Gardai have confirmed that further charges may be brought against an Englishman arrested following the death of a 20-yearold man in Co Kerry at the weekend. Mr Robert Anthony, with an address at Derrylough, Tuosist, Kenmare, was charged with assaulting and causing harm to Mr Philip O'Sullivan, at Derrylough, Tuosist, Kenmare, on August 22nd.
Mr O'Sullivan's body was found by the side of the main Kenmare/ Castletownbere road at Derrylough, about nine miles from Kenmare, at around midnight on Friday. Mr Anthony (49) was arrested two hours later at his home under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and brought to Killarney Garda station.
At a special Saturday night sitting of Killarney District Court, i charged Mr Anthony was charged with assaulting Mr O'Sullivan and causing him harm, contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
Det Sgt John Brennan, of Tralee Garda station, gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. He said Mr Anthony made no reply when charged.
Insp Pat Malone applied to have Mr Anthony remanded in custody but Mr Anthony's solicitor, Mr Colm Murphy, applied to Judge Joseph Mangan to have his client released on bail.
Mr Murphy said Mr Anthony had lived at Derrylough for the past seven years and, although he often went away on trips, he always returned there. It was his only property.
"After the alleged incident, he remained at the scene until the gardai arrived. He made no attempt to evade the gardai and cooperated fully with them," he added.
Objecting to bail, Insp Malone said Mr Anthony often left home for up to two months at a time, travelling to Africa and the Middle East. He also objected to bail given "the likelihood of further charges of a more serious nature" being brought.
Mr Murphy said Mr Anthony travelled abroad as a roadie for bands. He was currently on social welfare.
Judge Mangan refused bail because of the possibility of more serious charges being brought. He remanded Mr Anthony in custody to Cork Prison, to appear at a special sitting of Tralee District Court on Thursday.
Mr Anthony, dressed in a charcoal jumper and blue jeans, looked solemn during the fiveminute hearing. As he left the court, he kissed his girlfriend who had sat through the hearing with her little girl.
The dead man, Mr Philip O'Sullivan, from Clonee, Tuosist, was a noted accordion player, playing regularly in local pubs. He is survived by his parents, Denis and Gretta, brothers Laurence (18) and John Paul (17), and sister Joanne (15).
Yesterday afternoon, the State pathologist, Dr John Harbison, was due to carry out a postmortem examination on Mr O'Sullivan at Tralee General Hospital.