Man denies murder of young Tallaght father

A Dublin man has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the murder of a 17-year-old youth in a Tallaght street brawl…

A Dublin man has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the murder of a 17-year-old youth in a Tallaght street brawl.

Mark Warner (22), Donomore Avenue, Tallaght, denies fatally stabbing Jamie Keogh, a father of one, Millbrook Lawns, Tallaght, on July 30th, 2004. He has also pleaded not guilty to breaching the peace through fighting on the same evening.

Justin Dylan SC, prosecuting, told the jury that Mr Keogh visited the mother of his child, Louise Cunningham, about midnight on July 29th. A row broke out and Ms Cunningham's father came down to investigate.

"It appears he was then assaulted by the late Jamie Keogh," Mr Dylan told the jury.

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Mr Warner arrived at the house to find Mr Cunningham lying on the ground. A fight ensued between Mr Warner and Mr Keogh, for which the defendant has been charged with breaching the peace through fighting.

Mr Dylan told the jury that Mr Keogh left but returned later to the Warner household, where a scuffle ensued between Mr Keogh and Mr Warner's brother, Kevin.

"The fight broke up. The parties separated. At that point the prosecution would say that Mark Warner came from the side of the road with a knife and stabbed Jamie Keogh in the stomach."

The trial continues before Mr Justice Henry Abbott and a jury.