A 40-year-old who admits killing a man in Ennis last year but denies murdering him, has gone on trial at the Central Criminal Court.
Michael Maughan of Stone Court, Ennis pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Piotr Nowakowski (31) at Sandfield Mews, Ennis on July 23, 2013.
The court was told the court the plea was not acceptable to the prosecution.
The accused has also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Declan O’Dea at the same address on the same date.
Opening the case, Denis Vaughan Buckley SC for the State told the jury the accused and another man went to Sandfield Mews in the early hours of the night in question.
Three people were asleep inside and the court was told these men were Mr Nowakowski, Mr O’Dea and a man called ‘Magic’.
The jury was told that the men were all known to each other as they were drinking partners.
The jury was told that the accused stabbed Mr Nowakowski with a kitchen knife and he died of his injuries.
The accused made no reply when arrested and he was brought to Ennis Garda Station for questioning where he was interviewed on several occasions.
The court was told that a neighbour would give evidence that he went to bed at midnight and after an hour-and-a-half later he heard an Irish fellow kicking at a door.
He was calling out to ‘Magic’ and saying ‘let me in or I’ll stab ye.’
An ambulance man will give evidence that a man that a man jumped up and said “he’s not dead” before he kicked Mr Nowakowski in the head several times forcefully.
Mr Vaughan Buckley told the jury they would be satisfied that man was the accused.
Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis conducted a post mortem on the body of Mr Nowakowski on July 23, 2013 and gave the cause of death as stab wounds to the trunk with blunt force trauma to the head a contributing factor.
The trial continues before a jury of seven men and five women with Mr Justice Paul Carney presiding.
