Two men have been remanded in custody at Newry Magistrates Court charged in connection with the attack on a British couple who were on holiday near the border in Co Louth early on Monday morning.
20-year-old Elias Boswell from Bangor in Co Down and 21-year-old Patrick Joseph Mongan from Newry will appear again in court in a month.
The men have both been charged with two counts of attempted murder, aggravated burglary, hijacking and arson.
A 61-year-old man and his 56-year-old wife remain in a stable condition in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
The couple were attacked by three men with hatchets at 4am on Monday as they slept in their camper van in a lay-by at Carrickarnon in north Co Louth.
The woman sustained a fractured skull and lacerations, the man received deep cuts to his body.
The couple's camper van was found burnt out in the village of Meigh, in south Armagh.
Two men were arrested shortly afterwards close to the village when they attempted to ram a checkpoint set up by the PSNI.
