Sunday Tribune
Ali Bracken: Crime Correspondent
Eamon Dunne: murderedA HIGHLY-SENSITIVE secret intelligence file detailing the membership of one of the country's most dangerous gangs was compromised when gardaí sent it to a Dublin photocopying shop.
The file was seen by somebody in the shop who immediately informed a gang member that he featured prominently in it.
The dossier – which was destined for the DPP in the hope of bringing anti-gangland charges against senior criminals – was sent to Reads of Nassau Street on the orders of a senior garda who wanted to make it look as attractive as possible.
In an unusual move, part of the intelligence file on the gang responsible for murdering gang boss Eamon 'the Don' Dunne was brought to Reads by a garda from Store Street station instead of to the official garda photocopying centre in Santry.
The information about the Finglas gang was compiled over the past six months and is the most detailed piece of intelligence ever collated on them.
It is understood that a chart detailing approximately 40 members of the gang, and their position in its hierarchy, was brought to the printing store.
While in the shop, it was seen by a person who recognised some of the names on the list.
The individual immediately phoned one of the men who was considered by gardaí as a key member.
Detectives from the crime and security branch who were monitoring the suspected criminal's phone overheard the conversation.
The caller agreed to keep a copy of the list to pass on to this suspect.
After the conversation, specialist armed gardaí from crime and security and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation's (NBCI) Organised Crime Unit (OCU) swooped immediately upon the store.
It was shut down for over an hour while detectives interviewed a number of people including staff members about what happened.
It is understood that gardaí questioned the person who rang the criminal and passed on the information. Nobody is expected to face charges as no criminal offence was committed.
Detectives are also satisfied that there was no copy kept of the highly-classified list.
A solicitor for Reads group said yesterday it "neither supports nor condones in any way any criminal activity in any shape or form".
Detectives are hoping to secure charges against several gang members under the new anti-gangland legislation, which has made it a criminal offence to be a member of or direct a crime gang.
The gang was originally led by Martin 'Marlo' Hyland but when he was murdered in 2006 by his own associates, Eamon Dunne took control and was murdered by his own gang last April.
There are official facilities at Santry for gardaí to have confidential documents copied, laid out and bound professionally.
August 29, 2010
Sunday 29 August 2010
Thursday 26 August 2010
City gang dealt fresh blow with €1.8m drug haul
Irish Herald
By Conor Feehan
Thursday August 26 2010
A WEST Dublin drugs gang has been dealt a major blow after €1.8m worth of cannabis resin was seized in two separate raids.
The first raid was on Tuesday evening when a van was stopped in Dublin city centre and 200 kilos of the drug were recovered.
The value of the drugs in the van, which was stopped on the north quays, is estimated to be about €1.4m. The driver of the van, a 60-year-old man, was arrested.
A follow-up raid last night at a premises in Rathcoole, believed to be the distribution centre used by the gang, yielded another 70 kilos, worth another €400,000. A 40-year-old man was arrested at the scene.
The raids by the Garda National Drugs Unit were carried out after an intelligence-gathering operation.
Gardai said the latest hauls are seen as a major blow to the drug gang and follow-up arrests are expected to be made in the coming days.
The industrial estate where the drugs were found is in the Greenogue area on the outskirts of Rathcoole and Newcastle.
The 60-year-old man arrested in the city centre is being questioned at the Bridewell Garda Station under section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act.
The younger man arrested in Rathcoole is being detained at Clondalkin Garda Station under the same act. They can be held for up to seven days from the time of arrest. It is the second time in just two weeks that the gang have been hit.
Earlier this month, on August 12 and 13, gardai arrested 37 people as part of Operation Reagent, targeting the sale and supply of drugs in West Dublin.
Suspected
Some 36 men and one woman were arrested by officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit, as part of an operation targeting two drugs distribution gangs in Ballyfermot, Neilstown and Ronanstown in West Dublin.
More than 60 charges were laid against the suspected dealers.
Operation Reagent was a six-month covert operation to gather evidence against significant drug dealers in local communities. Drug Units at Ronanstown and Ballyfermot Garda Stations worked closely with the Garda National Drug Unit to gather evidence and secure drug supply charges.
cfeehan@herald.ie
- Conor Feehan
Friday 20 August 2010
The man who groomed Dunne and Hyland
Irish Herald
The man who groomed Dunne and Hyland
By Cormac Byrne, exclusive
Friday August 20 2010
THIS is the man who groomed Ireland's most infamous gang bosses, Eamonn 'The Don' Dunne and Martin 'Marlo' Hyland.
The Herald can today reveal the Godfather Eamonn Kelly (61) as the mastermind behind the rise of Dublin's most notorious criminals.
Gardai are currently trying to build a case against the elusive Kelly for allegedly organising the intimidation of two Dublin individuals at the behest of two builders.
Detectives understand that serious threats were made against a number of individuals and in one instance a car was torched.
Eamonn Kelly was lifted on Tuesday by officers from the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) along with a 77-year-old former member of the provisional IRA and a 28-year-old thug.
He was one of the first men in Irish history to be convicted of attempting to import cocaine into the country.
The two builders were also arrested but all five were released on Wednesday morning and the gardai are preparing a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
Kelly has remained a close associate of the Don's notorious Finglas drug gang, which was once headed by Martin 'Marlo' Hyland in recent years.
Both Marlo Hyland and Eamonn Dunne were assassinated in brutal gangland killings, in 2006 and April this year respectively.
Eamonn Kelly, from Furry Park Road in Dublin, met with Eamonn Dunne regularly in the years up to his death in pubs and restaurants across Dublin.
"Both men had a mutual respect for each other and Kelly would have acted as tutor for Dunne," a source said.
"Kelly would know every major figure on Dublin's northside."
The gangster was also responsible for grooming young Dublin criminals including Martin 'Marlo' Hyland (39).
Hyland was one of the biggest drug dealers in the country and was involved in drug-trafficking and gun-smuggling.
