LATEST: Dublin man (48) charged with murder of Kenneth O'Brien

A man has been charged at a special sitting of Dublin District Court with the murder of 33-year-old Kenneth O'Brien, whose dismembered remains were discovered in a number of locations in Co Kildare last month.

Paul Wells, 48, of Barnamore Park in Finglas, was brought to the court from Naas Garda Station, where he had been questioned since last Saturday.

Sergeant Gerard Moore gave evidence of arresting Mr Wells and charging him in Naas Garda Station at 5.16pm this evening.

After being cautioned, the accused responded: "I’m responsible for killing Kenneth."

Judge Anthony Halpin remanded Mr Wells in custody until Thursday 18 February to appear again at Cloverhill District Court.

Mr Wells w0re glasses and was dressed in a blue hooded top, black trousers and white runners.

He sat with his arms folded for the brief hearing.

The man was arrested on Saturday morning, 6th February 2016 and was detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at Naas Garda Station.

A second man previously arrested by gardaí had already been released without charge.

O’Brien’s partner Eimear was present in court for the brief hearing this evening.

Kenneth O’Brien’s body was discovered in the Grand Canal at Ardclough Village, County Kildare on Saturday 16th January.

The discovery sparked a huge-scale murder inquiry in Cos Kildare, Dublin and Wicklow over the past four weeks involving dozens of gardai.

Detectives followed up to 300 lines of investigation as part of the probe.

Officers even travelled to Australia where Mr O'Brien lived and worked.