A ferry booking to the UK for a man later convicted over a fatal hit and run was made within 24 hours of the incident using a credit card belonging to his father, a court has heard.
The same credit card was also used to book a flight to Australia for Shane Fitzgerald from Meelin in Cork. The €179 fare with ferry ticket was paid for by a Maestra Debit Card registered to his father.
Dan Joe Fitzgerald, of Knockeen, Knockduff, Meelin, denies a charge that between July 1st and July 13th 2012 he did an act or acts with the intention of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Shane Fitzgerald for dangerous driving causing the death of Paud O'Leary.
Mr O'Leary, from Gneeveguilla, Co Kerry, was fatally injured when he was struck while out on a training cycle near his home at 5am on July 1st 2012. On March 20th, 2015, Shane Fitzgerald, then 23, was convicted and jailed for five years for dangerous driving causing his death.
Ferry
Declan Moynihan, a marketing systems manager for Irish Ferries, told the jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that a booking was made for Shane Fitzgerald and a car at 4.13 am on July 2nd 2012 on the Irish Ferries ferry from Dublin to Liverpool and that he checked in at 6am.
Mr Moynihan told defence counsel John Phelan SC that he did not know who made the payment as the booking was made online.
Josephine Jones, of AIB, told the court the Maestra debit card was linked to a bank account at the AIB branch in Newmarket belonging to Dan Joe Fitzgerald. It was the only card attached to the account and a payment of €179 was made from the account on July 5th, 2012, she said.
Hana Hlochova, of travel firm Visa First, told the court that they were contacted at 11.04pm on July 3rd and again at 11.28pm on July 3rd by Shane Fitzgerald by email to organise a work holiday visa for Australia and other matters including an Australian bank account, tax number and SIM card.
They organised the matters and they notified Shane Fitzgerald by email. He later contacted them by phone on July 5th to give them credit card details and the €573 fee was subsequently paid using an AIB Laser card registered to a Daniel Fitzgerald, she told the court.
Karim Kassali, of World Wide Flights, said they arranged a one way flight from Heathrow to Perth in the name of Shane Fitzgerald on July 12th, 2012 and the £797 ticket was registered as being bought by Daniel Fitzgerald as it was his card that was used to purchase it.
The case continues.
