A father and son have been remanded in custody after they were charged with assaulting two other family members in what gardaí alleged was a feud over property ongoing for 14 years.
Jerry Brennan snr (77) and his younger son, William (31), were charged with assault causing harm to Mr Brennan’s two older sons, Jerry jnr (35) and John (32) at Ballyhalwick, Dunmanway, on August 17th, 2024, contrary to section three of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
Jerry Brennan snr was also charged with possession of a knife and William Brennan was charged with producing a knife in the course of committing an offence.
Both were brought before Bantry District Court on Monday, where Garda Joseph Maher gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in respect of the charges against Jerry Brennan snr, while Det Garda Jonathan O’Donovan gave similar evidence in relation to William Brennan.
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Garda Maher told the court Jerry Brennan snr replied “No, I don’t know why I’m being charged” when he was charged with assaulting John Brennan, while he replied “I never assaulted him at all” in response to being charged with assaulting Jerry Brennan jnr.
Garda Maher said Jerry Brennan snr of Longbridge, Dunmanway, replied, “I didn’t intend to conceal it with all the excitement” when he put the possession of the knife charge to him. The garda told the court the knife had a two-inch blade.
Det Garda O’Donovan said William Brennan of the same address replied in relation to producing the knife in the course of a dispute “I did not do that but if I did not pull the knife, I would be dead right now.” The knife was a hunting knife, he told the court.
The Det Garda said William Brennan replied, “I was acting in self defence or I would have been killed” when he put the assault causing harm to John Brennan charge to him after caution.
William Brennan also replied “I was acting in self defence or I would have been killed – this is the second time he attacked me and ended up in court” in relation to assaulting Jerry Brennan jnr, Det Garda O’Donovan told the court.
Gardaí objected to bail for both accused.
Det Garda O’Donovan said gardaí believed the assaults had their origins in a long-running family feud involving Jerry Brennan snr, his wife Jean Brennan, and their sons Jerry jnr, John and William over a farmhouse and yard at Ballyhalwick, Dunmanway.
He said the agrarian dispute went back 14 years and 20 incidents had been reported to gardaí over the past five years. Matters had escalated in recent months and gardaí feared it would escalate further if the accused were granted bail.
He said the incident which had led to the charges was the more serious escalation to date and resulted in Jerry Brennan jnr suffering a severed artery in his arm, while John Brennan had suffered a punctured lung.
He said Jerry Brennan jnr had to be airlifted by helicopter to Cork University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery on Saturday night, while John Brennan also had to undergo emergency surgery. Both men were now stable in hospital.
He said there was strong evidence against both accused who were arrested at the scene. Gardaí had also taken a number of witness statements as well as dashcam audio.
Garda Maher was asked by Judge Brendan O’Reilly if “the blood was up”. He said it was. He told the judge the flashpoint for all the incidents was the property at Ballyhalwick, which consists of a farmhouse, a yard and some sheds.
Both Jerry Brennan snr, a farmer, and William Brennan, an electrical engineer, took the stand to give undertakings that they would abide by any bail conditions imposed by the court, including giving an undertaking to stay away from the two injured parties, who also live in Dunmanway.
The judge said he was going to refuse bail because of the seriousness of the charges, the strength of the evidence against both accused and the fear that they might intimidate witnesses if granted bail.
He remanded both defendants in custody to appear again at Clonakilty District Court on August 22nd for the DPP’s directions. He also directed both accused to submit statements of means before considering whether to grant either free legal aid.
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