A barrister has claimed he used a sword to defend himself because he believed he was about to be head-butted or punched by a barber during a row over damage to a parked car.
Mr James Gilhooly SC said he feared for his safety after Mr Shane Byrne barged into him following an exchange about who had damaged a bumper on Mr Byrne's wife's car in Malahide in August, 1999.
"There was a point he advanced at me and was breathing in my personal space in a way I felt he was going to head-butt me or punch me or knock me over.
"He was a man 20 years younger than me and a whole lot fitter and I felt the only way to defend myself was to keep him at a distance in some way."
Mr Gilhooly, who denies charges of assault and unlawful possession of the blunt sword he used for sports fencing, was giving evidence on the second day of his trial at the Dublin District Court. When Mr Byrne asked Mr Gilhooly if he saw anyone hit his car, a row developed with the barrister denying he had hit it.
Mr Gilhooly told the court he invited Mr Byrne to see if there was any evidence of an impact on his car but "he kept on saying I must have done it".
Mr Gilhooly walked to the nearby Malahide Garda station in the hope of getting a garda to examine the cars should there be any claim. He was told there were gardai on patrol who would go to the scene and he returned to his car.
He started taking down the registration of the Byrne car but as he did, Mr Byrne came up to him "in a very aggressive sort of fashion".
"I expected him to pass me by but instead he bumped into me very heavily and almost knocked me off my feet".
Mr Gilhooly said he was "taken aback" and felt he was about to be assaulted. A fencing enthusiast since college, he remembered he had his gear in the boot.
"I stepped back and reached into the boot and took it (the sword) out and pointed it at him." Mr Byrne stepped back but started jeering and teasing, saying "hit me, I dare you".
Eventually, Mr Gilhooly put the sword in "a resting position" although by this time gardai had arrived and saw him waving it. He claimed he waved it to get their attention.
Judge Mary Collins said she would give her decision on June 22nd.
Part of Wednesday's report on the case may have been unclear. The sentence "He denied he was the aggressor or `like a man possessed' but admitted he had been convicted a month previously of a public order offence and also had a conviction for possession of cannabis" referred to Mr Shane Byrne, and not Mr James Gilhooly.