THE PARTNER OF a 44-year-old Cork postman has told a jury that even though she knew he was dead when she saw him lying in blood outside their home, she still dropped to the ground next to him and begged him to come back.

A 17-year-old male, who can’t be named for legal reasons, is on trial at a Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork charged with the murder of Barry Daly.

He denies murder, but has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the father of five.

Daly was found with catastrophic facial injuries outside his home in Rockview Terrace in Doneraile in the early hours of 12 October 2025.

The partner of the deceased, Katie O’Reilly, said that Daly was in “great form” on the last day of his life as he had won €600 in the Lotto.

He went to Eily’s Bar in Doneraile on the evening of 11 October 2025 to celebrate with other locals as the local hurling team had won a Junior B final.

O’Reilly said that she settled down to watch TV that evening having put the couple’s children to bed. She was expecting her partner of 20 years to come home after the pub closed.

His habit was to leave his keys at home with O’Reilly getting out of bed to leave him in when he tapped on a window at the property.

She texted him at midnight and didn’t receive a response. However, O’Reilly was expecting him at “any time.”

O’Reilly said that she was subsequently lying in bed and heard the sound of running outside. Then she heard a voice saying, “I am going to kill you.” It was followed by the voice of Daly saying, “Stop.”

She also said she had heard someone getting “a whack of something.” She jumped out of her bed and went out her front door, where she found her partner on the ground.

“There was blood everywhere. I checked for a pulse. I knew he was dead. I was screaming at my mother to ring an ambulance. Blood was coming out of his ears, his mouth, his nose, blood everywhere. The back of his head was smashed.

I just laid down beside him and I kept begging for him to come back.

O’Reilly said that she moved away from the body of her partner to allow the first responders to work on him.

Evidence was also heard in the case from Joan O’Reilly, the mother of Katie O’Reilly. O’Reilly said that her daughter Katie put her children to bed on the evening of 11 October last and then went to her bedroom to watch TV.

Joan O’Reilly said she heard the doorbell ring in the early hours of the following morning. She opened the door and a local young man told her that Daly was lying on the floor outside the house.

“I thought he was unconscious. I looked into his eyes and they were soulless.”

O’Reilly said that an urgent call was made to the emergency services. Her daughter Siobhan Ryall did chest compressions until the paramedics arrived. She brought her daughter Katie inside to allow paramedics to work on Daly.

Evidence was also heard from local man Seamus Hunter. He said that he saw two young men with golf clubs on the street in Doneraile in the early hours of 11 October last. He said that he roared at them and asked them “what the fuck they were at”. He approached the young men to tell them to go home.

He said that the 17-year-old defendant headbutted him. Hunter went home and cleaned his face.

He became worried that the men might have headed to Daly’s house to cause trouble.

He grabbed a baseball bat from his home and started walking in the direction of the Daly home. As he walked up the road, he heard someone say “Come on, we have to get rid of these.”

Hunter stated that he saw the 17-year-old accused throw a golf club over the wall. He also saw 21-year-old Alex Deady of Glenview, Convent Road in Doneraile throw a golf club over a wall.

The trial will continue on Monday in front of the jury of seven women and five men.