A man has been charged in Co Kerry with the murder of Co Clare hackney driver Mr Liam Moloney (56).
Mr Anthony Kelly (52), Emlagh na Muck, Emlagh More, Waterville, Killarney, was charged with Mr Moloney's murder on February 11th at Portlecka, Ruan, Co Clare, at Cahirciveen Garda station yesterday morning.
He was brought from the south Kerry Garda station where he had been in custody overnight to Dingle District Court shortly before lunchtime.
Wearing jeans and a light mustard fleece, with a green shirt, he stumbled momentarily as gardaí directed him towards the courtyard entrance to the Dingle courthouse.
He sat silently in the courtroom accompanied by a garda.
Sgt Michael Haran of Ennis gardaí gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution at 10.46 a.m. at Fair Green Cahirciveen, yesterday.
He said he arrested the defendant, cautioned him and handed him a true copy of the charge sheet.
"He made no reply to the charge, Judge," Sgt Haran told Judge Terence Finn.
Garda Supt Pat Sullivan applied to remand Mr Kelly in custody to Cork Prison to appear at Ennis District Court at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Mr Kelly's solicitor, Mr Pat F O'Connor, requested that his client receive medical attention, "and in particular be seen by the prison psychiatrist and the prison psychologist", while on remand.
Judge Finn told Mr O'Connor that any application for bail, given the nature of the charge, would have to be dealt with by a higher court. He granted a certificate of legal aid.
Mr O'Connor said he would also be making an application for senior and junior counsel at the appropriate time.
Remanding him to Cork Prison until March 4th, Judge Finn directed that Mr Kelly be afforded psychiatric and medical facilities while in prison.
Up to 20 secondary school students on their lunch break, along with a large contingent of media accompanied by television cameras, watched as Mr Kelly was led away from Dingle courthouse to Cork Prison.
Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy arrested in Shannon on Thursday in connection with withholding information from the inquiry into Mr Moloney's murder and held overnight in Co Clare was released yesterday without charge. A file is to go to the DPP.