Five men charged with the murder of crime boss, Kieran Keane, must stand trial in Limerick, a judge has ruled.
Mr Justice Paul Carney made the order at the Central Criminal Court in Limerick yesterday as he set a date for the trial.
Appearing before Mr Justice Carney were Mr James McCarthy, (24) and Mr David Stanners (31) both of Pineview Gardens, Moyross, Mr Christopher 'Smokey' Costelloe (20), of Moylish Avenue Ballynanty, Mr Anthony 'Noddy' McCarthy (21) The Fairgreen and Mr Dessie Dundon(20), of Hyde Road — all in Limerick.
All five are charged with the murder of 36 year-old father-of-two, Mr Kieran Keane, at Drombana — a few miles outside Limerick city — on January 29th last.
They are also charged with the attempted murder of Keane's nephew, Mr Owen Treacy, on the same date.
The murdered man's widow — Mrs Sophie Keane — was present in the public gallery with family members for yesterday's court sitting.
Denying a defence counsel application to have the trial moved to Dublin, Mr Justice Carney said "To transfer the trial out of Limerick would mean stripping Limerick of policemen and that is the reason why I am here."
A 28-page statement provided to gardai by Mr Treacy would be central to the prosecution case, the court heard.
The court also heard that the State would allege that Mr Kieran Keane and Mr Treacy were lured to a house in The Fairgreen area of Limerick on a "pretext" before they were hooded and driven to another house where they were detained and later transferred into a Hiace van.
It would also be alleged that one of the five accused shot Mr Keane and repeatedly stabbed Mr Treacy at Drombana.
Mr Treacy pretended he was dead as he lay on the ground — and after his abductors had fled the scene he managed to raise the alarm, the court heard.
Objecting to a bail application, Detective Inspector Bob Noonan said the murder of Mr Keane had led to "a serious escalation of an ongoing feud in Limerick".
Mr Justice Carney refused bail to four of the five accused who made applications at yesterday's sitting.
He also refused defence counsel applications for separate trials and fixed Tuesday October 21st as the date for the start of the murder trial at the Central Criminal Court in Limerick.