A 70-year-old man has gone on trial for the murder of his long-term partner in Rathmines in Dublin two years ago.
Desmond Duffy has denied murdering 60-year-old Desmond Sullivan at their home in Somerville Park in May 2016.
The court heard he claims he was acting in self defence.
Prosecuting Counsel Conor Devally said Mr Duffy and Mr Sullivan had been together for 20 to 30 years.
He said they were drinking partners and partners in life.
On the night of 23 May 2016, they had been drinking together before going home.
Mr Devally said there was an altercation between the two men and after it Mr Sullivan was lying on the floor downstairs, dead.
Mr Duffy rang a relative of Mr Sullivan's who was a garda and an investigation began.
The court was told Mr Duffy claims he was not the aggressor in the row but was acting in his own defence.
Mr Devally said Mr Duffy told gardaí that in fending off an attack from his partner, he squeezed or strangled his airways to such a degree that he died.
The jurors were told they would have expert testimony to assist them about the cause of death.
This afternoon, Garda Maurice Ward, whose wife was Des Sullivan's niece, gave evidence that Desmond Duffy called him on the night of 23 May and asked him to call down.
He told the court he could tell Mr Duffy had a drink taken. He asked him if everything was OK, and Mr Duffy said "no not really".
Garda Ward said he arrived at the house in Rathmines around half an hour later. He said he became concerned because he could not hear Mr Sullivan.
He asked Mr Duffy, if Mr Sullivan was dead and Mr Duffy said he thought so.
Garda Ward said he went into the kitchen and saw Mr Sullivan's feet on the ground. He said it was quite evident when he checked him, that he was dead.
Mr Ward said Mr Duffy told him that the two men had a row - he said Mr Duffy showed him that he had put his hands up towards Mr Sullivan's neck area and that Mr Sullivan fell to the ground.
Garda Ward said he was in shock himself. He said Mr Duffy was upset and apologised to him for bringing him to the house. He said Mr Duffy was not his usual self and "wasn't with it".
He got in touch with family members to let Mr Sullivan's mother, who was in her nineties, know and made arrangements for Mr Duffy to stay somewhere that night.
Under cross examination he said he first met Mr Duffy and Mr Sullivan in 1996 and they had already been together a long time.
He said he would meet them at family functions up to three times a year. He agreed Mr Duffy presented as a gentle person and he had never seen him verbally or physically aggressive. He said both men were "gentlemen" and were a pleasure to be around.
The court heard, the men were in a civil partnership and were due to get married in July 2017.
The trial will continue tomorrow and could take up to two weeks.
