Two young Irish men on a working holiday in Australia are now facing murder charges after allegedly brutally assaulting a man outside the home they rented in Sydney.

Nathan Kelly, 21, appeared by video link from prison where he has been in custody since his arrest with Christopher McLaughlin, 24, in the early hours of December 29.

Police found the Irish men 30 minutes after Paul Tavelardis, 66, was found allegedly left for dead on a street corner just after midnight on the Saturday before New Year’s Eve after an allegedly brutal assault.

Mr Kelly, looking fresh-faced but slightly bewildered, leant so far forward in the prison video booth obscuring his face that Magistrate Louise McManus was forced to ask him, “Can you sit back a bit because we can only see the top of your head?”.

The two accused men, friends from a tight-knit community in Donegal, Ireland, have been in Australia since June last year.

Mr McLaughlin, who calls himself Christy, says on Facebook he has been employed as a tunnel worker for WestConnex since arriving in Sydney.

Appearing via video link from Long Bay Hospital, Mr McLaughlin blinked rapidly and politely answered the Magistrate as she organised for him to see a lawyer and remanded both men with bail refused until March 6.

Mr Tavelardis was found on the side of a road in the inner western Sydney suburb of Summer Hill at 12.35am on December 29 and taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a critical condition.

Police located Mr Kelly and Mr McLaughlin soon afterwards and charged then with recklessly cause grievous bodily harm and affray.

The charges were upgraded this week to murder after Mr Tavelardis died in hospital on Monday.