The jury in the trial of a Longford man accused of manslaughter have been told that the key issue they need to decide upon is if he acted in self-defence on the day of a fatal assault.
Deliberations are underway in the trial of Gérard Melia, of Derrygowna, Lanesboro, who has pleaded not guilty to the unlawful killing of Noel McGann on August 1st 2019 in Foigha.
In their closing argument, prosecution counsel claimed that the defence of self-defence does not apply in this case and there was no evidence that the Mr McGann had provoked the accused for a lengthy period of time.
The prosecution also claimed that the CCTV had no agenda and that the accused had nursed a grievance against the 50 year old and engaged in a " deliberate, unprovoked act of violence" on the day of the fatal assault.
Defence counsel claimed CCTV was the "saviour" of the accused and that it showed Mr Melia was backing away from Mr McGann outside the bar in the moments before the fatal punch was thrown.
Mr Melia's barrister also said the 32-year-did not want the incident to happen, and the punch was "weak looking" and could be described as "one light hook"
Addressing the ten person jury, Judge Keenan Johnson told them that they will need to decide if the actions of the accused were in self-defence, and if he had acted unlawfully and dangerously when punching Mr McGann.
He outlined the legal definitions of self-defence and charged the jury to begin their deliberations after three days of evidence.
