State urges court to uphold gang's conviction for kidnap and torture of Kevin Lunney

The Court of Appeal heard submissions on whether to uphold convictions against three men jailed for the kidnap and torture of Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney. Sean Guerin SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, argued that the case rested on sound circumstantial evidence assessed in its totality, and urged the court to maintain the verdicts. Defence counsel disputed this approach, contending that errors in the trial judgment would not self-correct through broader analysis. Alan Harte, Alan O'Brien, and Darren Redmond were convicted in December 2022 of false imprisonment and intentionally causing serious harm to Mr Lunney at Drumbrade, Ballinagh, County Cavan on 17 September 2019. Harte received a 30-year sentence, O'Brien 25 years, and Redmond 18 years with the final three suspended. The appellants have challenged the admissibility of DNA evidence from a van destroyed in garda custody and phone records used at trial, among other matters. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, sitting with two fellow judges, reserved judgment to be delivered at a later date.