February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
John Brennan, from Clara, Co. Kilkenny, was waiting outside the Anna Liffey bar for taxis on Whitney Avenue with friends after last call at 2 a.m. when an altercation broke out among the crowd. Witnesses have told police that Brennan was an innocent bystander who was accidentally punched when an off-duty U.S. Marine and another patron got into a fight.
He was taken to the neurological intensive care unit at Yale-New Haven Hospital where doctors said that he was comatose.
His parents, Tommy and Mai Brennan, and their three other children, Paraic, Marian and Elaine, traveled from Ireland at the weekend and have been by his bedside.
Tommy Brennan is a councilor in Kilkenny. His son was on a three-month vacation to the U.S., and although he has basic medical insurance, fundraisers have been held in Kilkenny, including a sponsored horse race, to help defray mounting medical costs.
“We’ve got unreal help over the past 10 days and everyone is so helpful,” his brother Paraic said.
At the Anne Liffey bar and restaurant, owner Ashley Sheridan said that a benefit would be held on Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. in the Irish American Community Center at 9 Venus Pl., East Haven.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so to the John Brennan Fund, care of Irish American Community Center, 9 Venus Pl., East Haven, CT 06512, or by calling (203) 469-3080.