Three prosecution witnesses in the Josie Dwyer manslaughter trial have contradicted statements they made to gardai about details of the killing. Two of the three also claimed that gardai falsely recorded their statements about the attack on Mr Dwyer by anti-drugs vigilantes.
Mr Trevor McMahon, a resident in the Fatima Mansions flat complex in south central Dublin, said he was forced to make a statement to gardai and that a signature at the bottom of the statement was not his. Ms Sandra Doyle told prosecuting counsel Mr George Birmingham SC that a statement she made to gardai was inaccurate and she wished to withdraw it.
Ms Sinead Costelloe contradicted a statement she made to gardai about the whereabouts of two of the accused on the night of the killing and said she couldn't remember parts of the statement.
Four men, Mr Hugh Byrne (33), of Dolphin House; Mr Mark Cooke (25), of Dolphin House; Mr John Fitzpatrick (35), of Fatima Mansions; and Mr William Kenny (55), of St Anthony's Road, all Rialto, deny the manslaughter of drug addict Mr Josie Dwyer on May 14th, 1996. The four have also pleaded not guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm on Mr Alan Byrne and of violent disorder on the same date.
A total of 12 men are charged with the manslaughter of Mr Dwyer, which is alleged to have occurred after an anti-drugs meeting in the Dolphin's Barn area of south inner-city Dublin. Mr Birmingham read a statement Mr McMahon made to gardai in which he described Mr Alan Byrne being attacked by a crowd of people.
In the statement, Mr McMahon said people were shouting at Mr Byrne to get out of the Fatima Mansions area, and Mr Byrne said "something about a knife", before the crowd started kicking him. Mr McMahon told Mr Birmingham that he never made the statement.
In another part of the statement, Mr McMahon said he saw Mr Byrne lying on the ground in the Basin Lane area.
A group of people were kicking him and another group of people were kicking "someone else ". Mr McMahon repeated to Mr Birmingham that he didn't make such a statement to gardai.
In her statement, Ms Doyle said she saw Mr Kenny hit Mr Byrne with a stick and his fist.
Mr Kenny also hit Mr Dwyer "mostly on the side". He also hit Mr Dwyer with a stick and punched him. Mr Dwyer was curled up in a ball and was shouting: "Leave me alone, leave me alone." Ms Doyle told Mr Birmingham she had not made such a statement to gardai. She added that she couldn't remember why she signed the statement.
In direct evidence, she said she saw a group of people on Basin Lane "punching and kicking and doing everything" to Mr Byrne and Mr Dwyer. Mr Kenny and Mr Fitzpatrick blocked her from going down the lane and told her to go home. They were carrying sticks, but didn't assault Mr Alan Byrne or Mr Dwyer.
Another man later took Mr Kenny's stick from him. Cross-examined by Mr Diarmuid McGuinness SC, for Mr Hugh Byrne, Ms Doyle agreed that her statement to gardai said that a man, not one of the accused, hit Mr Dwyer on the side of the legs with a baton. She also told gardai he then beat Mr Dwyer repeatedly on the head with the baton. "It sounded like a block of wood but it was Josie's head," the statement said.
Earlier, Mr Noel Lennon told the court that he saw 20 to 30 people chase Mr Dwyer and Mr Alan Byrne through Fatima Mansions. Two cars pulled up, and "a scrap started" between Mr Byrne and the chasing group. He recognised Mr Fitzpatrick and Mr Kenny in the crowd.
One or two people got out of the car and distributed poles and batons, and he saw Mr Fitzpatrick with a baton. A man with a beard had a hammer, and another had a baseball bat. Mr Dwyer and Mr Byrne were chased down Basin Lane.
The trial continues before Judge Dominic Lynch.