Cork man called 999 to say he kidnapped woman

A man living in a container in east Cork created an armed response from gardaí by making an anonymous 999 call claiming to have kidnapped a woman at gunpoint on New Year’s Eve 2014.

Paul Houlihan, aged 46, made the emergency call, which led to the armed regional support unit rushing to Barryscourt as the call came from that area.

Det Sgt Séan Leahy told a sentencing hearing at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday that the call was made on December 31, 2014. A man who claimed to be armed said he kidnapped a woman and was threatening to kill her.