A St Anne’s girl named Aoife Farrell testified. Of more than a hundred witnesses questioned by the murder squad, she had been closest to the fight when it occurred. ‘Conor was defenceless,’ she said. ‘He just fell down hard and, like, his hands were down by his sides while they were kicking him in the head.’

‘And did you see Stephen O’Brien or Barry Fox or Richard Culhane deliver any of these kicks?’

‘Yeah,’ Aoife said. ‘All of them did, I think.’

Debbie Guilfoyle testified. ‘I don’t think it was Richard who did the kicking,’ she said. ‘He was, like, too far away.’

‘But you said that perhaps a dozen young men were involved in the fracas at this point.’

‘Yeah, like maybe ten or twelve.’

‘And did you see Richard Culhane walk away from the altercation at any point?’

‘At the end.’

That was what they called it at the trial: the fracas, the altercation.

The state pathologist testified. He was on the brink of retirement and testifying at the Harry’s Niteclub trial was almost the last thing he did in his official capacity. ‘In my opinion Conor Harris died from swelling of the brain and inhalation of blood due to multiple facial injuries.’

‘And what caused this swelling of the brain?’

‘In my opinion the swelling of the brain was caused by repeated blunt force trauma.’

‘For example, three kicks to the head?’

‘In my opinion the injuries would be consistent with three kicks to the head. I could locate three points of impact consistent with that explanation.’

The boys themselves testified. They all said the same thing: minimal involvement, Conor started it, not sure who did the kicking.

When Barry Fox was asked if he had indeed kicked Conor in the head – as he had said during his first interrogation – he said, ‘I may have. I don’t remember.’

Three weeks into the trial, Mr Justice Harrington announced that the evidence as it stood would not support a charge of manslaughter against any of the boys. He directed the jury to consider the charges of violent disorder only.

The jury was absent for sixteen hours. During that time the Harrises gave a television interview in which they expressed their sadness and confusion about the manner in which the manslaughter charges had been dismissed.

‘What does it take, to find justice in this country?’ Brendan asked.

The jury came back and said that they had found all three boys guilty of violent disorder. Controversially, they recommended that Richard Culhane be tried for manslaughter.

Mr Justice Harrington quelled shouts and cries from the public gallery.

Eileen Harris began to cry and was consoled by Brendan.

Mr Justice Harrington sentenced Barry and Stephen to nine months in prison. In view of Richard Culhane’s ‘probable role in instigating this fracas and of therefore precipitating the death of Conor Harris’, he was sentenced to a year in prison. Mr Justice Harrington instructed the DPP to prepare a file for Richard’s manslaughter trial.