Man jailed for murdering teenage neighbour with slash-hook loses legal battle to overturn conviction

Joseph Joyce, 33, claimed he was defending himself during a street battle between members of the travelling community in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh which led to the death of John Paul McDonagh in April 2020.

But the Court of Appeal today rejected submissions that jurors who found him guilty of murder should have been directed on a potential alternative verdict of manslaughter.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan identified “compelling evidence” of his intention to inflict really serious harm with the scythe.

She said: “This was a lethal weapon which from the CCTV imagery the appellant equipped himself with along with a bottle of ammonia prior to the altercation.”

Mr McDonagh, 18, sustained a fatal leg wound in the confrontation outside Joyce’s home at Coolcullen Meadow.

The victim and his two brothers, who lived at nearby Drumawell Gardens, were said to have become involved in a violent row with the defendant over noise from a party.

Footage played at his trial showed Joyce standing in the street holding a slash-hook and a plastic bottle filled with ammonia.

He claimed the brothers were armed with a knife, bottle and garden spade, and that he responded to protect himself and his family.

Joyce subsequently expressed remorse for Mr McDonagh’s death and the loss suffered by the victim’s relatives.

In October last year, however, he was jailed for a minimum of ten years after being found guilty of murder.

Maintaining that he acted in self-defence, Joyce’s lawyers told the Court of Appeal he only delivered a single blow to the lower part of Mr McDonagh’s body.

However, Crown counsel argued that he arrived at the scene armed for a fight he intended to win, and raised his arms in victory after inflicting the fatal wound.

He intended to establish his superiority over the McDonaghs and would have known that swinging a scythe could cause serious physical injury, according to the prosecution.

Backing those submissions, Dame Siobhan held: “On any reading the appellant could not be said to have had anything other than intent to cause really serious harm.

“It matters not that the bill hook was directed at the lower body of the deceased. The deliberate blow with the bill hook spoke for itself.”

Defence lawyers also argued that a description of Joyce as being the “King of the Travellers” was wrongly allowed to go before the jury because it implied he is a skilled bare-knuckle fighter.

Despite agreeing the evidence should have been kept out of the trial, the Court ruled that he suffered no unfair prejudice when high quality CCTV footage showed the confrontation in which Mr McDonagh was wounded.

“This undoubtedly was the central focus of the jury and against which they tested the oral and circumstantial evidence in the case,” the Lady Chief Justice added.

She confirmed: “We have no reservations as to the safety of this conviction. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.”