He was the target of Garda Operation Oak and investigating gardai had arrested 30 associates and seized over €15m worth of drugs before his murder.
Hyland was murdered in 2006 as he slept in the home of a relative in Finglas.
Kelly, a popular and clever gangland figure, is believed to have curried favour with most of Dublin's major crime gangs.
But despite his popularity, gardai have told Kelly that a credible threat had been made against his life by a Dublin crime gang, and advised him to re-examine his personal security.
Father-of-nine Kelly cut his teeth as a robber working with the Official IRA in the 1980s. Despite never swearing an oath to the paramilitary group, Kelly worked with the organisation's shadowy Group B unit.
The group specialised in armed robberies of cash and drink deliveries, and was behind some of the biggest bank heists of the decade.
In 1988, Kelly was jailed for three years for an assault on a member of the Worker's Party outside a club near the party's headquarters in Gardiner Place, Dublin.
Kelly also has convictions for offences including shop-breaking, house-breaking and breach of the peace.
In the early '90s, Kelly became one of Ireland's first criminals to be jailed for bringing a major consignment of cocaine into the country.
In May 1993, he was sentenced to 14 years behind bars after he was caught with almost a kilogram of cocaine following a garda surveillance operation.
Now, despite his advancing years, Kelly has maintained contact with a number of figures in the criminal underworld.
hnews@herald.ie
- Cormac Byrne, exclusive
The man who groomed Dunne and Hyland
By Cormac Byrne, exclusive
Friday August 20 2010
THIS is the man who groomed Ireland's most infamous gang bosses, Eamonn 'The Don' Dunne and Martin 'Marlo' Hyland.
The Herald can today reveal the Godfather Eamonn Kelly (61) as the mastermind behind the rise of Dublin's most notorious criminals.
Gardai are currently trying to build a case against the elusive Kelly for allegedly organising the intimidation of two Dublin individuals at the behest of two builders.
Detectives understand that serious threats were made against a number of individuals and in one instance a car was torched.
Eamonn Kelly was lifted on Tuesday by officers from the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) along with a 77-year-old former member of the provisional IRA and a 28-year-old thug.
He was one of the first men in Irish history to be convicted of attempting to import cocaine into the country.
The two builders were also arrested but all five were released on Wednesday morning and the gardai are preparing a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
Kelly has remained a close associate of the Don's notorious Finglas drug gang, which was once headed by Martin 'Marlo' Hyland in recent years.
Both Marlo Hyland and Eamonn Dunne were assassinated in brutal gangland killings, in 2006 and April this year respectively.
Eamonn Kelly, from Furry Park Road in Dublin, met with Eamonn Dunne regularly in the years up to his death in pubs and restaurants across Dublin.
"Both men had a mutual respect for each other and Kelly would have acted as tutor for Dunne," a source said.
"Kelly would know every major figure on Dublin's northside."
The gangster was also responsible for grooming young Dublin criminals including Martin 'Marlo' Hyland (39).
Hyland was one of the biggest drug dealers in the country and was involved in drug-trafficking and gun-smuggling.
He was the target of Garda Operation Oak and investigating gardai had arrested 30 associates and seized over €15m worth of drugs before his murder.
Hyland was murdered in 2006 as he slept in the home of a relative in Finglas.
Kelly, a popular and clever gangland figure, is believed to have curried favour with most of Dublin's major crime gangs.
But despite his popularity, gardai have told Kelly that a credible threat had been made against his life by a Dublin crime gang, and advised him to re-examine his personal security.
Father-of-nine Kelly cut his teeth as a robber working with the Official IRA in the 1980s. Despite never swearing an oath to the paramilitary group, Kelly worked with the organisation's shadowy Group B unit.
The group specialised in armed robberies of cash and drink deliveries, and was behind some of the biggest bank heists of the decade.
In 1988, Kelly was jailed for three years for an assault on a member of the Worker's Party outside a club near the party's headquarters in Gardiner Place, Dublin.
Kelly also has convictions for offences including shop-breaking, house-breaking and breach of the peace.
In the early '90s, Kelly became one of Ireland's first criminals to be jailed for bringing a major consignment of cocaine into the country.
In May 1993, he was sentenced to 14 years behind bars after he was caught with almost a kilogram of cocaine following a garda surveillance operation.
Now, despite his advancing years, Kelly has maintained contact with a number of figures in the criminal underworld.
hnews@herald.ie
- Cormac Byrne, exclusive
Violent criminal is new leader of The Don's gang
Irish Herald
By Cormac Byrne
Friday August 20 2010
THIS is the garda's public enemy number one -- the new leader of The Don's west Dublin gang.
The 41-year-old criminal now heads a list of gangsters being targeted for prosecution under anti-gang laws.
The man is also in the firing line from rival gangsters, and a death threat was made against him a fortnight after his boss was murdered, the Herald can reveal.
Officers are currently awaiting a decision on whether to charge the man with controlling a criminal outfit.
The criminal, who lives in Co Meath, was Eamonn Dunne's closest confidante and has stabilised Dunne's gang in the wake of his murder last April.
Despite being threatened by rival criminals in early May, the man has since consolidated control of the gang.
The criminal cannot be identified at this point for legal reasons, but he is expected to be brought before the courts in the coming months.
The new gang boss was previously arrested in March 2007 by gardai investigating the murder of Marlo Hyland three months earlier. Dunne is suspected of murdering Hyland to gain control of Hyland's gang.
The man used a private company to launder drugs cash with Dunne, it is suspected.
Rival north Dublin criminals demanded cash from him after Dunne's murder, and the man was officially notified by gardai of a serious threat to his life in mid-May, it is understood.
But officers have also turned their attention to the gang's new leader under new anti-gang legislation.
assassinated
Officers from the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) submitted a file to the DPP on the Don's gang prior to Christmas and have continued to probe his Finglas-based drug operation after his assassination.
