This article is from page 15 of the 2008-06-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
ESSAM Eid would have stuck out “like a sore toe” in an identification parade as none of the eight other par- ticipants were “remotely like him’, his counsel claimed at the trial.
Michael Collins BL, for Mr Eid, made the claim in his cross-examina- tion of Sergeant Noel McMahon, who conducted the parade at Ennis Garda Station on September 27, 2006. That was the day after a man called to Robert Howard’s home demanding €100,000 to cancel contracts on the lives of the three Howards.
Sergeant McMahon told the court last Tuesday that eight men were made available to him, along with Essam Eid. He said that both Robert and Niall Howard identified Essam Eid as the man who had called to
their home at Ballaghboy, Ennis, the previous night.
However, Michael Collins pointed out that just one of the eight men was in his 50s, one was in his 40s, four were in their 30s and two were in their 20s.
“The reality is there was only one man in his 50s. None of them had a moustache,” said Mr Collins.
He asked, “Did any of them look as if they were of foreign extraction?” Sgt McMahon replied, “One of them had sallow skin.”
“Mr Eid would have stuck out like a sore toe,” said Mr Collins.
Sgt McMahon replied, “I don’t be- lieve he stuck out. These were the people who were made available to me. There was no objection. I had to work with them. I conducted the pa- rade as it should be conducted.”