Kevin Lunney: Trial begins for four accused of Kevin Lunney abduction

Kevin Lunney, 51, was kidnapped and tortured in 2019

The trial of four men accused of abducting and assaulting Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney has begun.

It is being held at a three-judge non-jury special criminal court in Dublin.

Mr Lunney, a 51-year-old father of six, was abducted close to his home in County Fermanagh on the evening of 17 September 2019.

His leg was broken and he was doused in bleach, with the letters QIH carved into his chest during the ordeal.

The kidnapping lasted two-and-a-half hours, before he was left on a roadside in County Cavan.

Luke O'Reilly, 67, from Mullahoran Lower, Kilcogy, County Cavan; Darren Redmond, 27, from Caledon Road, East Wall, Dublin; Alan O'Brien, 40, of Shelmalier Road, East Wall, Dublin, are all charged with false imprisonment and assault causing serious harm to Mr Lunney.

Another 40-year-old man, 'YZ', who cannot be named for legal reasons, is also charged with the same offences.

He is due to face another trial on unrelated matters.

The four deny all charges.

'We had to hit him'

Opening the case the prosecution outlined what happened to Mr Lunney during his abduction.

Counsel for the state said what happened to Kevin Lunney was done in connection with his role in the Quinn Industrial Holdings company and ongoing litigation.

During his ordeal he said Mr Lunney was repeatedly asked to resign from QIH along with other directors.

The court heard Mr Lunney attempted to escape from the boot of the car he had been put in and heard one of his kidnappers telephone another man and say: "Boss, this man resisted and we had to hit him."

It also heard that the kidnappers had bought bleach which was rubbed into Mr Lunney.

Gardai were able to identify the man who bought the bleach as Luke O'Reilly.

The prosecution said that from that purchase and with the use of dialled mobile phone calls, DNA and CCTV footage they were able to identify the other defendants and Cyril McGuinness, also known as Dublin Jimmy, who died from a suspected heart attack during a police raid on his home in Derbyshire in November 2019.

The trial, which is expected to last 12 weeks, had been delayed because of public health concerns and legal arguments.

Proceedings are expected to continue until the end of July, then resume in September.