Three men have been convicted of kidnapping a family at gunpoint and carrying out a €2.28 million cash-in-transit van robbery 13 years ago.

Cash-in-transit van partner Paul Richardson was extremely distraught on the day of an alleged tiger-kidnap of his family, a court has heard.

A mother and son have described their ordeal of being held captive near the Wicklow Mountains during a €2.28m robbery almost 15 years ago.

They were aware of his daily routine and told him “we're watching you all the time”, the court heard.

A Dublin plumber who broke a man’s skull with a claw hammer after finding him in his former partner’s bed has avoided a jail sentence.