A CO Armagh man accused of murdering a garda officer in Co Louth was challenged yesterday on his account of when he first heard about the shooting.
Aaron Brady (29), of New Road, Crossmaglen, denies murdering Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe at the Lordship Credit Union in January 2013.
He also denies a second charge of robbing €7,000 in cash and cheques at the same date and location.
Taking the stand for a third day in the Central Criminal Court trial, Mr Brady said the first he heard about the shooting was on social media an hour and a quarter after it happened.
He denied that he had told a garda sergeant who stopped him the following day that he did not know an officer had been shot.
He blamed his senior counsel for not challenging the sergeant when he gave that account earlier in the trial.
Mr Brady said he first heard about it in his 17-year-old girlfriend's house, when her friend saw it on a computer on Facebook in a bedroom.
The following day he and his friend were stopped by gardaí, and Sergeant John Moroney asked him to account for his movements around the time of the shooting.
Mr Brady admitted he lied to gardaí then, but denied telling the sergeant he did not know an officer had been shot.
"I didn't say that. It's ridiculous, I was fully aware a garda was murdered when he stopped me," he said.
Asked why he did not challenge Mr Moroney's evidence when he was in the witness box, he said he wanted to but "my senior counsel didn't want to challenge it".
The trial continues.