Neighbours tell of eccentric individual

Neighbours of Mr Ian Bailey yesterday described him as an eccentric individual who destroyed religious artefacts and was "rumoured to howl at the moon", a court heard yesterday.

Mr Brian Jackson, a neighbour who had occasional contact with Mr Bailey, said he was a strange man, and he never had much time for him.

"I first met him when he was working at the fish factory in Schull. My daughter was working there as well.

"It was around that time that I heard his hobby was destroying religious artefacts," Mr Jackson said.

"He had a reputation for walking the lanes with his big 'thinking' stick, mainly at night and early in the morning."

When questioned by counsel for Mr Bailey, Mr James Duggan, on what he meant by describing his client as a "strange person", Mr Jackson said: "There are lots of strange people there [west Cork]", to laughter in the courtroom.

Mrs Caroline Leftwick, a shopkeeper in Schull, also told the court said Mr Bailey had the reputation of being a strange character.

"I had heard rumours of him howling at the moon at night and heard about the assault on Jules Thomas," she said.

When questioned by Mr Duggan on how many "strange" people there were in west Cork, Mrs Leftwich said: "Very many. They're a motley crew."

She also said she had been reluctant to give evidence because west Cork was a small community, but she had been subpoenaed by the newspapers' legal team.

"I'm nervous. We all have to go home and live in west Cork when this is over. I don't like being the centre of attention," Mrs Leftwich said.

Ms Ceri Williams, another neighbour of Mr Bailey, said Mr Bailey was considered eccentric and that she found him intimidating. At a party a few weeks after the murder, Mr Bailey had been "pestering" her and repeatedly speaking to her in French.

As she left the party, another local, Ms Diane Martin, turned to Mr Bailey and called him a murderer, Ms Williams said. On another occasion, Mr Bailey had spoken to her about attempting to strangle his previous wife, Ms Sarah Limerick.

"He said he lost his temper. It frightened him, he saw red and blacked out. The impression he gave was that he was not aware he was doing this deed, and when he had his hand around her neck, he said, he was shocked that he could have been driven to that point," Ms Williams said.

She said, however, she did not have dealings with him after learning that he had assaulted his partner, Ms Thomas.

Under cross-examination from Mr Duggan, Ms Williams agreed that she hated Mr Bailey.