Cork recluse living in container made 999 ‘kidnap’ call

A man living a reclusive existence in a container in East Cork made an anonymous 999 call claiming to have kidnapped a woman at gunpoint on New Year’s Eve and yesterday he was released from jail.

Paul Houlihan, aged 46, made the 999 call and the armed regional support unit was among the garda units that rushed to Barryscourt, Co Cork, as the mobile phone call appeared to have come from that area, Detective Sergeant Séan Leahy said.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin remanded Houlihan in custody after the sentencing hearing three weeks ago at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.