The file has updated since Dunne (34), who was believed to have been linked to 17 gangland murders, was assassinated at Faussbagh House in Cabra on April 23 by four men.
The gang's new leader is the chief target in the file.
According to sources he is known to gardai as a particularly violent character.
The man was involved in a murder case in the past where the gardai said that the witnesses had been intimidated before their appearance in court.
The file on the man's Finglas gang contains extensive details of the activities of key operatives, including drug trafficking, armed robbery, illegal debt collections, extortion, threats and intimidation.
A security source told the Herald: "This individual is squarely in our sights. A large amount of information has been amassed and it's currently being considered by the DPP."
Files have been prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on a dozen criminal gangs since the anti-gang legislation was introduced last summer.
Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy recently said that he was pleased with the crackdown gardai had made in the past 12 months on organised crime.
He also said last week that good progress was being made in the four gangland murders that were carried out in the capital over the past month.
Two of the files submitted to the DPP have resulted in prosecutions being brought and those cases were currently before the courts.
The legislation also had the knock-on affect of forcing dangerous criminals such as Fat Freddie Thompson into exile out of fear of imprisonment.
The files stem from a massive review by gardai of criminal files, which began last summer while the new legislation was being piloted through the Oireachtas and a list of around 80 top criminals was discussed at a crime summit at the Garda College in Templemore.
Under the law, brought in a year ago, a gang boss can be jailed for life, if convicted of a charge of directing the activities of a criminal outfit.
- Cormac Byrne
By Cormac Byrne
Friday August 20 2010
THIS is the garda's public enemy number one -- the new leader of The Don's west Dublin gang.
The 41-year-old criminal now heads a list of gangsters being targeted for prosecution under anti-gang laws.
The man is also in the firing line from rival gangsters, and a death threat was made against him a fortnight after his boss was murdered, the Herald can reveal.
Officers are currently awaiting a decision on whether to charge the man with controlling a criminal outfit.
The criminal, who lives in Co Meath, was Eamonn Dunne's closest confidante and has stabilised Dunne's gang in the wake of his murder last April.
Despite being threatened by rival criminals in early May, the man has since consolidated control of the gang.
The criminal cannot be identified at this point for legal reasons, but he is expected to be brought before the courts in the coming months.
The new gang boss was previously arrested in March 2007 by gardai investigating the murder of Marlo Hyland three months earlier. Dunne is suspected of murdering Hyland to gain control of Hyland's gang.
The man used a private company to launder drugs cash with Dunne, it is suspected.
Rival north Dublin criminals demanded cash from him after Dunne's murder, and the man was officially notified by gardai of a serious threat to his life in mid-May, it is understood.
But officers have also turned their attention to the gang's new leader under new anti-gang legislation.
assassinated
Officers from the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) submitted a file to the DPP on the Don's gang prior to Christmas and have continued to probe his Finglas-based drug operation after his assassination.
The file has updated since Dunne (34), who was believed to have been linked to 17 gangland murders, was assassinated at Faussbagh House in Cabra on April 23 by four men.
The gang's new leader is the chief target in the file.
According to sources he is known to gardai as a particularly violent character.
The man was involved in a murder case in the past where the gardai said that the witnesses had been intimidated before their appearance in court.
The file on the man's Finglas gang contains extensive details of the activities of key operatives, including drug trafficking, armed robbery, illegal debt collections, extortion, threats and intimidation.
A security source told the Herald: "This individual is squarely in our sights. A large amount of information has been amassed and it's currently being considered by the DPP."
Files have been prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on a dozen criminal gangs since the anti-gang legislation was introduced last summer.
Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy recently said that he was pleased with the crackdown gardai had made in the past 12 months on organised crime.
He also said last week that good progress was being made in the four gangland murders that were carried out in the capital over the past month.
Two of the files submitted to the DPP have resulted in prosecutions being brought and those cases were currently before the courts.
The legislation also had the knock-on affect of forcing dangerous criminals such as Fat Freddie Thompson into exile out of fear of imprisonment.
The files stem from a massive review by gardai of criminal files, which began last summer while the new legislation was being piloted through the Oireachtas and a list of around 80 top criminals was discussed at a crime summit at the Garda College in Templemore.
Under the law, brought in a year ago, a gang boss can be jailed for life, if convicted of a charge of directing the activities of a criminal outfit.
- Cormac Byrne
Wednesday 18 August 2010
Ageing godfather who taught The Don how to be a gang boss
Irish Herald
Ageing godfather who taught The Don how to be a gang boss
By Cormac Byrne
Wednesday August 18 2010
HE was the mentor for one of Ireland's most notorious crime bosses, Eamonn 'The Don' Dunne, and one of Ireland's first cocaine smugglers.
And the 61-year-old Godfather has been active in Dublin's criminal underworld for decades and has served a serious sentence for drug trafficking.
He remains a man of means and is believed to have funded drug deals carried out by the Don's notorious Finglas drug gang which was once headed by Martin 'Marlo' Hyland in recent years.
Hyland and Dunne were both assassinated in gangland killings in 2006 and April this year respectively.
TUTOR
The Godfather, from the Northside of Dublin, met Dunne regularly in the years up to his death in pubs and restaurants across Dublin.
Both criminals shared an interest in armed robberies and the drugs trade with the older man proving a mentor to the up-and-coming Don in these areas. And just like his pal Dunne, the man was once a leading member of a major drug trafficking operation operating on Dublin's northside.
"Both men had a mutual respect for each other and he would have acted as tutor for Dunne," a source said. "He would know every major figure on Dublin's northside."
The popular and clever gangland figure is believed to have curried favour with most of Dublin's major crime gangs. Despite his popularity, gardai have told him that a credible threat had been made against his life by a Dublin crime gang.
The criminal has been advised to re-examine his personal security.
The father-of-nine cut his teeth as a robber working with the Official IRA in the 1980s. Despite never swearing an oath to the paramilitary group, he worked with the shadowy Group B unit.
