‘Pray for my son,’ says mum of man stabbed in neck

THE mother of a young man clinging to life after being stabbed in the neck has asked friends to pray he’ll recover.

Jamie Hennessy, who turned 22 just last week, was stabbed at a house on Love Lane, in the town of Castlecomer, Kilkenny, about 7pm on Saturday.

The Hennessy family have suffered tragedy in the past when Jamie’s older brother John was killed in a car crash in which his cousin died and his sister Amanda was injured.

His mother Sandra took to Facebook yesterday to urge people to pray for her son.

“Keep fighting, son. Love you so much,” she wrote.

In a heartfelt plea for prayers, she wrote: “Jamie has stopped at the crossroad, he doesn’t know if he is [to] turn back to us or going to his brother. Only way I can explain to you all so please pray that he turns back to us. Thank you all.”

Witnesses told how Mr Hennessy ran for help after being attacked, but slumped unconscious on the road in the cul de sac.

“I could see a deep wound in his neck. It was terrifying,” said one woman who lives nearby. “But Jamie is strong. He is a fighter. We are all just hoping he pulls through.”

A suspect in a high-profile cold case murder was one of three arrested this weekend over Mr Hennessy’s stabbing.

Officers are investigating if the incident is connected to the murder of Gerry Nolan (44), whose mobile home was locked and set on fire while he was in it more than 11 years ago. There’s no suggestion Mr Hennessy was involved in that incident. Another man questioned over the attack on Mr Hennessy (inset) was arrested by gardaí over the fatal stabbing of Kieran Monahan in Kilkenny city in February 2012. The three men, two in their 30s and one in his 40s, were arrested at the scene and brought to Kilkenny garda station.

They have since been released and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Doctors are particularly concerned about a wound to Mr Hennessy’s neck and have had difficulty stopping the bleeding.