Linton at the centre of last day of evidence

MR David Marshall was trying hard to piece together the events at Blackhall Stud in March 1992, but prosecuting counsel was growing exasperated.

"Do you have any recollection of this night at all?" asked Mr Liam Reidy, as his cross examination reached a climax.

Mr Marshall protested that he did. But his admission that events were "very, very confusing" seemed to sum up the fifth and last day of evidence in Ms Rocca's case for damages against her former lover, Mr Cathal Ryan.

The well known hairdresser said he had been "shocked and frozen in bed" as the incidents, which led to the case unfolded. The "fight" had moved quickly from the other bed in his room to the floor and then outside the door. When it was over, he was "glad to see the back of them" and waited a while before "I put my head outside the door to see if I was safe".

Mr Marshall was one of three key witnesses appearing yesterday but most of the attention focused on Ms Sarah Linton, the "other woman in the incident, who was in court for the first time.

Looking both elegant and frail, Ms Linton said she had travelled from her home in Tuscany to appear, having initially been reluctant "to relive the whole scene again". Occasionally tearful, she relived it yesterday but in a way which Ms Rocca's counsel claimed differed in many respects from the version already given by her former boyfriend, Mr Cathal Ryan, and the one to be given later by Mr Marshall.

She agreed she had been attacked by Ms Rocca but did not recall being dragged by her hair from the bed. It was not true either that she was "punched, dragged and kicked in the middle of the floor" and she had not seen Mr Ryan slap Ms Rocca, or do anything other "grapple with her and put her outside".

After the incident, she became aware of Mr Marshall "watching, wide awake, staring at me". Later, looking for Mr Ran, she heard "whispered voices from behind the bath room door".

When her cross examination ended, she stood at the back of the court while counsel asked if she could he excused further attendance at the trial. Permission was granted.

Another important witness, the Blackhall hostess, Ms June Moloney, protested she was in court "totally against my will".

She was very angry because this whole saga" could have been settled in a "far more dignified" way. She was particularly annoyed that her 30th birthday party had been portrayed as a "sordid affair".

She placed strong emphasis on her "house rules" which precluded guests going upstairs without permission. Ms Rocca had no such permission, she said, in contrast to Mr Ryan, Ms Linton and Mr Marshall. She also questioned Ms Rocca's explanation that she was looking for a bathroom when there were "four or five" bathrooms downstairs.

She was asked if she thought it had been a mistake to invite "these three people" to the party. "From where I'm sitting now ... "she said, ruefully, letting the words trail away.

If she could do things differently, she added, "I wouldn't celebrate my birthday ever again."