Patrick Quirke’s murder trial has heard it will be alleged that his ex-lover asked someone if gardaí would be able to tell if there was a body in the boot.

Mr Quirke from Breanshamore, Co Tipperary denies murdering Mary Lowry’s boyfriend Bobby Ryan, whose remains were found on her farm in 2013.

Today was Mary Lowry’s second day being cross-examined by Bernard Condon - Patrick Quirke’s barrister.

Again he questioned the reliability of her evidence, to which she replied: “I’m telling the truth, the whole truth”.

He pointed to what he considered to be inconsistencies in the evidence she gave to gardaí and the testimony she gave in court.

She said: “This is a murder trial, and is pretty serious. I am telling the truth and I want justice for Bobby Ryan”.

She also said she had no memory of a call allegedly made to Bobby’s sister-in-law, during which it’s claimed she asked her about fingerprints and whether gardaí would be able to tell if there was a “body in the boot”.

She said it was “highly unlikely” she would say such a thing.

She also denied using the witness box as a platform to speak directly to the local newspapers and “rebuild her reputation”.

She described herself as a “kind woman” and said: “I want to solve this murder mystery as best I can”.

Cross-examination

Farmer Patrick Quirke leaving the Central Criminal Court Dublin (CCJ) in Dublin. Photo: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

The court’s already heard Mary Lowry had what she described as a ‘seedy affair’ with the accused - and sometime after that relationship ended, she began seeing the deceased Bobby Ryan.

It is the Prosecution’s case Patrick Quirke killed his alleged love rival and hid his body in a disused tank on Ms Lowry’s farm.

This morning, Mrs Lowry was cross examined about a night out at a dance in Bundoran with Bobby Ryan where, she said, he wasn’t feeling well and another man asked her to dance, so she did.

She said she came back to the table and Bobby was dancing and chatting with another lady. She said she was unhappy and hurt about this as she wanted to spend time with him.

It was put to her in cross examination that she had engaged in a ‘flagrant lie’ to the jury by saying she had asked Bobby Ryan if it were ok if she danced with the other man that night.

She replied: “I am telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

The court heard Bobby Ryan ended the relationship that night.

Reporting by Frank Greaney and Stephanie Rohan