Bail denied to all four in Lunney case

The four men charged in connection with the abduction and attack of QIH manager Kevin Lunney have all been remanded in custody to Castlerea Prison to appear in Harristown District Court next Friday, December 13.
Strict restrictions remain in the reporting around the case against the four men, who all appeared before Judge Denis McLoughlin and a large media presence at a sitting of Virginia District Court yesterday (Tuesday).
All four are charged separately with the false imprisonment and assault causing harm to Mr Lunney at Drumbade, Cavan, on September 17, 2019. They are: Luke O’Reilly (66) with an address at Mullahoran Lower, Kilcogy, Co Cavan; Alan O’Brien (38) of 51 Shelmalier Road, East Wall, Dublin; Darren Redmond (25) with an address at 93 Caledon Road, East Wall, Dublin and a fourth man, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Inspector Micheál O’Donohoe, on behalf of the State, sought for the defendants to be remanded in custody on all charges.

Roy O’Neill, solicitor, was representing Mr O’Brien and Mr Redmond, both of whom were refused bail when they first appeared in Virginia last week. He did not make a fresh application for bail.
Damien Rudden, solicitor for Mr O’Reilly, signalled his intention to apply for bail for his client in the afternoon but told the judge he had only received new objections to bail  from the State that morning.
The judge adjourned briefly to consider written submissions from the State and solicitor Sandra Frayne who was representing the unnamed defendant. 
Ruling on the submissions, the judge ruled that reporting restrictions must remain in place to protect the man’s right to a fair trial.
Judge McLoughlin also ruled that reporting restrictions would also continue regarding the evidence given in court by gardaí.
Mr Rudden then applied for bail for Mr O’Reilly.
Evidence was given to the court by Garda Michael Taheny who objected to bail on behalf of the State.
The judge agreed with Rudden that his client is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
However, having considered all the evidence before him, Judge McLoughlin denied bail.
In his final submission, Mr Rudden said: “Given that it could take two or three years before this case would get to trial, Mr O’Reilly is a 66-year-old man, and that would be a large amount of years taken out of his life at this stage.”

 

Medical concerns
The solicitor also highlighted a number of medical issues for which his client needs ongoing treatment.
The judge ruled as stated remanding all four defendants to Castlerea Prison to appear in Harristown District Court next Friday, December 13.
Father-of-six Mr Lunney was attacked as he made his way home from work on September 17, 2019.
The 50-year-old was later found bleeding and badly injured on an isolated rural roadway at Cornafean.
The maximum term in prison for false imprisonment, if found guilty, is life.