The three men found guilty of assaulting and falsely imprisoning Kevin Lunney will be sentenced next month.
The Special Criminal Court today heard how the Fermanagh businessman believes the journey to full accountability “was not yet complete”.
Two weeks ago, a man known only as YZ, along with 40 year old Alan O’Brien and 27 year old Darren Redmond, both with addresses in East Wall Dublin 3, were found guilty of being involved in taking Mr Lunney from near his Derrylin home and assaulting him at a location outside Ballinagh in Cavan.
The purpose of the attack was to have the QIH Director resign from his position.
Kevin Lunney sat in the third row of seats in Court number 11 of the Criminal Courts of Justice building in Dublin this morning as his victim impact statement was read out by Detective Garda Linda Harkin.
In it, he wrote about how the physical and mental scars of his abduction and assault in September 2019 will stay with him for the rest of his life.
He credited his family with being his rock and refuge during his recovery, adding that the anguish it caused them was a greater torment than any of the pain he felt during the ordeal.
The resilience of the other QIH directors was acknowledged, and he said acts like the march of solidarity organised by staff in the days following his attack sustained him.
Mr Lunney said the sentencing was a major milestone, but that the “journey to full accountability was not yet complete”.
He added that there’ll never be a place for violence and intimidation in the local community.
The Court also heard Michael O’Higgins SC describe a pyramid-style level of involvement in orchestrating the attack, with it accepted that the three men before the Court were at a lower level and “the muscle”, brought “to do the dirty work”.
Each defending barrister was given the opportunity to explain their clients’ personal circumstances and to make an argument for mitigating factors to be taken into consideration.
The three judge non-jury court, led by Mr Justice Tony Hunt adjourned just after 1pm.
All that was heard today will be considered, and sentences will be handed down on December 20th.
