Man walked into local garda station holding knife to his neck
A CLONDALKIN man who walked into his local garda station and held a kitchen knife to his own neck had not dealt appropriately with the murder of his brother, a court has heard.
Edward Farnan, aged 38, went to the station where his brother’s killing had been investigated and refused to drop the knife until armed gardai arrived.
Blanchardstown Courthouse
Judge David McHugh said he would give Farnan “a break” and put him on a one-year peace bond, after hearing the accused had since turned his life around.
Farnan, a father-of-four with an address at Melrose Lawns, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a knife at Clondalkin Garda Station.
Sergeant Maria Callaghan said the accused came into the station at 3.03am on August 29, 2018, holding a seven and a half inch kitchen knife to his neck.
He was told to drop it several times but refused and only dropped it when the armed support unit came to assist, she said.
Defence solicitor William Cadogan said the incident was the “catalyst that changed Mr Farnan’s life.”
The accused had turned his life around since then, had attended counselling and was a “leading example to his peers in therapy.”
He was “totally clean” and had attended support meetings and alcohol awareness, Mr Cadogan continued.
“What was affecting him on August 29, 2018, when he went in and did what he did with a 7.5-inch kitchen knife?” Judge McHugh asked Mr Cadogan.
Farnan’s brother had been murdered a couple of years previously and the accused had not dealt with that correctly or appropriately, Mr Cadogan said.
Judge McHugh asked what Farnan’s particular difficulty with the gardai at that venue was. The gardai in Clondalkin had investigated his brother’s murder, Mr Cadogan said.
The accused was a skilled labourer and was working full time, the court heard.
Judge McHugh said he would accept as a fact that Farnan had turned his life around and “give him a break.”
He put the accused on a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a year, in his own bond of €100.
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