A man told the emergency services during a 999 call “I got shot at”, a jury at the Central Criminal Court had been told.
Some family members of Keith Conlon, who was pronounced dead two days after that call, left the court in tears as Mr Conlon’s words were played to the court on Friday.
The call was one of three 999 calls made on February 22nd 2022, which were played to the jury, during the trial of Diarmuid Phelan (56), who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Keith Conlon at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght, Co Dublin on February 24th 2022.
Mr Conlon was one of three trespassers engaged in fox hunting on the farm on February 22nd 2022, the jury has been told.
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The prosecution has said its case is Mr Phelan shot a dog belonging to one trespasser, Kallum Coleman, that heated exchanges with the trespassers followed, Mr Phelan later fired two shots into the air from his Smith & Wesson revolver and a third shot had penetrated Mr Conlon’s body. Mr Phelan, the prosecution contend, had the requisite intent for murder.
The jury has heard Mr Phelan told gardaí he believed, if he had not reacted immediately, “he would have got me” and was “terrified”, “stressed” and “scared shitless”.
The prosecution has said it understands the defence case as being Mr Phelan was entitled to discharge his firearm as he did; it was a legitimate act of self-defence and not done with intent to penetrate the body of Mr Conlon.
Mr Conlon was critically injured by the shot and was pronounced dead in hospital two days later.
On Friday, the jury heard a farmworker, Hannah Felgner, a German national, had put Mr Conlon on the phone to an ambulance emergency services responder after Ms Flegner rang 999 for an ambulance at 13.09pm on February 22nd 2022.
Asked what age he was, Mr Conlon replied: “35, I got shot at.”
The call responder, during a call lasting nine minutes and three seconds, asked the farmworker to apply cloths firmly to the wound and to keep talking to Mr Conlon.
In another 999 call at 13.12 on the same day, February 22nd 2022, a man who gave his name as Robert told a Garda emergency services responder: “A farmer is after shooting me friend”. When the responder said he believed a call had already been made about that, the caller said: “He’s after shooting my friend, point blank range.
Det Garda Gary White, who gave evidence concerning the three 999 calls made that day, agreed that Robert was Robin Duggan.
An earlier 999 call made that day, at 13.05pm, shortly before the shooting of Mr Conlon, was also played to the jury.
In that call, Diarmuid Phelan said he needed gardaí in Dublin quickly, there were “intruders on the farm”. He said the farm was in Tallaght, Dublin, and gave the Eircode.
During the call, Mr Phelan said there “were Travellers up behind the machine”, he did not know they were there. He said “we’re sheep farmers”, there was “a loose dog”, “shot the dog” and “they are very agitated, they are hiding in the woods and roaring and shouting”. He gave his name as Diarmuid Phelan and said “we have a violent situation here, we need assistance”.
Asked how many people, he said “we thought three, they’re coming out here now, we’re not able to deal with these guys”. He is heard saying: “The guards are coming now, you can talk to them.” Shouting can then be heard and Mr Phelan saying: “Go back down, go down.”
Under cross-examination, Det Garda White agreed with Sean Guerin SC, for Mr Phelan, that Mr Phelan asked them to keep their distance and wait for the guards and that at no point was he heard telling them to leave the property.
There was less than a minute between the call Mr Phelan made and the call the farmworker made, he agreed. About eight minutes into the farmworker’s call, the gardaí arrived and this was about nine minutes after Mr Phelan’s call, he agreed.
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