The group specialised in armed robberies of cash and drink deliveries, and was behind some of the biggest bank heists of the decade. He and his associates took a cut of the profits.
In 1988, he was jailed for three years for an assault on a member of the Worker's Party outside a club near the party's headquarters in Gardiner Place, Dublin.
The jury acquitted him of two more serious charges of maliciously wounding Pat Quearney and causing him grievous bodily harm.
Two years earlier, the man had been convicted of both these charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but this was overturned on appeal.
During the trial, a detective sergeant told the court that in the seven years he had known the man, he had been associating with hardened and dangerous Dublin criminals.
He also has convictions for offences including shop-breaking, house-breaking and breach of the peace.
UNDERWORLD
In the early 90s, he became one of Ireland's first criminals to be jailed for bringing a major consignment of cocaine into the country.
In May 1993, he was sentenced to 14 years behind bars after he was caught with 997.3 grams of cocaine worth an estimated €500,000.
During the trial in 1993, the court heard how he and two of his associates organised for the payment of the drugs through a third party in the US.
Despite his advancing years, the man who mentored The Don has maintained contact with a number of figures in the criminal underworld.
hnews@herald.ie
- Cormac Byrne
Ageing godfather who taught The Don how to be a gang boss
By Cormac Byrne
Wednesday August 18 2010
HE was the mentor for one of Ireland's most notorious crime bosses, Eamonn 'The Don' Dunne, and one of Ireland's first cocaine smugglers.
And the 61-year-old Godfather has been active in Dublin's criminal underworld for decades and has served a serious sentence for drug trafficking.
He remains a man of means and is believed to have funded drug deals carried out by the Don's notorious Finglas drug gang which was once headed by Martin 'Marlo' Hyland in recent years.
Hyland and Dunne were both assassinated in gangland killings in 2006 and April this year respectively.
TUTOR
The Godfather, from the Northside of Dublin, met Dunne regularly in the years up to his death in pubs and restaurants across Dublin.
Both criminals shared an interest in armed robberies and the drugs trade with the older man proving a mentor to the up-and-coming Don in these areas. And just like his pal Dunne, the man was once a leading member of a major drug trafficking operation operating on Dublin's northside.
"Both men had a mutual respect for each other and he would have acted as tutor for Dunne," a source said. "He would know every major figure on Dublin's northside."
The popular and clever gangland figure is believed to have curried favour with most of Dublin's major crime gangs. Despite his popularity, gardai have told him that a credible threat had been made against his life by a Dublin crime gang.
The criminal has been advised to re-examine his personal security.
The father-of-nine cut his teeth as a robber working with the Official IRA in the 1980s. Despite never swearing an oath to the paramilitary group, he worked with the shadowy Group B unit.
The group specialised in armed robberies of cash and drink deliveries, and was behind some of the biggest bank heists of the decade. He and his associates took a cut of the profits.
In 1988, he was jailed for three years for an assault on a member of the Worker's Party outside a club near the party's headquarters in Gardiner Place, Dublin.
The jury acquitted him of two more serious charges of maliciously wounding Pat Quearney and causing him grievous bodily harm.
Two years earlier, the man had been convicted of both these charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but this was overturned on appeal.
During the trial, a detective sergeant told the court that in the seven years he had known the man, he had been associating with hardened and dangerous Dublin criminals.
He also has convictions for offences including shop-breaking, house-breaking and breach of the peace.
UNDERWORLD
In the early 90s, he became one of Ireland's first criminals to be jailed for bringing a major consignment of cocaine into the country.
In May 1993, he was sentenced to 14 years behind bars after he was caught with 997.3 grams of cocaine worth an estimated €500,000.
During the trial in 1993, the court heard how he and two of his associates organised for the payment of the drugs through a third party in the US.
Despite his advancing years, the man who mentored The Don has maintained contact with a number of figures in the criminal underworld.
hnews@herald.ie
- Cormac Byrne
Sunday 15 August 2010
Gardai appeal for witnesses to fatal Dublin shooting
Irish Times
Gardai at the scene of yesterday's shooting of Daniel Gaynor. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill/The Irish TImes
Gardaí have issued a description of the gunman responsible for the fatal shooting in Dublin last night of Finglas man Daniel Gaynor.
Mr Gaynor (25) was shot at the junction of Barnamore Crescent and Saint Helena's Road in Finglas at approximately 6.50pm.
He was out walking with his partner and two young children when he was shot several times by a lone gunman.
He was removed to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown and was pronounced dead a short time later.
The suspect was described by gardaí today as being around 5’9’’. He was of thin build and wore dark clothing with a light grey coloured top.
Superintendant Dave Dowling said the suspect ran towards the Tolka Valley area after the shooting.
Gardaí are trying to establish a motive for Mr Gaynor’s killing and have issued an appeal to anyone who may have been in the area or who may have information about the shooting to come forward.
It is not clear if there is any link between the shooting and recent fatal gun attacks in the area.
A handgun believed by gardaí to have been used in the attack has been recovered and is being examined by ballistics experts for evidence.
The dead man was well known to gardaí and served jail terms for drugs offences, firearms offences and intimidation of witnesses.
In November 2007, he received an 18-month sentence after he was caught with cocaine and diazepan during a 2005 appearance at Dublin District Court.
In 2006, Gaynor was tried and convicted of witness intimidation. The court heard that the intimidation of the 62-year-old female victim was so severe that a witness protection programme was “immediately” arranged for her.
It was alleged during the trial that he told her that her son's days were numbered and made a gesture of a shotgun to his head.
Gaynor's father, Robert McGrath, was shot dead by armed gardaí in 1992 after he pointed a sawn-off shotgun at them during an attempted armed robbery of a post office in Tara, Co Meath.
Daniel Gaynor’s death is the latest in a spate of gang-related killings in the Finglas area.
