The trial of a woman charged with murdering her husband has been told that the accused was heard shouting "it was self-defence, it was self-defence" after the man was fatally injured.
Sarah Doyle, 32, with an address at The Heath, Ramsgate Village, Gorey, denies murdering her husband Philip Doyle, who was 33 at the time, in the early hours of 26 January, 2020.
Mr Doyle was found with two wounds to his chest when emergency services were called to the scene of an incident at that time, and died shortly afterwards.
The prosecution alleges that Sarah Doyle "produced a knife and was responsible for inflicting two stab wounds" on her husband during a disagreement.
A neighbour, Sheila Terrett, told the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Waterford, today that her doorbell rang at about 1am on the morning of 26 January, 2020, and she was told by another neighbour that Philip Doyle had been stabbed.
She had just finished a first responders' course so proceeded to do CPR on Mr Doyle, who was lying on the grass in his front garden. He was bleeding heavily, the court heard.
A neighbour helped her while she administered CPR and they continued until gardaí arrived at the scene. Mr Doyle's parents, David and Jacqueline, were present and "very distressed".
Cross-examining the witness, Patrick Gageby SC, defending, asked her if she heard Sarah shouting "it was self-defence, it was self-defence," and Ms Terrett agreed. She agreed that she heard Philip's mother shout "she will pay for this".
She also agreed that, a week beforehand, she saw Sarah and Philip having a "noisy argument". On another occasion, the gardaí were called after the two of them were shouting at each other, she said.
Asked by the prosecution if she ever saw any "physical acts of violence" between the couple, the witness said "no".
Nigel Nolan told the court that he was also living at The Heath at the time and heard a commotion going on outside. He heard a male calling out "I'm stabbed" and also heard Philip's mother calling out "he's stabbed".
Adam Troy gave evidence of bringing a duvet from his house to put over Philip Doyle because someone said he was cold.
Another neighbour, Christopher Hilliard, said he saw Philip lying on the ground and tried to move him, but then his hands were covered with blood from Philip, who seemed to have two cuts. He agreed with Paul Green SC, prosecuting, that Philip was "drifting in and out of consciousness".
Mr Hilliard told the court that he would sometimes play football on the road with his own nephew and Philip Doyle and agreed with Mr Green that one day he saw Sarah Doyle arriving with a pram and her two sons and that she was "shouting and screaming" on the phone. "They had a fight," he said of the couple, after Philip went up to their house behind her.
Roisin Dunne said she lived beside the Doyles and sometimes heard arguments through the walls. Twice she saw Sarah Doyle with bruises, she said. On another occasion, Philip Doyle spoke to her about her own dog's behaviour and became "animated and forceful" about it. He was "within his rights" to complain about the dog, she said.
Brian Leonard told the trial that he was also woken by the noise outside on the morning of 26 January and could see Philip Doyle lying on the grass. He went out and the people nearby were "crying for help".
He saw Sarah Doyle with her phone in her hand and heard her shout out "self-defence" and also, "I want the guards in here now," when the gardaí arrived at the house.
A statement from another neighbour, Elizabeth Norrie, who could not be present in court, was read out and said that she never saw the Doyles have a violent row or hitting each other, but she had heard Philip telling Sarah she needed to go on a diet. One day, Sarah was in her house and had a bruise on her arm and told her she had fallen down the stairs and another day she had a black eye and said she had hit the press or the baby headbutted her.
A statement given by Philip Doyle's daughter, who was seven at the time, to specialist garda interviewers was also read out and said that she was in an upstairs bedroom when she was woken up and heard a fight.
The trial continues.
