A MAN who breached the terms of his bail told Judge Donnchadh Ó Buachalla that he had left the country and missed a court appearance only because he been abducted and brought to Holland.

Patrick O'Brien from 9 St. David's Terrace in Oylegate said that he had been snatched from The Shannon in Enniscorthy. After the Irish diplomatic service notified the Gardaí, he was arrested on his return from the Netherlands. This happened at Dublin Airport a week before last week's court sitting. He had been in custody since.

The charge before Enniscorthy District Court last Wednesday was that he was responsible for criminal damage to a plate glass window belonging to Adam Gill at Mallin Street in Wexford. The offence allegedly occurred on January 18, 2008, two years ago.

He failed to appear in court when the matter was listed for consideration on January 4 this year. Solicitor John O'Leary stated that his client had already paid €600 in compensation and that O'Brien was looking for time to pay more.

Garda Inspector Pat Cody noted that the accused was also due to appear in court on another, serious matter. As a condition of his bail in this matter, he had been required to sign on daily at Wexford Garda station but this had not happened, the inspector told the court.

The defendant had also been ordered not to apply for a passport and this condition, too, had been disobeyed. Mr. O'Leary insisted that his client had been in Holland against his will and that the passport had to be obtained in order that he could return to Ireland.

The inspector did not accept the abduction story and applied for a remand in continuing custody, saying he was worried that the man before the court would once more leave the jurisdiction. Mr. O'Leary said his client had always come to court when required in the past and called O'Brien to give evidence in a bid to persuade Judge Donnchadh Ó Buachalla that bail should be granted.

Patrick O'Brien was sworn in by court clerk Una Deedy. He confirmed his address in Oylegate and that he was due in court seven days later on a very serious charge, a charge that he dismissed as 'bullshit'. He said that he had paid €600 towards the cost of the broken window in Mallin Street.

He explained that his failure to turn up at the courthouse at the beginning of the year was that his 86-year-old-grandmother, with whom he resided, had broken her arm when she fell over a bucket. Then, about two weeks previously, he was kidnapped while in Enniscorthy.

He felt it was a case of mistaken identity but, whatever the reason, he woke up to find himself covered in diesel in the back of a van, in the Netherlands. He told the judge that he escaped and then spent two days walking from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. There he contacted the police who referred him to the Salvation Army, who arranged to obtain the passport, he added. He told how, at the end of the experience, he was left with two broken bones and nerve damage around the eye. Then, when he landed at Dublin Airport, Garda Antoinette Byrne was waiting to arrest him.

Judge Ó Buachalla ordered a remand in custody for a further week but indicated that he would entertain a further bail application then. He granted O'Brien the services of John O'Leary under the free legal aid scheme.