A man has told a court that his younger brother was “full of venom” and “gritting his teeth” in anger when he allegedly stabbed him in the left arm and then put a knife in the chest of their other brother.
William Brennan (32), of Longbridge, Ballyhalwick, Dunmanway, Co Cork, denies causing serious harm to his older brothers John and Jerry jnr Brennan at a property in Ballyhalwick, Dunmanway, Co Cork, on August 17th, 2024. He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of producing a knife on the same occasion.
Jerry Brennan jnr said in evidence at a trial in Cork Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday that he has limited use of his left arm following the alleged stabbing incident.
He said their father, Jerry Brennan snr, previously signed over the property at Ballyhalwick to the three brothers. The yard is the only common place of ownership between the siblings.
READ MORE
Jerry jnr said difficulties had arisen in the family and that a judge in the district court had ruled William should not be in the shared yard at the same time as his two brothers.
He said he and his brother John were cutting branches and tidying at Ballyhalwick at 7pm on August 17th, 2024, when William arrived at the property. Jerry jnr claimed William took out a grinder in order to open the padlock at the gate.
“I opened the gate and he came in. He was full of venom. He was gritting his teeth. He was angry. He was vicious.”
Jerry jnr said William was “going on about stuff” that he had received from their father such as a lion cage and trailers.
“[William] went for me with the knife. It was inside his pocket and ready to go. It felt like [the stabbing] went on forever. I was doing my level best to keep him back but he got me anyway.”
Jerry jnr said his father came in after William “and said something like ‘Do what you came to do’”. He compared the demeanour of his father to “a fella cheering on a team”.
Jerry jnr said he realised his left arm was “spurting out blood”.
He said his middle brother John “heard the commotion” and came out. He stated John picked up a stick of timber to hit William but “it just broke off his head”.
“[William] went for Johnny. He stabbed him in the chest with the knife. I wasn’t able to do anything. I didn’t know what was going on. I could just see blood pouring out of my left arm. It is like my feet were stuck to the ground.”
Jerry jnr said John grabbed him and they both ran out of the yard.
He said John asked their father to call an ambulance but he refused to do so. He stated he spent nine days in hospital following the incident and underwent a “number of surgeries”.
Under cross-examination by defence barrister Jane Hyland, Jerry jnr denied burning out an excavator owned by William Brennan at a property in Leap, west Cork, earlier that day.
He also refuted suggestions William was used as a “punchbag” by his two older siblings and that he pushed the accused off a shed when his younger brother was 16 years old.
Jerry jnr also denied attacking William with a stone and a pipe wrench in 2020. He said he had acted in self defence and was found not guilty in court.
He also said he had never attacked his father or been in any way aggressive towards his parents. He denied attending anger management classes after these claims were put to him by the defence. Jerry jnr said William’s claim he was attacked by his two brothers on the day of the alleged stabbing was a “lie”.
The jury of eight men and four women heard the relationship has been strained between the brothers and William for some time.
All three are in their 30s. John and Jerry jnr are mechanical engineers by profession while William is an electrical engineer.
The trial will continue on Thursday.
