Lawyers in Lunney case argue mobile phone evidence should not be relied on

Lawyers are this afternoon outlining why they say mobile phone evidence should not be used in the trial of four men accused of falsely imprisoning and causing serious harm to Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney.

The Special Criminal Court has spent two days hearing evidence of the means by which gardaí compiled mobile phone data from numbers that are allegedly associated with three of the accused. Michael O'Higgins SC, who represents one of the accused, said he is challenging the mobile phone evidence and will make his arguments today.

A 40-year-old man who cannot be named by order of the court, Alan O’Brien (40), of Shelmalier Road, East Wall, Dublin 3, Darren Redmond (27), from Caledon Road, East Wall, Dublin 3 and Luke O’Reilly (67), with an address at Mullahoran Lower, Kilcogy, Co Cavan have all pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment and intentionally causing serious harm to Mr Lunney (52) at Drumbrade, Ballinagh, Co Cavan on September 17, 2019.

Mr Lunney has told the court that he was bundled into the boot of a car near his home and driven to a container where he was threatened and told to resign from QIH. His abductors then cut him with a Stanley knife, stripped him to his boxer shorts, doused him in bleach, broke his leg with two blows of a wooden bat, beat him on the ground, cut his face and scored the letters QIH into his chest. They then left him bloodied, beaten and shivering on a country road at Drumcoghill in Co Cavan where he was discovered by a man driving a tractor.