Brothers extradited to North in connection with O'Hare-McClatchey murders

Two brothers wanted in the North in connection with a double murder have been extradited from the South, police have said.

The pair, aged 37 and 40, are due to appear before a magistrate in Armagh city tomorrow.

Thomas O’Hare, 33, and his girlfriend Lisa McClatchey, 21, were beaten with hammers and doused in petrol by self-styled vigilantes before their house was set alight in November 2006 in Co Armagh.

Martin and Niall Smith were detained by gardaí three weeks ago under extradition warrants. They were brought before the High Court in Dublin on two charges of murder and one of criminal damage and have been in custody since then.

Martin Smith, 40, was arrested at Cois Croinn, Saltown, Dundalk, Co Louth. He previously lived in Kevlin Glen in Omagh.

Meanwhile, 37-year-old Niall, previously of Mourneview, Armagh, was arrested at Moylaragh Avenue in Balbriggan, north Dublin.

Six masked intruders are believed to have carried out the attack on the couple’s home in Tassagh, near Newtownhamilton.

An hour after the attack, four men appeared at a hospital across the border in Co Louth with critical burns and were later transferred for specialist treatment in Dublin.

It is understood gardaí and the PSNI are still searching for two other men in connection with the attack.