Man 'full of venom' before alleged stabbing, court told

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 Brennan Jnr at a property in Ballyhalwick, Dunmanway, Co Cork on 17 August 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 that he has had limited use of his left arm following the alleged stabbing incident.

He said that 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.

Jerry Jnr said that difficulties had arisen in the family and that a judge in the district court had ruled that William should not be in the shared yard at the same time as his two brothers.

He said that he and his brother John were cutting branches and tidying at Ballyhalwick at 7pm on 17 August 2024 when William arrived at the property.

Jerry Jnr claimed that William took out a grinder in order to open the padlock at the gate. Jerry Jnr stated that William was shouting out the names of girls "at the top of his voice".

"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 that William was "going on about stuff" that he had received from their father such as a lion cage and trailers.

"He (William) then drew the knife on me. He went for me with the knife. It (the knife) was inside his pocket and ready to go. It felt like it (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 Jerry Snr 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 that he realised that his left arm was "spurting out blood".

"I couldn’t stop it. It was pumping out blood (for a distance of) four to five feet. I was saturated in my own blood. There was no stopping it."

He said that his middle brother Jerry Jnr "heard the commotion" and came out. He stated that Jerry Jnr picked up a stick of timber to hit William but "it just broke off his head".

"He (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 that John grabbed him and they both ran out of the yard. He told the jury that John put a belt around his left arm and "squeezed the daylights out of it’ which "stopped it (the blood) for a while".

Jerry Jnr said that John asked their father to call an ambulance but that he refused to do so. He stated that he spent nine days in hospital following the incident and underwent a "number of surgeries".

Under cross-examination by defence barrister Jane Hyland, SC, Jerry Jnr denied burning out an excavator owned by William Brennan at a property in Leap in west Cork earlier that day.

He also refuted suggestions that 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 just sixteen 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 on that occasion and was found not guilty in court.

He also said that he had never attacked his father or been in any way aggressive towards his parents. He also denied attending anger management classes after these claims were put to him by the defence.

Jerry Jnr also said that William’s claim that 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 that the relationship has been strained between the brothers and William for some time.

All three brothers are in their thirties. John and Jerry Jnr are mechanical engineers by profession. William is an electrical engineer.

The trial will continue tomorrow.