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Three accused of nailing man's feet to the floor are refused bail

Three men were due to appear in court on Thursday after a man's feet were nailed to floor of house in Limerick
Three men were due to appear in court on Thursday after a man's feet were nailed to floor of house in Limerick Three men were due to appear in court on Thursday after a man's feet were nailed to floor of house in Limerick

THREE men have been refused bail after they appeared in court in Limerick in connection with a violent attack on a man in which his feet were nailed to ground.

Mark Heffernan (32) of Swallow Drive, John Carew Park in Southill, Gerard Mackin (33) of Star Court, John Carew Park, Southill, and Patrick Hayes (52) of Larch Court, Kennedy Park, Limerick are all charged with the assault and false imprisonment of a 51-year-old man on September 14 last year.

The alleged incident is understood to be linked to the extortion of money from the Traveller community.

At Limerick District Court on Thursday it was alleged the man was lured to an address in the city before he was threatened and assaulted by a number of men claiming to be from the IRA.

The court heard the nails inserted into the victim's feet, with a high velocity nail gun, had to be surgically removed.

Other evidence indicated the victim was warned not to contact gardaí and that the men tried to extort €15,000 from him.

Bail was refused. All three men were remanded in custody to appear before the same court again next Tuesday.