The jury in the trial of a barrister accused of murdering a man on his farm in February 2022 has been told there is an issue with a piece of translated evidence.

Diarmuid Phelan, who is also a Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin, denies murdering Keith Conlon, who died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

The jury was told previously that Diarmuid Phelan’s position is that the discharge of a firearm on his farm on the February 22, 2022, was a legitimate act of self-defence without any intention to kill or cause serious harm to Keith Conlon.

Last week, an eye witness was asked by Mr Phelan’s barrister if he had said that he thought his client looked frightened as he left a woodland before the shooting.

The interpreter’s translation of his answer was, “No, he was really pissed off.”

When the jurors returned today, the judge told them there was an issue with the translation of the French word, “énervé.”

She said the tone used wasn’t designed to convey something in slang and that the word can convey a range of different emotions, from “edgy to annoyed.”

She also said the witness didn’t use an intensifier with the word.

In other words, he didn’t say “very or really” in his answer.

Image: The Criminal Courts of Justice, building in Parkgate Street, Dublin.