McCartney trial told of ‘mayhem’
A man described as one of Robert McCartney’s best friends, who was with him on the day he was killed, has been giving evidence at his murder trial.
Mr McCartney was killed outside Magennis’s bar
Mr McCartney, 33, was beaten and stabbed to death outside a Belfast bar on 30 January 2005.
Edward Gowdy had been drinking with the victim in Magennis’s bar in the city centre.
He said a fight broke out inside shortly after 2230 GMT and there was “a lot of blood and mayhem”.
Giving evidence from behind a curtain, he said the next thing he remembered was standing outside the bar with Robert McCartney and another friend, Brendan Devine, who was covered in blood.
He said the three of them had then walked along a side street and he noticed a group of men following them, some of whom were carrying bottles and sticks.
Mr Gowdy said he went to talk to them and was hit across the face with a stick and told to leave the area.
He said he went back into the bar and finished his drink and later received a text message from his wife saying Mr McCartney was “in a bad way”.
Mr Gowdy said he went to the Royal Victoria Hospital where Mr McCartney later died.
The trial, at Belfast Crown Court, continues.
'So venceremos, beidh bua againn eigin lá eigin. Sealadaigh abú.'
--Bobby Sands