David Brannock sentenced to 14 years for manslaughter, with two suspended

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

David Brannock was sentenced to 14 years for Jason Flannery’s manslaughter, with the last two years suspended. Mr Justice Carroll Moran sentenced him at the Central Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 19 December 2014.

He had pleaded not guilty to all five charges. The offences followed Jade Byrne’s Junior Cert results celebrations and occurred at St Joseph’s Way, Poppintree, Ballymun, on 13 September 2012.

The jury found Brannock guilty of manslaughter and acquitted him of murder. Its other guilty verdicts were for causing serious harm to John O’Neill and assault causing harm to Anthony Byrne and Jade Byrne. It acquitted him of assault causing harm to Claire Byrne.

For the attack on John O’Neill, Brannock received an eight-year prison term. The sentences concerning Anthony Byrne and Jade Byrne were three years and two years respectively. Brannock signed the bond required for the suspension of the final two years of his manslaughter sentence.

Jason Flannery died where the attack happened after a knife wound at the back of his neck penetrated his spinal cord. Two further stab wounds to his stomach would have contributed to his death. John O’Neill needed surgery after being stabbed about seven times and remained in a coma for 10 days. His hospital stay lasted a month. Anthony Byrne’s head injury needed nine stitches and caused permanent scarring; Jade Byrne’s back wound also required stitches.

The report said Jason Flannery and John O’Neill had each taken a crutch before following Brannock. The judge described Brannock’s finger injury from a crutch as minor. Brannock also said a bottle had struck his head.

The judge regarded the knife use and severity of the injuries as aggravating factors that greatly outweighed mitigation. He also considered the number of victims and Brannock’s 20 previous convictions, including two relevant offences: knife possession and assault causing harm. That earlier assault involved striking a victim’s head with a broken bottle and breaking his jaw.