125 - Murder by Car: Daniel McDonald

Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

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Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

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Summary

In the early hours of 2nd February, 2007, a tragedy occurred on the main street of Arklow, Co Wicklow. A man had been struck by a car and lay dying in the road. It soon became clear, however, that this was no accident. But - was it murder? This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! Donate today to get access to bonus and ad-free episodes! Check out the Mens Rea Merch Store! ********* Theme Music: Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Additional Music: Allemande (Sting) by Wahneta Meixsell. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ ********* Sources: Junio McEnroe, “Gardai probe reported row as car kills man in town centre”, Irish Examiner, Feb 3rd2007. “Gardai probe death of man struck by car on path”, Sunday Independent, Feb 4th 2007 “Daniel loved to play sport and socialize”, Irish Independent, Feb 8th 2007. “Gardai piecing together Daniel's final moments”, Irish Independent, Feb 8th 2007. “Town comes to a standstill as hundreds pay final respects”, Irish Independent, Feb 8th2007. “Murder Charge”, Irish Examiner, June 1st 2007. “Man (21) is charged with Daniel's murder”, Irish Independent, Jun 7th 2007. Georgina O Halloran, “Head and chest injuries caused man’s death “, Irish Examiner, Aug 15th2007. Nicola Boyes, “Murder accused ‘cracked up’ claim”, Evening Herald, Apr 8th 2008. Nicola Boyes, “ Victim flipped into air by car, murder trial told”, Irish Independent, Apr 9th 2008. Nicola Boyes, “Accused man was chased by four men, court told”, Irish Examiner, Apr 10th 2008. “Victim killed after car drove into him”, Irish Independent, Apr 10th 2008. Daniel Hickey, “Man accused of murder was screaming like a lunatic, court told”, Irish Examiner, Apr 11th 2008. “Woman tells of hijacking car”, Irish Examiner, Apr 12th 2008. Nicola Boyes, “Accused sped towards victim without braking”, Evening Herald, Apr 15th 2008. Nicola Boyes, “Murder trial hears victim flung in air ‘like a rag doll’”, Irish Examiner, Apr 15th2008. Nicola Boyes, “Murder accused had ample chance to leave town”, Apr 16th 2008. Nicola Boyes, “Murder accused was acting like the antichrist”, Evening Herald, Apr 16th2008. “Murder accused said he wanted to get a shotgun”, Irish Independent, Apr 17th 2008. Nicola Boyes, “Witness describes fight before man was killed by car”, Irish Examiner, Apr 17th2008. Nicola Boyes, “Man was choking on blood in middle of road, court told”, Irish Examiner, Apr 18th2008. “Murder accused speeding in car when he hit victim, court hears”, Irish Examiner, Apr 22nd2008. For a full list of sources, please see www.mensreapod.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the mens rea podcast and this is the story of Daniel McDonald
0:30.0	In the early hours of Friday, February the 2nd, 2007, our cloman, Eddie McEl Heron, was
0:44.8	heading home after a night out in the town when he heard a loud bang.
0:49.7	He turned to see what the source of the noise was and he noticed a red Honda Civic in the
0:53.8	middle of the road which looked like it had been in a head-on collision.
0:57.6	A short distance away he could see a man lying injured on the road and McEl Heron who was
1:03.2	trained in for a stage went to see if he could help. The wounded man was 21-year-old Daniel McDonald.
1:10.0	The arc-low native was a plasterer by trade and was said to be a very nice guy by all who knew him.
1:15.8	Daniel enjoyed life and was known for being the life and soul of the party,
1:19.8	loving nothing more than socializing with friends and belting out his favorite songs and karaoke.
1:25.1	Along with his love of fun and mischief, Daniel was sports mad and he played football for
1:30.2	local team Arcloseltic while also maintaining a strict bodybuilding and waste training regime.
1:37.6	When Eddie McEl Heron reached him, Daniel was bleeding heavily from the mouth and seemed to
1:42.5	be choking on the blood. McEl Heron crouched down beside the young man, asking if he could hear
1:48.3	him and pinch his ear to see if he could rouse a reaction. However, there was no response from Daniel.
1:55.2	By this time, a crowd had started to gather at the scene and a number of the onlookers
1:59.4	were becoming hysterical. One woman shouted that Daniel was her cousin so McEl Heron called her
2:05.1	over, asking her to hold Daniel's hand and to speak to him, which she did. A number of people
2:11.8	who had witnessed the incident had called to the emergency services, and when Guardian arrived
2:17.0	a few minutes later, they found a chaotic scene surrounding the gravely injured man.
2:22.4	The officers gave Eddie McEl Heron a rubber glove so that he could try and clear Daniel's
2:27.5	airway, but it was of no use, and as an ambulance arrived on scene, Daniel had stopped breathing.
	...

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