A jury has viewed ‘upsetting and difficult’ animal attack videos taken from the phone of a trespasser who was shot dead on a law professor’s farm, and also heard footage of dogs being ‘trained’ to attack a live kitten.
In the video clips, a lurcher dog – which was shot by barrister Diarmuid Phelan moments before he said three intruders ‘exploded’ out of the bushes on his farm – is seen fighting over a live squirrel, mauling a badger and shaking a dead fox between its teeth.
A detective agreed with defence counsel that ‘the activity’ in the videos was conducted ‘with considerable good humour, laughter and there is enjoyment to be had’ by those present.
In her opening address, Roisin Lacey SC said the jury will hear evidence that on the day in question, three men, including the deceased Keith Conlon, and Kallum Coleman, trespassed on a wooded area of Mr Phelan’s land while hunting foxes or badgers.
Mr Phelan, 56, has pleaded not guilty to murdering father-of-four Keith ‘Bono’ Conlon, 36, at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght, Dublin 24, on February 24, 2022. The accused is a barrister, law lecturer and farmer, who owns Hazelgrove, formerly a golf course in Tallaght.
Mr Conlon, from Kiltalown Park in Tallaght, was seriously injured in the shooting incident on February 22, and died from a single gunshot wound to the head at Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) two days later.
Ms Lacey, prosecuting, told the jury yesterday that videos would be played to them and Detective Garda Mark Short would give evidence about the clips.
Judge Siobhán Lankford warned jurors that material was ‘somewhat upsetting and difficult’ to view and to let her know if they needed a break.
She said the lengths of the videos were no more than eight or nine minutes. The jury were then shown eight videos which came from the deceased’s phone.
The detective said Mr Conlon sent the first video to ‘Big J’ on October 31, 2021, and it lasted one minute and 24 seconds. He said the video depicted two men with a dog digging with a shovel and spade. He said a black dog was being dragged out of the hole. In cross-examination, Seán Guerin SC, defending, put it to Det Gda Short that one of the voices had said ‘there is a fox there, do you see that, Bono?’
The detective said it was possible and agreed Mr Conlon had made the video on his phone. Mr Guerin said there was a reference in the video to a dog and fox ‘being jaw-on-jaw’. Describing the method of hunting, the lawyer said that although a terrier is used to seize and hold prey, a lurcher-type dog is used to kill.
The detective said ‘a person called Kal’ posted the second video to a WhatsApp group which included 15 other people on October 3, 2022. The second video depicted a dog and a dead fox and was 13 seconds long. He agreed the dog in the video was called Vin. The detective agreed Vin had the fox in his teeth and was seen shaking the animal. The fourth video appeared in two WhatsApp chats on Mr Conlon’s phone. The detective said ‘Bono’ sent it to ‘Kal’ on February 9, 2022 and to another person called ‘R’. It showed Kallum Coleman holding up a dead fox and a dog on a lead. There were three other dogs present. Ms Lacey said the dog being held up is Vin.
The witness agreed with the defence there had been an exchange of videos between Mr Conlon and Mr Coleman, where Mr Coleman asked his friend to ‘send us the videos of the fox bro will ya’. Referring to the fourth video, Mr Guerin said there had been a WhatsApp conversation between the men about ‘blurring something out’. Mr Guerin put it to the detective this was consistent with the possibility ‘illegal activity’ was taking place and the faces would be blurred out before the video was made available.
‘Ms Lacey said Vin is being held up by the collar – Vin is clearly straining to get at the fox and being held back by the collar?’ asked the defence barrister. The witness said he didn’t think Vin was ‘chomping’ to get at the fox.
The detective told the prosecution the next 24-second video was recorded on Mr Conlon’s phone. He said it showed a man holding two dogs on a lead, then three other dogs appear and a dead squirrel is seen on the ground. ‘Not only can we see the black and white dog called Vin but we can hear the reference to Vin,’ added Ms Lacey.
The detective agreed the man in the video is Mr Coleman. The sixth video played was also taken on Mr Conlon’s phone. It was 21 seconds long and depicted a male with four dogs, two of whom are attacking a squirrel which is squealing, said the detective.
The next video lasting 33 seconds had been deleted from Mr Conlon’s phone and was recorded on January 29, 2022. It showed two dogs attacking a badger. Ms Lacey said several individuals are on the video and one of them is Kallum Coleman.
Mr Guerin said the videos showed various stages of the hunting process, adding a successful hunt depends on the terrier seizing the quarry, ‘and equally the willingness of the lurcher to chase, catch and kill’. The detective agreed animals have to be trained to do these things and a November 2021 video on Mr Conlon’s phone showed how this was done.
In her opening speech, Ms Lacey said she expects the defence case to be that the accused was entitled to discharge the firearm in a legitimate act of self defence. They will say it was not done with the intention of causing the bullet to penetrate Mr Conlon’s body and that the penetration was an accidental, unintended result, she stated. The trial continues before Judge Lankford and a jury.
