael Duffy told the jury he was playing football with a group of youths when a fight broke out on the pitch nearby. He saw a man with black hair, later believed to be Mr Doyle, run away but was chased by a gang of between 15 and 20 youths.
The man he saw disappeared and the crowd dispersed but minutes later he returned carrying two knives, Mr Duffy said. A gold Mercedes car then pulled up near him and "a couple of fellas got out".
After one man was seen talking to the accused, the car drove off and Mr Doyle left the scene.
Minutes later he "came around the corner and started walking towards him [the deceased], then I heard a scream and I looked and seen the first chap with the knives hit Mark O'Keefe once in the stomach," Mr Duffy said.
Ms Sharon Greene told the court that after her children came running into her home telling her there was trouble outside, she went out and saw a stabbing take place.
Ms Greene told the court her home in Tymonville Park, Tallaght, was facing the field where the incident occurred.
She said when she went outside, there was a gang of about 30 youths on the football pitch of all different ages and that "something was after happening because they were all squabbling and all, like."
She said she saw two men running away but "straight away they came back".
"I seen a flash and Mr O'Keefe went down. I seen Mr O'Keefe fall to the ground," she said.
Mr Eamon Leahy SC, prosecuting, previously told the jury that after a fracas involving a gang of youths attacking Mr Doyle with poles and a Stanley knife, Mr Doyle fled the scene and returned later with a number of long kitchen knives hidden in his clothing.
Mr Leahy told the jury that according to a Garda statement allegedly made by the accused man, the gang of youths spotted Mr Doyle and yelled: "Grab him, grab him."
Another man standing near Mr Doyle approached him with his empty hands outstretched while another woman urged him to run, Mr Leahy said.
Mr Doyle then allegedly pulled the knives from his clothing, brandishing them where the oncoming man could see them, the court heard. Mr Leahy told the court Mr O'Keefe suffered severe injuries as a result of the stabbing including a piercing of the right ventricle of the heart.
Mr Doyle later took a train to Belfast, a ferry to Glasgow and a train to London, the prosecution alleged.
The trial before Mr Justice Kearns and a jury continues today.