In July, Colm Owens (34), of Dunsoughly, Finglas, was shot dead when a masked gunman entered the Corn Store, an animal feed warehouse, on the Grove Industrial Estate at Dubber Lane, Finglas.
Mr Owens’ death followed the shooting in April of Eamon Dunne (34), the leader of one of the biggest organised crime gangs in the country, who was gunned down while socialising with his daughter in the Fassaugh House pub in Cabra, north Dublin.
Saturday 14 August 2010
Undercover action leads to 37 arrests as drug gangs targeted
Irish Times
A GARDA operation targeting drug gangs in west Dublin has resulted in the arrest of 37 people.
Those arrested were suspected street dealers involved with family-run gangs based in the Neilstown, Ronanstown and Ballyfermot areas.
Gardaí believe their surveillance activities have broken up two criminal gangs which have been major distributors of drugs throughout the city of Dublin for years.
Undercover gardaí, posing as drug addicts, bought drugs from dealers in places such as the Neilstown Road in Neilstown and Le Fanu Park in Ballyfermot, where they are commonly sold.
In many cases officers returned several times, gaining the confidence of suspects and gathering mobile phone numbers before making the arrests.
Codenamed Operation Reagent, it involved a co-ordinated response between local gardaí from the Dublin metropolitan west division and the Garda National Drug Unit.
The operation began at the start of the year.
The drugs involved included heroin and crack cocaine, and the Garda operation was in response to the increased availability of these Class A substances on the streets in recent months.
Quantities of heroin were recovered in the last few days along with €4,000 worth of crack cocaine from a house in Ballyfermot. Gardaí also seized small quantities of cannabis.
The mass arrests began on August 10th in the west Dublin area. In the space of two days, 37 suspected drug dealers, 36 men and one woman, were arrested and charged. They range in age from 21 to 48.
Most were questioned about offences relating to the supply of illegal drugs. In total more than 60 charges were brought against those involved.
Twenty-six will appear at Blanchardstown District Court on September 2nd, 10 will appear at the Criminal Courts of Justice on September 6th, and a last suspect will be brought before Blanchardstown District Court on September 8th.
As part of their investigations, the organised crime unit, backed up by the national drug unit, searched the basement of a new apartment block on St George’s Quay, Dublin, and found a cocaine-mixing factory yesterday afternoon.
The search came shortly after officers stopped a car at Cornmarket Place in Dublin city centre at about 12.45pm yesterday and recovered drugs with an estimated street value of €400,000.
A 42-year-old man was arrested and is being detained at Pearse Street Garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking Act) 1996.
A Garda spokesman said the arrests were part of the National Drugs Strategy.
Sunday 8 August 2010
For Better Or Worse: The Gangsters' Molls
Sunday Tribune
Crime Correspondent Ali Bracken profiles 12 women choosing to stand by their partners – dead or alive – who are some of the country's most notorious criminals
THEIR MEN are well known, for all the wrong reasons. They are Ireland's most notorious criminals, in charge of running the underworld. But less is known about the country's most infamous criminals' wives and girlfriends (CWAGs). Unlike the WAGs of Ireland's sporting heroes, most of these women are anxious to remain out of the spotlight and don't court publicity. While some might enjoy the trappings of luxurious lifestyles from the proceeds of crime, many pay a far higher price. The men in their lives often spend more time in prison than at home with their families. Because of these long stretches in jail, they sometimes rear their children largely alone.
They have the constant worry about when their offspring will understand what their fathers do for a living. These women also face the constant fear of murder attempts, not just threats against their boyfriends and husbands, but also possible threats to their own lives and families. While the money for exotic holidays and lavish houses may be there one day, it can be gone just as easily the next – particularly if the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) takes an interest, something that John Gilligan's estranged wife Geraldine is keenly aware of at the moment as she battles Cab in the courts.
None of the women below, except for Michelle Bambrick who is currently serving a prison sentence, are involved in crime in any way. The extent of the knowledge they have about the illegal activities of their loved ones differs from case to case. Their lives can change in the blink of an eye depending on the fortunes of their men. But it is a life these women have willingly chosen. Few would have any sympathy for their troubles.
1. ANNABELL DUNDON
Only sister of Wayne, John, Dessie and Ger Dundon, and fiancée of Joseph Hehir, a member of the McCarthy-Dundon crime gang
Annabell Dundon is the teenage sister of the infamous Dundon brothers – Wayne, Ger, Dessie and John. She recently became engaged to Joseph Hehir, a low-level member of Limerick's McCarthy-Dundon crime gang. The couple have just moved to London, where many of the McCarthy-Dundon gang, those who are not in prison, are now based. Last year, a senior member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang tried to have Hehir shot dead. Hehir, from Raheen Square in Ballinacurra-Weston, was hit with a bullet in the back following a dispute over money on 23 February 2009. In February, Hehir was arrested by gardaí after he was caught tailing a prison van near Wheatfield Prison with a senior member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang.
Dundon is extremely loyal to her family. The shooting dead of Roy Collins came about as a direct result of the youngest Dundon. When she was 14, Roy Collins' cousin refused to serve Annabell alcohol. This enraged her eldest brother Wayne, leader of the crime gang, and he returned to Brannigan's bar and threatened to kill barman Ryan Lee, Roy's first cousin. Lee and Collins lived in the same house and were raised as brothers. Dundon was later jailed for 10 years for threatening to kill the barman. As a result of this, the McCarthy-Dundons had Roy Collins shot dead because members of his family gave evidence against Dundon. "Annabell Dundon isn't involved in crime in any way, but the refusal of Ryan Lee to serve her alcohol led to murder," said a source. "She is extremely loyal to her brothers and would do anything for her family. She sometimes has a strained relationship with her eldest brother Wayne; they've been known to fall out in the past and have rows. They are both quite hot-headed but they always make up. The Dundon brothers are equally protective of their only sister."
