A man accused of fracturing another man's skull with a pick-axe handle before stabbing him in the neck and body was trying to defend himself, a trial has heard.
The evidence was heard on the second day of the trial of Mr Gary Kirby (23) at the Central Criminal Court in Limerick.
Mr Kirby of Hyde Road, Limerick, denies the murder of Trevor McNamara (25) at O'Malley Park, Southill, on September 13th, 2002.
The jury heard evidence yesterday from gardaí who arrested Mr Kirby at the scene and later interviewed him at Roxboro Road Garda station.
Mr Kirby had just moved into a rented house in O'Malley Park and he didn't know anyone in the Southill area of Limerick, he told the gardaí. He conceded to them that he had kept a pick-axe handle in the house in case anyone came to fight him, the court heard.
On September 13th, 2002, he was trying to cook a 'boil in the bag' curry, but he didn't have a light for the gas cooker. He went outside the house where he saw Mr McNamara walking up the road and he asked him for a light. Mr McNamara was drunk and drinking cider from a plastic two-litre bottle. He said he would give the accused a light and then he pushed his way into the house and went into the living room area, the court heard.
The victim took off his jacket and said to the accused: "Who do you think you are?" the court heard. Mr Kirby told him to leave the house and as Mr McNamara went to put his jacket back on, the accused saw him taking out a knife so he knew he was "ready to start", the court heard.
In the interview with gardaí, Mr Kirby said he picked up the pick-axe handle and hit Mr McNamara with it about five times. The victim dropped the knife, the accused picked it up and ran straight into Mr McNamara with it. Mr Kirby then rang an ambulance.
In the interview with gardaí, the accused said he didn't mean to kill Mr McNamara. "I was trying to defend myself. I'm sorry it came to this. I know he was going to stab me."
The State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, also gave evidence yesterday of a post-mortem examination carried out on Mr McNamara's body. She said the victim had suffered six lacerations to the scalp and his skull had been fractured. He also had five superficial stab wounds to the neck and a further five stab wounds to the chest. Three of the knife wounds to the chest had penetrated deep into the body and had damaged the heart and liver.
Dr Cassidy said there was no evidence of typical knife defence wounds which she said suggested that the victim was already unconscious when he was stabbed. She concluded that the cause of death was either a blow to the head or a stab wound to the heart. The trial continues today.