Three men found guilty of falsely imprisoning and assaulting Kevin Lunney

Three men have been found guilty in connection with kidnap and assault of Quinn Industrial Holdings executive Kevin Lunney.

A man who cannot be named for legal reasons has been found guilty at the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin of falsely imprisoning and assaulting the businessman.

The 40-year-old, one of four men accused in the case, was referred to in court as "YZ".

Alan O'Brien, 40, and Darren Redmond, 27, were also found guilty on the same charges at the hearing on Monday.

A fourth man, 68-year-old Luke O'Reilly, from Co Cavan, was found not guilty.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the court is satisfied that the man who cannot be named for legal reasons was "heavily involved" in the crimes against Kevin Lunney.

Mr Justice Hunt, who is delivering the verdicts, said the court is satisfied that the circumstantial evidences proves beyond reasonable doubt that the man was guilty of abducting and assaulting Mr Lunney.

The judge said he was also satisfied that the man was the driver of the Audi that was used to take Mr Lunney to an isolated farm where he was tied up and assaulted.

The man was also responsible for inflicting most of the injuries to Mr Lunney, the court also said.

Mr Lunney was kidnapped close to his home in Co Fermanagh on the evening of September 17, 2019.

The businessman had his leg broken, was doused in bleach and the letters QIH were carved into his chest before he was dumped on a roadside in Co Cavan.

Mr Justice Hunt indicated it could take most of the day to read out the judgment.

Mr Justice Hunt is presiding over the three-judge court.

The four defendants all denied charges of abducting and assaulting Mr Lunney.

They are Luke O'Reilly, 68, from Kilcogy, Co Cavan; Redmond and O'Brien, both of whom have addresses in East Wall in Dublin; and the fourth named only as "YZ".

The trial ran for 40 days in the summer.

The trial heard that Mr Lunney was bundled into the boot of a car close to his home in Co Fermanagh and driven across the border.

He was taken to a farm site and put in a horsebox where he was tied up and beaten, had his leg broken and covered in bleach and had the letters QIH carved into his chest with a Stanley knife.

Mr Lunney's attackers demanded that he resign as a director of QIH.

Mr Justice Hunt said the court was satisfied that Mr Lunney was falsely imprisoned and assaulted and accepted his evidence.

Mr Justice Hunt described Mr Lunney as a "most impressive witness" and said the court accepted his evidence.

He also told the court that he had an "uncanny ability" to estimate the passage of time, even though his attackers had removed his watch.

He added that Mr Lunney's description of the yard where he was taken was borne out in the investigation.

Mr Lunney is attending the court to hear the judgment.

The three judges who presided in the case had been expected to give their verdict last month but it was delayed until Monday.

In a statement, Kevin Lunney said: "On behalf of myself and my family I want to thank the gardaí, PSNI, DPP and the Justices of the Special Criminal Court for their diligence, time and effort in bringing the investigation and trial to this point.

"I also want to thank all those who supported my family at the time of and since the attack, most especially my colleagues at Mannok, the local community and the countless friends and strangers for their prayers and well wishes. 

"I want to also express my sincere gratitude to the wider community for their exceptional level of assistance to the authorities throughout the investigation."