2. FRANCES CAHILL
Widow of murdered crime boss Martin 'The General' Cahill
Martin Cahill's sex life was an open secret during his criminal reign over the city. His wife Frances is the mother of five of his children but her sister, Tina Lawless, also had four children by Cahill. The unconventional arrangement saw The General spend his days and some nights at home with his wife but on other nights, he would stay overnight at her sister's house, which he bought for his other family. His wife gave her blessing to this unorthodox arrangement.
The General was shot dead in 1994 by the IRA over a row about his refusal to hand over cash to the paramilitaries from one of his biggest ever robberies.
Most of Cahill's millions are still missing, believed to be buried in the Dublin mountains.
Frances married the notorious criminal when she was just 16 and he was only two years older. She has always shunned publicity but gave a rare interview in 2002 and discussed the love triangle she was involved in for several decades. Her husband's criminal career is the subject of two films and one book. "I've never seen either The General or Ordinary Decent Criminal, and I didn't read the book. But I know they made it out like we both shared the bed with Martin all the time. It wasn't like that," she said.
Martin Cahill became a near-heroic figure for the various art, jewellery and cash heists he masterminded. But he also arranged a car bomb attack that almost killed forensic scientist James Donovan, somewhat destroying his image as a 'Robin Hood'-type character. While many women nowadays would find it unacceptable if their husband began a sexual relationship with their sister, at the time when Frances married The General the view was more widely held that a marriage was not something a person should walk away from despite any problems. Also, because of his vast wealth from the proceeds of crime, Cahill was able to keep both his wife and her sister in a style to which they soon became accustomed. Both women now live in the UK. Following Martin Cahill's murder, the bond between the sisters seemed to fracture. Frances Cahill has said her husband's criminal legacy has deeply affected her children. "Having Ireland's most notorious criminal as their father has made it difficult for them to get a start in life," aid Frances.
"They are perfectly normal children. But with one exception – they hate the police, and I can't blame them." The General's eldest daughter, also called Frances, made Irish publishing history in 2007 as the first offspring of a notorious Dublin criminal to pen a memoir of life growing up in the shadow of her infamous father.
3. NATASHA MCENROE
Girlfriend of imprisoned gang leader Brian Rattigan
Natasha McEnroe embodies the modern day squeeze of a major Irish gang leader – she is independent, outspoken and demands respect from her long-term partner's associates. Rattigan is a major gang leader from Drimnagh; he is currently serving a life sentence for the 2001 murder of his former friend Declan Gavin. Rattigan is the leader of the Drimnagh gang that has been involved in the long-standing Crumlin-Drimnagh feud, which has claimed 16 lives.
Despite the fact that he's serving a life sentence, Rattigan still has considerable influence over his gang. But since many of his criminal associates are now dead or also in prison, his influence is beginning to wane, and a new generation of young criminals are making names for themselves in the area. Rattigan and 27-year-old McEnroe started going out when they were teenagers. Fiercely loyal to Rattigan, she is standing by him despite the fact that he will spend at least the next 15 years behind bars after being convicted of murder last year. McEnroe regularly visits her boyfriend in Portlaoise, where he is held on the maximum security E1 landing with some of the country's most notorious criminals.
McEnroe was arrested as part of the Declan Gavin murder investigation and told gardaí the dead man was "only a rat". She said her only regret about the murder was that someone "should have got a motorbike and done it right. I hated him." But living without her partner is something McEnroe is well accustomed to – they have spent much of their relationship separated. Before he was jailed for life last year, Rattigan spent most of the previous six years in prison for possession of €27,000 worth of heroin in May 2003. But the couple seem determined to stay together; McEnroe has vowed to wait for him. The young woman has never been afraid to get involved in her criminal boyfriend's affairs. In 2002, two men burst into Rattigan's home and he was shot at point-blank range. Miraculously, he survived. McEnroe witnessed the incident and identified 'Fat' Freddie Thompson as the shooter but the DPP directed there be no prosecution. She has also been at the centre of a major criminal investigation.
In March, McEnroe was arrested after the names and addresses of the jury who found her boyfriend guilty of murder were found in her apartment. This sparked a major criminal investigation, but after several months it was decided that McEnroe would not be charged in relation to the "worrying discovery". Under the law, as a defendant, Rattigan was entitled to access to the personal details of the jury in his case. However, this did not mean that Natasha McEnroe was entitled to have this information in her possession. But as the young woman told gardaí that Rattigan must have left this confidential information at her apartment, there was insufficient evidence to charge her with any criminal offence. While there has been speculation that McEnroe has been involved in a relationship with another man, everyone agrees that her heart will always belong to Rattigan. A source said: "Natasha is extremely loyal to Brian. She commands respect from everyone and is in no way whatsoever seen as the 'little woman' in Brian's life. She is a powerful and influential woman in her own right."
4. SHARON RATTIGAN
Sister of crime boss Brian Rattigan and partner of murdered gang member Shay O'Byrne
Sharon Rattigan saw her long-term partner shot dead last year – and even got shot herself when she tackled the gunman to try and save Shay O'Byrne's life. Rattigan, who has two children with O'Byrne, was extremely dedicated to her partner, who was a key member in her brother's Drimnagh-based crime gang. Rattigan is not involved in criminality in any way. As well as her partner, she has also lost a brother in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud. Joseph Rattigan (18) was murdered in 2002. A source said she is "a very strong woman who has been through a lot. She was fearless when there was a gunman shooting the man she loved and she is equally protective of defending her family." She has a fractious relationship with the gardaí and believes that they regularly search the Rattigan family home purely to intimidate them.
5. GERALDINE GILLIGAN
Estranged wife of crime boss John Gilligan
Once upon a time, John and Geraldine Gilligan had the perfect life. As a major drug dealer, he amassed vast wealth and the couple lived an extravagant lifestyle. But by 1995, cracks in their relationship began to show and the couple split after 21 years of marriage as he was having an affair with a much younger woman. Today, he's serving a 20-year sentence for drugs offences while Geraldine is desperately trying to hang on to her home, the expansive Jessbrook House which encompasses an equestrian centre, which Cab has frozen and is currently trying to take complete control of.
