Man denies stabbing brother to death at new year’s party

A FATHER of five, allegedly stabbed by his brother during a new year’s party at his home, died hours later in hospital from his injuries, the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday.

The trial started in Tralee of Ailbe Lonergan, 31, of Quill Street, Tralee, Co Kerry, who is pleading not guilty to the murder of Michael (Drip) Lonergan, 34, on December 31 last.

The court was told Michael Lonergan sustained fatal injuries during an incident in which he received three stab wounds at 58 Baloonagh Estate, Tralee.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Denis Vaughan Buckley, senior counsel, said Louise O’Brien, who was in the house at the time, appeared to be the only person to witness the incident.

She would give evidence of seeing Ailbe and Michael Lonergan standing in the driveway outside the house and “throwing digs at each other”.

Mr Vaughan Buckley said her evidence would be that she saw Ailbe hitting Michael with his right hand, which was in a cast.

She would say she then called to her boyfriend, Emmet Coffey, who was in the house, to come out and separate the two men.

Ms O’Brien would testify she saw Ailbe throw a knife from his left hand and leave the scene. Mr Coffey ran after him.

Mr Vaughan Buckley also said Ms O’Brien would say she then turned around and saw Drip walking back towards the house with his hand on his right side. She could see blood in his hand and on his top.

Gardaí received an emergency call at 6.47pm and Detective Garda Willie O’Neill, one of the first gardaí on the scene, arrested the accused at Quill Street at 7.39pm.

Michael Lonergan had been brought by ambulance to Kerry General Hospital, in Tralee, where he underwent surgery. But his heart stopped during treatment and he was pronounced dead at 11.35pm.

A postmortem carried out by assistant state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster found he had three stab wounds to the body.

The fatal wound was to the right side of his thorax. It extended through the lung and into the ventricle of the heart.

The cause of death was haemorrhage and shock due to a stab wound to the thorax.

Gda Karen O’Flynn gave evidence of taking photographs at the scene and seeing a knife behind a wheelie bin in the front yard of the house. She also saw blood stains on the tiled floor of the front hallway.

The trial before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury resumes at 11am today.