A man who admits killing but denies murdering a construction worker, and made reference to a "Conor McGregor knockout", told gardaí that he was defending himself when he struck the deceased.
"I'm sorry I didn't go home," Maurice Boland told detectives.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster also told defence counsel for the defendant, who denies murdering 26-year-old Cian Gallagher, that the deceased's blood alcohol level was quite high eight days after the killing, but it would have been significantly higher at the time of the incident when he went into a deep coma.
The expert witness agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that someone with such a blood alcohol level would be more vulnerable to a fall as their reaction time would be slower, and they would be unable to break their fall.
Mr Boland (36), of Bridgeview Close, Tallow, Co Waterford, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Cian Gallagher (26) at Barrack Street in Tallow on November 10th, 2022.
The jury heard that the deceased man was from Malahide Road in Dublin 17 and worked in a managerial type role mainly on civil construction projects up to the time of his death.
The 12 jurors were told by the State in the opening address that Mr Gallagher, who was working on a construction project in Co Waterford, died from a brain bleed eight days after he was punched and knocked to the ground by the accused man in the early hours of November 2nd.
CCTV
At the opening of the trial, prosecution counsel told the jury that CCTV footage shows the accused punching Mr Gallagher when the deceased had his hands up and was backing away.
Giving evidence on Monday, Dr Bolster told Roisin Lacey SC, prosecuting, that she carried out a postmortem on Mr Gallagher on the date of his death on November 10 at Cork University Hospital.
She said Mr Gallagher had been moved to Cork University Hospital after the incident on November 2nd and that he was in a deep coma with a significant downward displacement of the brain, which was an indication of very significant brain damage.
The expert witness testified that she had viewed CCTV footage of the incident and saw Mr Gallagher falling backwards and hitting the back of his head on the ground, after which he was deeply comatose.
In her evidence, she said the deceased was 180cm in height and weighed 70kg, which she described as a slim build.
She said he had a very superficial abrasion or graze under the lower jaw bone.
Dr Bolster testified that there was also bruising to the right anterior temporal region and a large area of bruising at the back of the scalp under which there was a fracture to the skull. She said haemorrhage was present in the temporal bone at the base of the skull.
Toxicology
A toxicology report detected 164mgs of alcohol in Mr Gallagher's system, which she said was the equivalent of between five and six pints.
"As he was in a comatose state the alcohol would have been metabolised," she added.
She said the deceased had a bad chest infection at the time of death.
In conclusion, Dr Bolster said there were small areas of bruising to the right area of the scalp and the abrasions were in keeping with a fall onto the back of the head. No facial injuries were identified apart from a very small superficial area to the chin.
The witness said there was no other evidence of significant trauma to the body. She said there was quite significant trauma to the head or brain in keeping with why Mr Gallagher had gone into a deep coma straight away after the incident. She said the deceased was not getting enough blood supply to the brain.
She pointed out that there was bruising to the right temporal area, which could be due to a blow to the side of the head or from the fall.
Dr Bolster said the cause of death was a traumatic brain injury due to a fall onto the back of the head.
Under cross-examination, the witness agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that she had watched the incident on CCTV footage and had seen Mr Gallagher falling onto the ground.
She also agreed that the deceased's blood alcohol level was quite high on November 10 but would have been significantly higher at the time of the incident eight days earlier.
Previously in cross-examination, barman David O'Brien had told the accused's counsel that Mr Gallagher was a 'small bit merry' when he left the pub that night and may have had up to eight pints.
Injuries
When asked by Mr Bowman today whether someone with such a blood alcohol level would have been more vulnerable to a fall of this nature, Dr Bolster said they would as their reaction time would be slower, and they would not be able to break their fall.
She further agreed that an injury of this type is consistent with being intoxicated and falling onto the back of the head.
"Someone of their own volition can fall over as a result of being intoxicated without being pushed?" asked counsel. The witness agreed that this was the case. She also agreed that the loss of consciousness is as a result of a fall onto the tarmac.
She added: "The fall is what led to the traumatic brain injury which led to his death and why he went into a deep coma was the cause of the fall onto the back of the head. He went into a deep coma straight away".
Asked about the injuries identified on the face, Dr Bolster agreed there was superficial bruising on the right side of the chin and deep bruising on the temporal muscle. She said the blunt force trauma was from being struck or falling.
Mr Bowman put it to Dr Bolster that there was an "unfortunate reference" by his client "to a Conor McGregor type punch" and asked whether there would be more significant injuries from a punch of this type. Dr Bolster said there wasn't enough force to cause any fractures to the underlying bone and no facial injuries to the front of the face.
Shown a photograph of an injury to the defendant's right ring finger, Dr Bolster said the two grazes were consistent with a hand coming into contact with a hard surface. She said it could have been caused by a punch or a graze.
In his garda interviews on November 2, Mr Boland said he had got off the bus when "a lad" he didn't know was asking him to go with him. "Words were exchanged, he went to attack me and I hit him once back. After I hit him he was knocked out."
"Only thing I remember is when he went to hit me I hit him.
"He went to hit me and I hit him, he was knocked out, it was something that happened, it was a pure accident," he continued.
I'm sorry I didn't go home.
Mr Boland told officers he had defended himself and then "struck" the deceased. "He asked me to follow him, I'm sorry I didn't go home," he said.
He added: "It happened so fast, it just when he went to hit me, I struck him, he dropped. I didn't realise how bad it was". The accused said he hit Mr Gallagher only once and that his punch landed on the side of the deceased's face.
Mr Boland continued: "He dropped and was knocked out. I don't know if he banged his head when he fell. I hope he's ok, I'll find it very hard to live if anything happens to him".
"After I hit him he went straight out, he was out straight away. Whether he hit his head when he fell I just didn't know. When he fell I didn't see what he hit. I was just more shocked as he wasn't getting up," said the defendant.
The accused was shown CCTV footage of the altercation and Mr Boland accepted he had approached Mr Gallagher on Barrack Street as he was looking for "a light". "We having words and I hit him once".
He later told gardaí that he had roughly hit Mr Gallagher twice. "He was saying something about Ireland and the war, he on about Ireland and going into politics, he said Russians doing right thing or something".
Asked what he meant about his reference to the "Conor McGregor knockout", the accused said he couldn't remember. "I do remember him mouthing about Russians and the economy, he went to hit me and I hit him," he said.
"When he went for me, I hit him," he said.
Gardaí asked the accused whether he accepted that the CCTV footage had not shown Mr Gallagher trying to assault him but instead putting his hands up in defence.
Mr Boland said he accepted this but said that Mr Gallagher had tried to assault him beforehand.
The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of eight men and four women.
