TWO men wanted for questioning over the murder of Carlisle man Ryan Kirkpatrick are facing extradition proceedings in southern Ireland.

The suspects were identified at the High Court in Dublin as Kane Hull, 28, and Liam Porter, 32, both from Carlisle. They were detained last week by police acting on European arrest warrants.

Both were arrested on suspicion of murder.

Mr Kirkpatrick, 24, died on September 18 after being stabbed in Carlyle's Court in the city centre. Detectives have said they believe what happened was a "targeted attack".

Police are continuing to investigate the attack and have made a series of arrests - the most recent being yesterday, with a man and a woman detained on suspicon of assisting an offender.. 

Both Hull and Porter were produced at the Extradition Court in Dublin last week before Mr Justice Paul Burns.

The warrant that was the legal basis of their arrest was issued by Carlisle Magistrates Court last Monday, the court heard, and the two men were arrested 'on foot' in the Carracastle area of Mayo last Tuesday.

Caroline Hyland, from the Castlebar Garda station, said she was satisfied from her inquiries that the person brought before the court was the Kane Hull who was named on the arrest warrant.

He replied "no comment" when asked if he understood the summary of the alleged offences mentioned in the warrant, she said.

Fellow officer Jimmy O'Brien, also of Castlebar Garda station, testified about the arrest of Porter. He told the court that when he read the summary of the alleged offences cited in the warrant to Porter he replied: "Yeah, I understand yeah."

Both were remanded in custody and will appear before the court again in due course. Senior Cumbrian police officers described the two arrests in Ireland as "significant".

The News & Star understands that both suspects plan to oppose their extradition back to the UK. As a result, the process could take several weeks to complete.

As the investigation into Mr Kirkpatrick's murder got underway, police appealed for anybody with relevant information to get in touch.

A spokesman for Cumbria Police confirmed that two men remain in custody in The Republic of Ireland and are awaiting the completion of extradition proceedings. Both were arrested on suspicion of Mr Kirkpatrick's murder, the spokesman confirmed.

Police have so far made ten arrests during the investigation. The latest of were confirmed yesterday. You can read about that development on this link.

* Mr Kirkpatrick will be laid rest on the morning of October 12 after a service at St. Elisabeth’s Church, Harraby, Carlisle. This will be followed by a private committal at Carlisle Crematorium.

Mr Kirkpatrick's family described him as the "light" of their lives, saying he was "beautiful, kind and caring."