Four held in Limerick murder inquiry

GARDAÍ in Limerick yesterday arrested four people as part of the investigation into the murder of Kieran Keane and the abduction of Eddie and Kieran Ryan.

Three men and one woman, were arrested in the Thurles area and brought to Mayorstone and Henry Street Garda Stations in Limerick City. The four, who range in ages from 25 to 35, were taken into custody just after 8am. They are being questioned under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held for up to 72 hours.

Four houses in Thurles were being searched by forensic experts from Dublin last night. Gardaí said it may take several days to complete the detailed examination of the properties.

These arrests bring to 12 the number of people taken into custody since Kieran Keane, 36, was murdered in an execution-style killing at Drombanna, four miles from Limerick, on January 29. Keane’s nephew Owen Treacy, 30, was stabbed seven times to the upper body in the same attack.

Two men and two women, including a well known Limerick publican, were arrested the day after the murder and were questioned at Roxboro Garda Station. The four were later released without charge.

A 19-year-old man, a man in his 40s and two men in their 20s were arrested by gardaí on February 19, following raids on a number of houses in the north of the city. The four men were members of a northside gang involved in a bitter feud between rival families. None of the four was charged.

On February 5, a garda forensic team cordoned off a house in a Limerick estate as part of the Keane murder investigation. Detectives believe the house in Roundwood, Rosbrien, is connected to Mr Keane’s murder and the Ryan brothers disappearance.

The Garda Technical Bureau spent days examining the large house located close to the grounds of Young Munster rugby club. Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne has promised to keep a specially-trained armed garda unit in the city until there is peace.