A man accused of the murder of his navy comrade sat with his face in his hands staring at the deck when the captain of the L.E. Eithne informed the entire crew that a young sailor had drowned in the River Liffey.
Sean Lundon's cabin-mate Mr Keith Daly told a jury at the Central Criminal Court yesterday that he returned to his cabin to see the accused sitting on a chair in the middle of the cabin.
"He had his face in his hands and he was staring at the deck," he told Mr Padraig Dwyer for the prosecution.
A naval apprentice, Mr Daly was giving evidence on the fourth day of the trial of Mr Lundon (21) of James Connolly Park, Tipperary town. Mr Lundon, the ship's apprentice mechanic, has denied the murder of fellow crewman, Mr Brian Gorey (21) of Devon Close, Castletroy View, Limerick, at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin on April 22nd, 2001.
Mr Daly told gardaí that Mr Lundon looked "dazed, shocked and disappointed".
A number of young sailors who were drinking in the ship's recreation room with the accused and Brian Gorey in the hours before the incident gave evidence that there was no hostility between the two.
Able Seaman Sinead Gilligan told the court that she had left the recreation room at around 4.30 a.m. on the morning of April 22nd, leaving Sean Lundon in the company of some others and Brian Gorey asleep on the couch.
Mr David Humphries told the court he left the recreation room at 5 a.m., leaving Brian Gorey asleep on the couch and Sean Lundon sitting alone at a table.
It is the State's case that the accused man assaulted Able Seaman Gorey in the ship's recreation room in the early hours of the morning and then took or carried him down a corridor to the ship's starboard side where he was dropped into the river.
The trial continues on Tuesday.