A best friend of Brian Murphy, who was kicked to death in a fight outside the Burlington Hotel, has told a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury that the deceased was in a fight with a former Blackrock College pupil before he was knocked unconscious.
Mr Matthew Moran, who attended Club Anabel's with the deceased on the night he died, told Mr Brendan Grehan SC (with Mr Edward Comyn SC), prosecuting, that they left the club together at the end of the night.
They were with two other friends as well as two youths he didn't know and they smoked two joints of cannabis after leaving. They then walked out of the gate of the hotel together in a large group and he remembered Mr Murphy having a verbal disagreement with another person.
Mr Moran said he recognised this person as being a former pupil of Blackrock College. He then somehow got separated from the larger group but he saw Mr Murphy and the other youth squaring up to each other and both started throwing punches.
Witness said there was a lot people standing around shouting. Someone then bumped into him and he tried to get to Brian but there were a number of people standing in his way. He then saw the deceased propped up against a wall with a group of people standing around him.
Mr Moran said: "I got kind of angry and started shouting, telling people to give him some air. Brian was unconscious and I tried to revive him by slapping his face and opening his eyes. I found a weak pulse but he was completely unresponsive.
"I called the ambulance. His whole face was a horrible shade of white. There was a big gash on his chin and he was missing some teeth. There was blood coming from his nose and his mouth. It was horrible."
Mr Moran said he brought Brian over to the grass verge in front of the hotel and the ambulance arrived after about 20 minutes.
He wanted them to take him straight away but they seemed to be taking their time.
He took a taxi to the hospital with two other friends but couldn't really remember who was with him. At the hospital nobody was telling them anything and he fell asleep because he was supposed to be in work that morning. Some time later someone woke him up and told him Brian had passed away.
Mr Andrew Frame (22), from Nutley Lane, Donnybrook, Mr Sean Mackey (23), from South Park, Foxrock, Mr Desmond Ryan (22), from Cunningham Road, Dalkey, all Co Dublin, and Mr Dermot Laide (22), from Rossvale, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan have pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Murphy at Sussex Road on August 31st, 2000.