State witnesses accused of lying at Traveller trial

The trial of five Travellers accused of murdering their cousin at a family funeral in Co Sligo has reached the stage of closing…

The trial of five Travellers accused of murdering their cousin at a family funeral in Co Sligo has reached the stage of closing speeches.

A defence lawyer put it to the jury at the Central Criminal Court yesterday that the two main State witnesses had lied to "put the McDonagh family away".

Mr Brendan Nix, defending, told the jury at the Central Criminal Court in his closing speech: "When so many lies are told, you are left with the conclusion that there's a conspiracy at play. These liars want to put away the McDonagh family."

Five members of the one family, Mr Michael McDonagh snr (58), Mr Martin McDonagh snr (53), Mr Michael McDonagh jnr (29), Mr Patrick McDonagh (33) and Mr Martin McDonagh jnr (26), from Hertfordshire in England, have denied the murder of Patrick Ward (38) in May 1999 at Carrownanty cemetery, Ballymote, Co Sligo, before the funeral of his uncle.

READ MORE

The five also deny the attempted murder of Mr Patrick Ward snr, Mr Patrick Ward jnr and Mr Edward Ward on the same date.

Patrick Ward, a father of six originally from Galway but living in Manchester, had travelled to Ireland for the funeral of his uncle in Ballymote, Co Sligo, on May 10th, 1999, when he was fatally shot.

Mr Nix said this case was about "recall, recollection and identification". The prosecution's case centred on two witnesses; Mr Patrick Ward snr and his son, Mr Patrick Ward jnr.

Mr Nix asked the jury of seven women and five men if the father and son came across as truthful and honest people, "or are they lying?"

"A thief may escape, but a liar never will", Mr Nix said. "A liar will get caught in his own honeyed words, caught, I suggest to you, like the two Wards."

Mr Nix said Mr Ward snr had said the gunmen went from three to four then to five, who opened fire outside the cemetery. In this case, he said, "we are blessed with a witness of the calibre of Mr Thomas Tigue".

Without the former State solicitor who lived opposite the graveyard, Mr Nix said, "there would have been a conspiracy of silence".

"There was no mention of a slash-hook by the Wards," Mr Nix said, but it was the evidence of Mr Tigue who said Mr Ward jnr was carrying a slash-hook, "the slash-hook that 'Jaws' jnr wielded like Harry Potter's wand or like Superwoman with her bracelets going bing, bing, bing against the bullets".

Mr Ward jnr, Mr Nix continued, had told the jury he was followed by four gunmen into the driveway of Mr Tigue's house across the road from the cemetery. "But Mr Tigue said he saw one gunman coming into the driveway."

Mr Nix asked the jury, why would Mr Tigue lie? "He's not trying to fit up or frame anybody".

"When so many lies are told you are left with the conclusion that there's a conspiracy at work here. These liars want to put away the McDonagh family," Mr Nix said.

Mr Nix described the Wards' evidence to the court as "a magnificent performance".

The Wards were "lying to you", he told the jury, "they have told you many porkies."

Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley, prosecuting, told the jury in his closing speech that there were considerable inconsistencies between Mr Ward jnr's and Mr Ward snr's evidence" but, Mr Buckley said, "that doesn't mean they are not telling the truth".