The couple married in 1974 and had two children, Darren and Tracey. In 1994, Gilligan began buying land from farmers around Enfield in Co Meath. Throughout that year, Gilligan amassed some 77 acres of land, at a cost of less than £200,000. Work started on building a seven-bedroom bungalow and a 3,200sq m equestrian centre with stables, outhouses and an apartment for stable workers. The sign on the wall proclaimed Jessbrook Equestrian Centre as "more than a riding school". The Jessbrook estate, or the Taj Mahal as some gardaí call it, was an impressive monument to the profits of a cannabis importer.
Its wrought-iron electronic gates were controlled by a closed circuit television link to the family bungalow. Inside, the house was furnished with heavy Dutch furniture. Gardaí believe that the windows used in the house were stolen, along with some of the wiring equipment put in place to service the numerous kitchen and laundry appliances.
The man cleared of Veronica Geurin's murder clearly never strayed far from his criminal roots. Geraldine had ponies that grazed in the fields around the house and an impressive indoor arena with seating for hundreds of horse enthusiasts.
The family often travelled to far-flung destinations for holidays and generally enjoyed a charmed existence. But all was not well between the couple; Gilligan had met a 19-year-old woman from Palmerstown at a bookmakers where she worked. Gilligan ended his marriage to Geraldine in July 1995, putting Jessbrook in her name. But the couple remained close.
At present, Gilligan, who has been imprisoned since 2001, is trying to prevent Cab from taking complete control of properties that once belonged to his estranged wife and children – the biggest of them Jessbrook in Co Meath – that were first frozen by the bureau in 1996 as part of a process to sell them off. Pending the outcome of the legal challenge, Geraldine Gilligan has the right to remain as "caretaker" in Jessbrook.
Gilligan claims the properties were bought with funds accrued through legitimate business and through gambling and could not be classed as the proceeds of crime. The action has been adjourned until October.
After he was jailed for drugs offences in 2001, Geraldine and her daughter lived on the Costa del Sol, and worked at The Judges Chamber pub in Alicante, which it is believed Gilligan bankrolled. Despite their split, the couple have maintained contact and are united in their fight to try and keep the various family properties Cab is determined to take.
Geraldine has always shunned the limelight, with some gardaí even saying she has a "dignified air," and is regarded as someone who is dedicated to her children and grandchildren. In court in her battle with Cab she has consistently claimed she had known nothing about how her husband paid to build their home and equestrian centre and said he kept her very much in the dark about where his money was coming from.
A source said: "She's a very intelligent woman. Family is of paramount importance to her. She is of a different breed to the younger women currently involved in relationships with Ireland's gang leaders. But it has been a spectacular fall from grace for John and Geraldine."
6. APRIL COLLINS
Partner of gangland criminal Ger Dundon
The pregnant young mother-of-two was recently charged with intimidating a woman whose relative is the only witness in a major investigation into organised crime in Limerick. On 26 May, the 23-year-old appeared before Limerick District Court charged with the offence. Collins is accused of following the woman into Penneys on Limerick's O'Connell Street in May, where the offence is alleged to have taken place.
Solicitor Sarah Ryan told the court that Collins, who was pushing a buggy at the time of the alleged offence, is "a regular customer in Penneys" and would have left the store if she realised the alleged injured party was there. Collins, who lives at Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, is the primary carer of both her children who are aged four years and 19 months, and she is expecting another child.
Her boyfriend Ger Dundon is facing trial for violent disorder at the Special Criminal Court, along with seven other men charged with other offences, under the new gang legislation brought in last year. When the charge was put to him at Limerick district court on 24 July, Dundon gave the judge the middle finger and said: "I am not listening to the court."
7. VICKY DEMPSEY
Partner of 'Fat' Freddie Thompson
Vicky Dempsey has been in a relationship with the gang leader, a key figure in the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud, since they were teenagers. They have a 10-year-old son together. They broke up for a couple of weeks five months ago because of the strain put on their relationship due to his self-imposed exile from Ireland following threats on his life, but are now back together.
Thompson is said to be a dedicated father. He fled to Spain in February 2008 following a number of attempts on his life. He returns to Ireland sporadically and Dempsey often travels with her son to visit him abroad.
From the Marylands Estate in south Dublin, Thompson first started dating Dempsey when he was just an up-and-coming drug dealer in the '90s. Her relationship with the notorious criminal has been anything but plain sailing. Just one day after Thompson left Ireland last year, his enemies placed a pipe bomb under a car parked outside her house. The army bomb disposal unit had to defuse the device, which was attached to the underside of a E320 Mercedes.
Dempsey's brother Karl is a well-known associate of Thompson's. In 2000, Karl Dempsey was jailed for five years after he was caught with €63,000 of heroin. CAB also ordered him to pay over €400,000 following an investigation in 2002.
Vicky's younger brother Les was also on the outskirts of Freddie Thompson's gang but was not considered a key player. He took his own life just days before his 26th birthday in August 2008. Dempsey has set up an online tribute to him.
8. ANNE CASEY
Wife of Limerick gang leader Wayne Dundon
Casey was there to greet her husband in March upon his release from prison after completing a lengthy sentence for threatening to kill barman Ryan Lee. The couple travelled to Mexico for a holiday after his release from prison. Casey, like her husband, is from a well-known settled Traveller family. The couple have two children.
In May, the couple raised eyebrows when they splashed out thousands of euro on a horse-drawn Cinderella carriage for the First Holy Communion celebration for their daughter. The party brought city-centre traffic to a halt when the Dundons and their entourage pulled up outside the People's Park to pose for photos.
Wayne Dundon later reacted angrily when these photos were published in newspapers and stormed into the Limerick Leader newspaper offices to speak to the editor.
