Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE DIRECTOR OF Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH) who was abducted, tortured and left by the side of the road in Cavan is to give his first TV interview tonight.
Kevin Lunney will detail his traumatic ordeal to the BBC Spotlight NI programme and will describe his attempt escape from the gang.
Kevin Lunney was abducted from his car near his home in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh at around 6.40pm on 23 September.
He was savagely assaulted and tortured before being left at the side of the road at Drumcoughill, Cornafean, Co Cavan sometime before 9pm the same night.
Speaking to Spotlight NI, Lunney says that as he was coming up the laneway towards his home when his car was rammed. He says that he locked his doors but that his windows were smashed and he was dragged out with one man placing a Stanley knife to his neck.
“I was still resisting a little bit and he said: ‘Get into that, and if you don’t get into that we’re gonna kill you’,” Lunney describes.
He explains that he managed to unlock the boot and begin an escape before being pulled back.
I went to jump, but I hadn’t realised that one of the guys inside the car had taken the seat down, so he had come into the boot sort of on his belly and had caught my right foot.
The broadcast of the programme comes a number of hours after the Garda Commissioner met with directors of QIH earlier today to discuss ongoing investigations relating to the threats against them.
Despite patrols and police and garda activity on both sides of the border, fresh threats have been made against QIH directors.
In the Dáil this afternoon, Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin criticised the government’s approach to policing in the border area, saying that “the rule of law is gone”.
“The State is not in control and has not been in control for some time. Criminality reigns supreme. We need to fundamentally alter what we have been doing on that,” Martin said, suggesting that a new cross-border agency is needed.
That does mean a Criminal Assets Bureau-like joint agency, multidisciplinary between the PSNI, An Garda Síochána and others. A taskforce will not cut it. It needs statutory underpinning. It would send a message once and for all to these warlords that enough is enough, that we are not taking it any more.
In response, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that he is unsure if a new cross-border agency is the correct approach added that it should not be ruled out.
“We have put additional resources into the border area, with over 100 additional gardaí in the past two years, extra garda staff, a fully armed service unit for the Cavan area and the Garda Commissioner has told me that the level of resourcing will continue,” Varadkar said.
“On foot of our discussion, he will discuss with the PSNI how to best work together on a joint investigation. I am not sure if a statutory agency is the best way for them to do so, as something like that takes a long time to establish, but I would not rule it out.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
One of the management team is a FG councillor. Did he express the danger they were in, or intimidation even, to Heather Humphries who is a FG minister from the border? Beggars belief how this fell on deaf ears for so long.
These are very volatile men who will shoot gardai as enemies as they did in that Louth post office . Ex Provos with an ease for taking life . A fist approach in policing is best when dealing with complete arrogance to the law
@William O Connor: same crack with you William. You seem to know who these boys are. Please tell!
@Patrick Agnew: I’d say you know a thing or two yourself ya dark horse ya Paddy
@William O Connor: Apparently, a FG councillor is involved. So typical FG response, throw shapes at Rrpublicans to deflect away from what they know. Curiouser and curiouser.
@William O Connor: You shouldn’t point fingers at people unless you have proof or inside knowledge and if you do , you should be talking to the Gardai not spouting on here .
When the story broke about the refugees found dead in the trailer everyone pointed their fingers at a certain group in the North . As more information came out the opposite was true
I just have a feeling the Gardai are sleep walking into a hornets nest here. From the article these are ex-IRA hardmen so God knows what they would do. I think a few extra gardai with baton sticks will not scare them.
@Aire Dezamba: Send in our well trained armed response units…. you hardly turn up at a gun fight with a knife:-)
@Aire Dezamba: funny that, as I didn’t read that from the article at all. in fact, I didn’t see the IRA mentioned at all. But sure people will see what they want to see and if that doesn’t work, will make it up anyway.
@Angela McCarthy: no need to state the obvious really, sure its as clear as day they’re involved.
This will be good!
I think these criminal types will regret this act
The heat will be on them from now on and this will be seen as a turning point
The guards mightn’t be much good but if you have 200 or more of them driving around Cavan with dash cams and eyes open they will see enough to sicken these low life pigs
A lot of people here seem to be pushing the notion that the IRA are behind this. From what I gathered from spotlight, the animals behind the attacks are thugs for hire. They may have or have had paramilitary connections, but there was no indication that they are doing this in the name of republicans. If it had been extortion as suggested by a previous poster, surely they would have demanded Kevin Lunney paid up rather than resign.
Yes that’s correct
Being the army back from rescuing Lisa Smith in Syria and have them sort these thugs out.
We don’t want the border area to be like many South American countries with bandits running it.
It’s tiresome…..
I was just wondering how a group of people that were heavily involved in the financial running of the Quinn group before the collapse of said group ended up running the renamed company
@Seanboy: what’s that got to do with abduction, torture and continued death threats? Given the track record of qih since Sean Quinn gambled it away, I’d say they ended up in those positions because they are highly competent.
@Seanboy: The Quinn group collapsed because of the reckless gambling of Sean Quinn facilitated by the even bigger gamblers of Anglo Irish bank. Casting aspersions on others does you no favours.
have your say