Two of the men implicated in the fatal gun attack on Donna Cleary at a party in Coolock, Dublin, in the early hours of Sunday appeared before the courts in a special sitting late last night.
In an unusual development, both appeared before Dublin District Court after gardaí applied to the court to extend their detention for an extra 24 hours until 11pm tonight.
One of the two men had been named at the hearing last night as Wayne Harte. He has an address at Littlepace Drive, Clonee, Co Meath, but is originally from Finglas. The court heard he was arrested at 10.55pm on Sunday at Thornton Lodge, The Curragh, Co Kildare, on suspicion of possession of a firearm at Adare Green, Coolock, at 2.30am on Sunday. Garda were granted permission to detain him for the extra 24-hour period.
The other man to appear before the court last night was Jeffrey Finnegan (26), Rathvilley Drive, Finglas. The court was told he was arrested at the same time as Harte. He was also being questioned on suspicion of possession of a firearm at Adare Green, Coolock, at 2.30am on Sunday.
The two were detained just before 11pm on Sunday under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. Under this they can be held for 72 hours without charge.
However, after an initial 48-hour period gardaí must apply to the courts to detain them for a further 24 hours.
The third man involved in the attack, 24-year-old Dwayne Foster, died in Garda custody in the early hours of yesterday morning in Beaumont Hospital. An internal Garda inquiry is under way into his death. Foster is believed to have fired five shots into the house at Adare Green, Coolock, one of which fatally wounded Donna Cleary.
In another development last night a husband and wife who were also being questioned about Ms Cleary's killing were released without charge. A file on their role in the case is being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, they are not directly implicated in the killing of Ms Cleary, a 22-year-old single mother of one.
The internal Garda inquiry into Dwayne Foster's death began shortly after he was pronounced dead at Beaumont Hospital just after 3am yesterday. He had complained of feeling unwell a number of times on Monday and was examined three times at Coolock Garda station by two doctors.
He was taken to Beaumont Hospital at 9pm on Monday. However, after his complaints of headaches were explored and he underwent tests, he was discharged and was returned to Coolock Garda station. He was questioned by gardaí, ate a meal, and consulted with his solicitor at the station before going to bed before midnight. He appeared to be in good health when checked a number of times. However, when checked by a garda on duty at 2.30am he could not be roused.
Blood had come from his nose and an ambulance was called immediately. He was rushed back to Beaumont but was pronounced dead at around 3.15am.
The internal Garda investigation into the death is being headed by Chief Supt Pat Magee from the Sligo-Leitrim Garda division. He is being assisted by Supt John McMahon who is normally based in Tuam, Co Galway.
The investigation is expected to involve a series of interviews of gardaí who came into contact with Foster from the time of his arrest. The two doctors who treated him at Coolock will also be spoken to, as will staff at Beaumont Hospital. A spokesman for the hospital said it would co-operate with any investigation into the death. It was already carrying out its own review of the case.
A garda spokesman said the Garda were satisfied that all regulations had been adhered to during the deceased's detention.