Moran was charged with the murder of Lieutenant Ames at 38 Upper Mount Street on Bloody Sunday along with another man called Joseph Rochford. Moran was identified by three British soldiers as taking part in the shooting - they were Private Snelling, Major Carew (who lived as 28 Upper Mount St - on the other side of the street from 38), and Carew's batman Private Lawrence. However, Carew was not prepared to swear positively that the man he saw was Moran. Snelling was positive that he saw Moran but he also identified Rochford. Both Moran and Rochford produced alibi evidence that they were elsewhere during the shootings. Rochford's was accepted but Moran's was not.
Snelling said that Moran held him up outside 38 Mount St. There were accusations in the Irish Bulletin of collusion among the witnesses in identification. Moran produced a large number of witnesses that he was in Blackrock at the time of the shootings - that he went to 8 o'clock mass in Blackrock Church, went home and had breakfast and then took the 9.30am tram from Blackrock to Nelson's Pillar. (Crucial witnesses who were his breakfast companions were, for some reason, not called to give their evidence.) The evidence from these witnesses was not accepted and Moran was found guilty and sentenced to be hung. (Moran was captain of D Company, 2nd Battalion, Dublin Brigade, IRA.)
Snelling's statement at Moran's trial reads. There is an oddity in that he claims to have been going to Rathmines, in which case he should not have turned into left Herbert Place when he got to the end of Lower Baggot St, but instead turned right. I am unclear why he went up Herbert Place
At about 8.40am I left the Castle on a Triumph Combination to go to Rathmines to fetch my officer (other evidence from the trial shows that this was a Capt Purdue, but there is no suspicion that he was in Intelligence) . I went via Dame St and Grafton St. Just as I turned out of Grafton St I heard shots which sounded as if they came from the other side of of the Green, but I could not be sure exactly where they came from
I went on and entered Lower Baggot St. When I was about 50 yards from the house where --- lived, which I now know is 119 Lower Baggot St, I heard shots and saw about 20 men running from the direction of 119. They were straggling across the road. I noticed one in particular had bright red hair and a curious bow legged run and he turned his toes in
A little higher up Baggot St I saw a man lying half out of a window covered with something like a sheet, he was bleeding badly. (this is Capt William Newberry's body at 92 Lower Baggot Street)
I went on and turned down Herbert Place. When I was about 50 yards from the corner of Herbert Place and Upper Mount St I saw a crowd of men come running out of Upper Mount St. I judged them to be the same men that I had seen in Baggot St. I noticed the red head among them. Some of them spread across the road and pointed revolvers at me. They were all armed with service revolvers. I got off and put my hands up. I left the bicycle and started running towards Kingstown Road. After I had gone a few yards one of them fired after me and called on me to stop. I did so and came back.
One man said "Go down this way" and pointed down Upper Mount St. I walked on and he walk behind me . I saw a man standing outside a house in Upper Mount St [number 38]. He pointed a revolver at me and beckoned for me to come over. I did so.
He kept me covered as I was walking towards him and I naturally kept my eyes fixed on him. He pressed the revolver in my ribs and told me to give 4 knocks on the door. The door did not open, so the man called out "Open the door, boys" . I picked him out from 10 men. In the house In the house a man fired one shot, I heard then two shots.
Across the road at number 28 Upper Mount St, Major Carew's batman, Private Lawrence, witnessed this odd scene, and called Major Carew, who got his gun and opened fire on Lawless, the IRA guard outside number 38, who took cover inside the house.
Inside number 38, Vinny Byrne considered whether to kill Lawrence or not. He decided to let Snelling live, but warned him not to move for 15 minutes after they left. Byrne exited via the front door and retreated down Mount St, under fire from Carew's house.
An independent witness, Madge Laverty, who lived at 55 Merrion Sq, testified that between 9 and 9.30 a young Private soldier entered her house. He had come from the direction of Upper Mount St "he was very agitated, had his tunic open and his face the colour of death. His cap was on the back of his head, and he was on the point of collapse. He told me that the "Shinners" raided him and took his dispatches from him and that he was put with his face to the wall and nine shots fired all round him. I asked him as his story was confused who had attacked him and taken his dispatches from him and he replied "I do not remember anyone or anything more". He was unable to use he telephone, and one of the maids telephoned Dublin Castle. While I rushed round to get restoratives. General McMahon wrote that he knew Mrs Laverty personally and she was a non political woman of integrity. However she was not called as a witeness at the trial.