A 34-year-old Tralee man died after being stabbed in the heart by his brother last New Year's Eve, prosecuting counsel told the Central Criminal Court in Traleeyesterday.
Ailbe Lonergan (31), of Quill Street, Tralee, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his brother Michael (34) at Baloonagh Estate, Tralee, on December 31st, 2006.
Outlining the case for the prosecution, Denis Vaughan Buckley SC told the jury of nine men and three women the evidence would be the accused did stab Michael, also known as "Drip" Lonergan.
They will hear how three stab wounds were noted on his body, but that the fatal wound was on the right side of his thorax extending through the lungs and into the ventricle of the heart, counsel said.
One of the first gardaí on the scene was alerted at 6.47pm, the senior counsel said.
The injured party was still alive when brought to Kerry General Hospital, Tralee, in a serious condition.
His heart stopped during the course of treatment. He was pronounced dead at 11.35pm on December 31st, Mr Vaughan Buckley outlined.
He said one woman, Louise O'Brien, "actually witnessed" the incident. She will outline that the accused was standing outside the patio on a cement step and Ailbe and Drip were "throwing digs" at each other.
She could see Ailbe hitting his brother with the cast on his right hand. When she roared for help from within the house to stop the argument she saw Ailbe throw a knife from his left hand onto the concrete.
Garda Karen O'Flynn of the divisional scenes of crime unit gave evidence of seeing a knife with a black handle behind the wheelie bin in the front yard of a house in Baloonagh Estate. She also gave evidence of finding bloodstains on the hall floor.
The trial, presided over by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, is expected to last two weeks.