Teenager admits violent disorder as knife production trial continues

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A teenager has pleaded guilty to violent disorder arising from an incident outside a Cork house party where Cameron Blair was murdered.

He has pleaded not guilty to producing a knife during a dispute in a manner likely to unlawfully intimidate another person. The proceedings were reported on 8 June 2021.

The knife charge relates to a house on Bandon Road on 16 January 2020. The accused was 14 at the time and cannot be named because he is a minor. His violent disorder plea concerned conduct with two other people on the same occasion.

The Central Criminal Court jury heard that Blair, a 20-year-old college student, died after being stabbed in the neck. Another juvenile had pleaded guilty to his murder, while a second boy had pleaded guilty to violent disorder and producing a knife.

The State’s case was that all three boys had knives. The defence contended that two had knives, but the accused did not.

Dave Sheehan and party host Darren O’Leary previously testified that they saw the accused with a knife. Under cross-examination, Sheehan maintained that he had seen it, while O’Leary insisted he had seen the accused waving it.

Witness Tiernan Quinn said he saw two boys with knives trying to reach past Blair at the doorway. He identified the two in a photograph as the people on the left and in the middle; defence counsel told him the accused was in the middle. Quinn said he had not seen three knives and knew the other two boys had already pleaded guilty to having a knife.

The trial was continuing before Mr Justice David Keane and a jury.