Case No. 2688Kidnap, torture
Appeal of three men convicted of kidnap and torture of Kevin Lunney adjourned
The Court of Appeal adjourned for three months the appeal of Alan Harte, Alan O'Brien and Darren Redmond, who were convicted in the Special Criminal Court of the kidnapping and torture of Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney, after barristers argued that key DNA evidence from a van destroyed by fire in garda custody should not have been admissible at trial.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court18 Dec
- Convicted17 Dec
2 reports - Sentenced19 Dec
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports45 statements extracted from the articles
- whatDNA matching Darren Redmond was found on a bar behind the front seats of the van. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe prosecution did not allege Lunney was in the van but that someone in contact with him transferred his blood to it. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe pleaded guilty to the harassment of Nicola Tallant, Amanda Brunker and Deirdre Reynolds. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man first sexually assaulted the victim in a car on the way back from the New Year's Eve party. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatWhile the girl was drifting in and out of sleep, the man sexually assaulted her twice more and then raped her. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe false imprisonment and harm occurred at a yard at Drumbrade, Ballinagh, Co Cavan. (irishtimes.com)
- whereKevin Lunney was abducted from his home in Co Fermanagh. (irishtimes.com)
- whereMcAnaw is of no fixed abode and previously of Letterkenny, Co Donegal. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe victim, her sister and mother were temporarily staying at the home of their mother's partner after becoming homeless. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe harassment occurred on various dates in August 2023. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationThe victim and her mother made a complaint to gardai on 5 January 2023. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationThe man provided a DNA sample which matched saliva found on the girl's underwear. (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeThe three men were convicted of false imprisonment and intentionally causing harm to Kevin Lunney. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe was arraigned on three counts of harassment. (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeThe man pleaded guilty to one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial took place at the Special Criminal Court in December 2022. (irishtimes.com)
- courtDefence counsel argued the State failed to preserve the van properly, citing no secure storage, no CCTV, and no access log. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe appeal was set to continue before the court on Wednesday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe cases of the three convicted men were adjourned for three months at the Court of Appeal. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe men argued the Special Criminal Court judges erred in refusing to adjourn the trial to clarify the law on admissibility of phone records. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe appellants argued gardaí acquired CCTV footage used in the trial knowing the evidence was obtained in breach of the law. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe appellants said witnesses who gave evidence in a voir dire hearing should have been recalled to give testimony in the trial and take a fresh oath. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMr Justice Patrick McCarthy, on behalf of the three-judge court, remarked the case would not finish as scheduled. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMcAnaw appeared at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 18 December 2024. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtJudge Martin Nolan ordered the preparation of victim impact statements. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMcAnaw was remanded in continuing custody for sentence on 7 March 2025. (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceAlan Harte was sentenced to 30 years in prison. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceDarren Redmond was sentenced to 18 years with the final three suspended. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceHe received an eight-year and four-month sentence for the 2018 attack in June 2023, backdated to 2018. (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe final 16 months of the 2023 sentence were suspended for 16 years with Probation Services supervision. (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe judge set a headline sentence of 12 years on the rape count. (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe man was sentenced to eight years with the final 12 months suspended for two years on strict conditions. (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceA post-release supervision order of five years was imposed. (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe man was directed to have no direct or indirect contact with the victim. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe van used as a team bus by the offenders was destroyed by fire while in garda custody. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherKevin Lunney is a director of Quinn Industrial Holdings. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherHe was jailed for nine years for raping a foreign student in Donegal in October 2010. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherHe was convicted by a jury in 2012 of orally raping and sexually assaulting the student. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherHe has a 1989 conviction for kidnapping. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherHe has convictions for assaults causing actual bodily harm from a Derry court in 2011. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe man was a nephew of the girl's mother's partner and lived in the same house. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe man had four previous convictions for defilement of a child under 17, a female cousin, sentenced to three years and six months in 2018. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe victim is in therapy and has experienced nightmares, sleepless nights and symptoms of PTSD. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe man went to the United Kingdom but returned voluntarily for interview. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe man was assessed at medium risk of re-offending with protective factors including his work history. (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 19 Dec2024Teen raped after NYE party tells attacker 'you ruined me'
Sentencing report from the Central Criminal Court. The judge set a headline sentence of 12 years on the rape count but imposed eight years with the final 12 months suspended for two years, a five-year post-release supervision order, and a no-contact order, after allowing mitigation for early guilty pleas.
victim, 17, femaleconvicted, 35, male - 19 Dec2024Rapist pleads guilty to harassment of three female journalists
Guilty plea to three counts of harassment; sentence deferred to 7 March 2025. Article also details McAnaw's extensive criminal history including a 2010 rape conviction and a 2023 sentence for a 2018 knife attack.
convicted, Mark McAnaw, 52, male, named, irish (judged from name)Mark McAnawvictim, Nicola Tallant, female, irish (judged from name)Nicola Tallantvictim, Amanda Brunker, female, irish (judged from name)Amanda Brunkervictim, Deirdre Reynolds, female, irish (judged from name)Deirdre Reynolds - 18 Dec2024Appeal of three men convicted of kidnap and torture of Kevin Lunney adjourned
Reports that the Court of Appeal adjourned the three-day appeal for three months after barristers raised issues over admissibility of DNA evidence from a van destroyed in garda custody, phone records, and CCTV footage obtained in breach of the law.
victim, Kevin Lunney, male, irish (judged from name)Kevin Lunneyconvicted, Alan Harte, 43, male, named, irish (judged from name)Alan Harteconvicted, 43, male, irish (judged from name)convicted, Darren Redmond, 30, male, named, irish (judged from name)Darren Redmond - 17 Dec2024Three jailed for kidnapping of Quinn director Kevin Lunney contest DNA evidence used at trial
Details the second day of the appeal hearing, including defence arguments that the Renault Kangoo van was not properly preserved in Garda custody (no secure storage, no CCTV, no access log, tracking device removed by a surveillance team) and the DPP's response that the DNA evidence remains admissible.
victim, Kevin Lunney, male, irish (judged from name)Kevin Lunneyconvicted, Alan Harte, 43, male, named, irish (judged from name)Alan Harteconvicted, 43, male, irish (judged from name)convicted, Darren Redmond, 30, male, named, irish (judged from name)Darren Redmond