Four men are sent forward for trial over Kevin Lunney abduction
FOUR men have been sent to the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin charged with the false imprisonment and assault of Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney last September.
The four appeared before Judge Denis Mcloughlin at Cavan District Court yesterday.
Luke O’reilly (66), from Mullahoran Lower, Kilcogy, Co Cavan; Darren Redmond (25), from Caledon Road, East Wall, Dublin; and Alan O’brien (39), of Shelmalier Road, East Wall, were remanded in custody.
A fourth defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also remanded in custody.
All four are charged with the false imprisonment of Quinn director Mr Lunney at Drumbrade, Ballinagh, Co Cavan on September 17 last year.
A charge of causing harm, which carries a maximum fiveyear prison term on conviction, was withdrawn by the State.
It was replaced by a charge of causing serious harm which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.
Det Garda Alan Jones and Det Garda David Kerrigan gave evidence of charging the four men in Cavan.
The State solicitor for Cavan, Rory Hayden, applied to have each of the four remanded in custody and sent forward for trial to the Special Criminal Court.
All four defendants were served with the Book of Evidence during the hearing which lasted almost three hours as a number of submissions were made.
All four were granted free legal aid and assigned two counsel for their trial.
None of the four defendants spoke during the hearing.
The men were arrested in November.
They have since been remanded in custody on a number of occasions when they appeared at Harristown District Court, which is located beside Castlerea Prison in Co Roscommon.
Judge Mcloughlin sent the four men forward for trial to a sitting of the Special Criminal Court and all four were remanded in custody.