A central Criminal Court jury was told yesterday a Kilkenny man pleading not guilty to the murder of another claimed he killed his victim because he made a sexual advance to him that awakened memories of abuse.
The jury in the trial of Mr Sean Bambrick (23) of Cypress Green, Loughboy, Kilkenny, heard the victim, Mr Michael O'Sullivan (44), of no fixed address, was found dead by a priest in the grounds of Mill Hill Missionary Fathers, Waterford Road, Kilkenny at 6.50 a.m. on May 1st last year.
When he was arraigned yesterday morning, Mr Bambrick pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr O'Sullivan at or near that venue on April 30th, 1997.
Mr Peter Charleton SC, prosecuting, said the deceased was a man with "some very sad circumstances in his life". Mr O'Sullivan had married and had one child but that marriage had failed, largely due to his drinking.
In his life he had been admitted some 20 times to hospitals for treatment related to alcohol. In the weeks before his death he was a voluntary patient at the local St Canice's Hospital, again in relation to alcohol abuse. But on the day he died he checked out of the hospital and went to collect two weeks' disability allowance from the post office.
He then visited his family and left £29.80 with his wife, keeping just less than £100. He had "unfortunately used a lot of that money for drink".
The deceased was well liked around Kilkenny town and as testament to this, when he visited his GP on the evening of his death, the doctor had spent an hour trying to persuade him to act to end his problem.
The court heard before he left the doctor's house Mr O'Sullivan was given a coat and a postcard with a picture of Kilkenny Castle on it. On the back his doctor had written: "For godsakes, and for the sake of your family, give up the booze".
The postcard was found on the ground beside his body the following day.
Mr Bambrick too had problems, the prosecution counsel said, one of which appeared to be drink. On the night of the killing Outside that chip shop he met Michael O'Sullivan and they were seen "going off together, apparently on friendly terms".
In statements to gardai, admitted by the defence as voluntary and accurate, Mr Bambrick said Mr O'Sullivan had asked him to go with him into St Joseph's, the grounds of the Mill Hill Missionary Fathers, now known as Freshford House, to drink cider.
Mr Bambrick told gardai that in the grounds he took one mouthful of the cider and then got up to go. He claimed Mr O'Sullivan said: "You're not going yet, the night is young" and had then said: "I fancied you ever since I saw you".
When he went back to his bicycle he said Mr O'Sullivan followed him and he "rubbed up against me". Mr Bambrick said he was reminded of past sexual abuse he had suffered and he lost control.
He hit Mr O'Sullivan and then repeatedly struck him, using a stake he picked from the ground.
Mr Charleton told the jury it was its job to decide if what happened was that the accused had "lost control" due to provocation or whether he could have stopped himself. "The net issue is intent", he said.
Agreeing, Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for the accused, said it was far too early for the jury to make up its mind one way or the other, but it would hear some "very heartrending evidence".
Mr MacEntee said his client admitted Mr O'Sullivan made a sexual advance to him after which he was "overwhelmed by memories of past abuse". an Mr Bambrick went home afterwards and told his father and his brother he had just killed a man. The next day he collected his belongings and bought a bus ticket to Dublin and a boat ticket to London.
He was arrested by gardai at Busaras in Dublin at 7.35 p.m. on May 1st and after being lawfully detained at Store Street Garda station he was taken to Kilkenny and on the following day was charged with murder.
The trial continues today before Mr Justice Barr and the jury.