A man accused of murdering his uncle at a Co Kerry farm in 1996 did not act alone, the Central Criminal Court has been told.
He had acted "in common concert" with another to carry out a cold-blooded, premeditated murder, the prosecution counsel contended at the beginning of his trial, which was also told the killing involved considerable violence.
Mr Eugene Daly (23), of Dooneen, Kilcummin, Killarney, pleaded not guilty last Monday to the murder of his uncle Mr Patrick Daly (69) at the same address on or about January 18th, 1996.
Mr Gregory Murphy SC told the jury there was an element of teamwork involved in the killing and the defendant and another decided to kill Mr Patrick Daly "and acting together, did so".
Mr Patrick Daly's body was found at the bottom of a disused well on his farm in January 1996 after neighbours told gardai he was missing. The assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, gave evidence his death was caused by multiple blows to the head with a blunt weapon, consistent with an iron bar shown to the jury.
The court was told Mr Eugene Daly and members of his family worked the 105-acre farm owned by Mr Patrick Daly and situated some five miles outside Killarney. They lived in one house on the farm while Mr Patrick Daly lived in another some 150 yards away.
When Mr Patrick Daly's mother died she departed from the tradition of leaving her property to the eldest son, whom she had fallen out with, and left it instead to the younger Patrick.
Mr Patrick Daly had leased the land to his younger brother and his two nephews, one of whom was the defendant. It should be said, said Mr Murphy, that Mr Eugene Daly had not been as helpful on the farm as either his father or his brother, who got on well with the deceased.
However, "unhappy differences" had arisen between the two elderly brothers, and Mr Patrick Daly had become dissatisfied with the work being done on the farm.
It was believed Mr Daly had put his land into the hands of his auctioneer to be let, though when Mr Eugene Daly's brother Jim went to inquire of this from the auctioneer, he had refused to divulge the information.
Things were exacerbated when two letters were received from Mr Patrick Daly's solicitor, saying the services being provided were unsatisfactory.
It was the prosecution case, said Mr Murphy, that Mr Eugene Daly and another "decided they would rid themselves of this man". "Let's call a spade a spade," he said: it was the State's case that the accused and another named man had murdered Patrick Daly in a dispute related to land.
The pathologist, Dr Bolster, told the court she was taken to a disused well on the deceased man's farm on January 24th, 1996. Mr Daly's left leg and hand could be seen protruding from the water.
Her subsequent post-mortem showed the cause of death to be brain swelling, contusion and laceration due to blunt-force trauma to the head, she told Mr Adrian Hardiman SC, defending.
Dr Bolster was shown an iron bar which the prosecution contends was used in the killing. The iron bar was consistent with the injuries to Mr Patrick Daly, she said. She agreed the attack involved considerable violence.
Further prosecution witnesses are being called today as the trial continues. Garda evidence of certain factual details in the case is to be heard today and agreed between prosecution and defence. This would save a great deal of time, Mr Justice Carney told the jury yesterday.