Two men remanded over alleged Co Louth farmhouse attack

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

William Twomey and Anthony Finglas appeared at the Special Criminal Court for a bail hearing on 18 February 2020 over an alleged attack on Edward McAndrew in Co Louth.

The men were charged with attacking and falsely imprisoning Mr McAndrew at One Ferry Hill, Cornamucklagh, Omeath, on or about 2 December 2017. They were also charged with robbing him of items including two mobile phones and a passport.

Caroline Cummings BL, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said it was alleged that Mr McAndrew was lured to a farmhouse, assaulted with iron bars and placed in a car boot before being taken out and told to pay £50,000. She said the demand was later repeated by email, his daughter was contacted and his home was allegedly damaged by fire on the evening of that contact.

Ms Cummings said the prosecution needed financial information to assess whether Mr Twomey was a flight risk. Bernard Condon SC, for Mr Twomey, called the request a fishing exercise and said the Irish Prison Service had failed to facilitate a meeting between his client and his lawyers. Ms Cummings rejected his claim that the Bail Act was being used as an investigatory tool.

Mr Justice Paul Coffey said the obligation to provide the information was mandatory and that it could be used only for the bail application, not against Mr Twomey at trial. Both men were remanded in custody until the following Tuesday.