The main witness in the trial of two brothers accused of murdering a Co Offaly farmer, has told the Central Criminal Court that they “turned on” the deceased after they “invited” him onto their land to get his heifer.
Daniel-Joseph "DJ" Byrne (38), of Hammer Lane, Borness, Mountmellick, Co Laois and Jason Byrne
(32), of the same address, both deny murdering Edward "Eddie" Dempsey (49), on October 11th 2007.
The deceased's brother, John Dempsey, took the witness stand and told the jury that on December 18th 2006, he saw the two accused beating his brother, after they told him to come onto their land to get his heifer.
Mr Dempsey said he saw DJ Byrne hit Eddie "with the greatest power...he hit him over the right ear as hard as he could swing."
He denied that Eddie opened the gate onto the Bryne's farmyard and pushed it into DJ Byrne before he was struck.
Eddie Dempsey died in Portlaoise Hospital ten months after the alleged assault.
John Dempsey told the court that he and Eddie worked on their farm together and that around 100 acres of their land was situated on Hammer Lane, close to the Byrne's property.
On December 18th 2006, Mr Dempsey said he spotted one of their heifers in the Byrne's field.
"Naturally I went to get her" he told the court. He said he drove to Hammer Lane, but as he attempted to bring the animal back onto his own land, the cow became frightened and ran back into the Byrne's field.
As he was leaving, John Dempsey said he heard a car starting and "revving like mad" at one of the
Byrne's houses.
He saw Jason Byrne in a car whom he said "started roaring and screaming at me about the heifer...He roared at me twice or three times to get the heifer off his land. He was out of his mind, I was in dread of him."
Mr Dempsey said he and Eddie contacted gardaí at Portarlington before driving back to the lane in
their jeep. Their farm worker Tom Gorman also went with them.
Mr Dempsey said that on the way there Eddie was "afraid, but in good form. He didn't want any hassle."
Once they got to the farmyard, Mr Dempsey said they saw the two accused standing in the yard.
He told the jury "DJ said: 'Come on in and get your heifer.' They were smiling, the two of them. DJ had the handle of a shovel and the other had the handle of a brush."
Mr Dempsey said Eddie was gone about a yard inside the gate when the Byrne brothers told him he was on private property. He said he saw Jason Byrne hitting Eddie on the legs and then he saw DJ hit him over the right ear.
"The blow to the head really finished Eddie. I remember him saying: 'who hit me?' Then DJ said to me: 'you come on, you're next.' I was in an awful state."
John Dempsey said he pulled his brother out of the yard and helped him to stand up, but he said Eddie was disoriented and lay across the front of the jeep before the Gardai came and brought him to Portlaoise Hospital.
In cross-examination, counsel for the defense Mr Paul O'Higgins SC, put it to Mr Dempsey that "the last thing" the Byrnes wanted was for Eddie to come onto their land.
"No you're wrong" Mr Dempsey replied "Eddie was told to come in and get the heifer and when he got in, he was turned on by the two lads."
Mr O'Higgins also put it to the witness that it was "absolutely not true" that the two accused hit Eddie after he fell to the ground. Mr Dempsey denied this.
He accepted that he and Eddie had been "in and out" of the courts over the years because of incidents relating to their cattle.
Before sending the jury home for the day, Mr Justice George Birmingham told them not to "jump to
conclusions at this stage."