"All Travelling people do a big day for their children's Communion. It was on the TV last week. I'm a Traveller, my wife [Anne] is a Traveller. But we didn't spend €8,000 like it says here," he said.
Casey has focused on raising their two children while her husband's criminal exploits have made him a household name.
9. CIARA KILLEEN
Partner of John Dundon
John Dundon was jailed three weeks ago for two years after he was caught driving a stolen Mercedes-Benz valued at €54,000 in Dublin. This means that his partner has been left to raise their young son alone while he is incarcerated. Like most of the partners of the Limerick gangland criminals, she shuns media attention and is not involved in criminality. Her brother, Nathan Killeen, is a key member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang and has been questioned in relation to the murders of Roy Collins and Shane Geoghegan.
10. NICOLA NUGENT
Partner of jailed gangland criminal Karl Breen
Karl Breen is the leader of the Clondalkin 'D22' gang. He has been in prison since he was convicted in 2007 of the manslaughter of his friend Martin McLaughlin, who he stabbed to death on New Year's Eve 2006. Nicola Nugent was present that night when her boyfriend killed his friend in a drunken row in Jury's hotel beside Croke Park after they had spent the night drinking champagne and returned to the hotel room Breen had booked for himself and Nugent, with whom he has three children.
After his two-week trial ended, Nugent spoke of the heartbreak it would cause her to have the father of her children locked up for nine years.
"This is a nightmare," she said. "You have no idea what it's like to have to go through something like this. I've got small children and this is such an incredibly difficult time for them. For them to see my picture splashed across the papers going to court every day was awful. I now just want to be left alone when this whole thing is over. It's a nightmare."
11. MICHELLE BAMBRICK
Partner of drug dealer James O'Reilly
Michelle Bambrick was jailed for three years three months ago for her role in possessing €300,000 of drugs under a secret panel in her bedroom press. The mother-of-four's partner, James O'Reilly, was jailed for 10 years for possession of a gun, ammunition and drugs worth over €300,000 a week before his partner was arrested in 2007. Gardaí found cocaine, amphetamines, MDMA and mixing agent in the bedroom and hydraulic presses in the garden shed.
The 34-year-old woman showed gardaí where the drugs were hidden under a bedroom press panel and broke down to officers, saying she didn't think her partner had been "that far" into the drugs trade. James O'Reilly had been arrested on other matters a week before the garda raid on her home and had told her that someone would come to collect the drugs.
Michelle is a niece of Michael Bambrick, who in the early 1990s butchered two women and buried their bodies.
12. LORNA DALY
Girlfriend to murdered crime boss Martin 'Marlo' Hyland
Hyland was shot dead by some of his associates in a house in Finglas in December 2006, along with innocent apprentice plumber Anthony Campbell. The major drug dealer had been coming under increasing pressure both from within his own gang and as a result of sustained unwelcome garda attention. He was involved in a long-term relationship with Lorna Daly since his teenage years.
Though in the last few months of his life, she saw little of him as he moved around safe houses as he knew his life was in danger. He had become increasingly distant to everyone in his life, including Daly, because of the strain he was under as he knew he was wanted dead.
Those close to Daly say that she is still heartbroken and hasn't recovered from her partner's death.
August 8, 2010
Crime Correspondent Ali Bracken profiles 12 women choosing to stand by their partners – dead or alive – who are some of the country's most notorious criminals
THEIR MEN are well known, for all the wrong reasons. They are Ireland's most notorious criminals, in charge of running the underworld. But less is known about the country's most infamous criminals' wives and girlfriends (CWAGs). Unlike the WAGs of Ireland's sporting heroes, most of these women are anxious to remain out of the spotlight and don't court publicity. While some might enjoy the trappings of luxurious lifestyles from the proceeds of crime, many pay a far higher price. The men in their lives often spend more time in prison than at home with their families. Because of these long stretches in jail, they sometimes rear their children largely alone.
They have the constant worry about when their offspring will understand what their fathers do for a living. These women also face the constant fear of murder attempts, not just threats against their boyfriends and husbands, but also possible threats to their own lives and families. While the money for exotic holidays and lavish houses may be there one day, it can be gone just as easily the next – particularly if the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) takes an interest, something that John Gilligan's estranged wife Geraldine is keenly aware of at the moment as she battles Cab in the courts.
None of the women below, except for Michelle Bambrick who is currently serving a prison sentence, are involved in crime in any way. The extent of the knowledge they have about the illegal activities of their loved ones differs from case to case. Their lives can change in the blink of an eye depending on the fortunes of their men. But it is a life these women have willingly chosen. Few would have any sympathy for their troubles.
1. ANNABELL DUNDON
Only sister of Wayne, John, Dessie and Ger Dundon, and fiancée of Joseph Hehir, a member of the McCarthy-Dundon crime gang
Annabell Dundon is the teenage sister of the infamous Dundon brothers – Wayne, Ger, Dessie and John. She recently became engaged to Joseph Hehir, a low-level member of Limerick's McCarthy-Dundon crime gang. The couple have just moved to London, where many of the McCarthy-Dundon gang, those who are not in prison, are now based. Last year, a senior member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang tried to have Hehir shot dead. Hehir, from Raheen Square in Ballinacurra-Weston, was hit with a bullet in the back following a dispute over money on 23 February 2009. In February, Hehir was arrested by gardaí after he was caught tailing a prison van near Wheatfield Prison with a senior member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang.
Dundon is extremely loyal to her family. The shooting dead of Roy Collins came about as a direct result of the youngest Dundon. When she was 14, Roy Collins' cousin refused to serve Annabell alcohol. This enraged her eldest brother Wayne, leader of the crime gang, and he returned to Brannigan's bar and threatened to kill barman Ryan Lee, Roy's first cousin. Lee and Collins lived in the same house and were raised as brothers. Dundon was later jailed for 10 years for threatening to kill the barman. As a result of this, the McCarthy-Dundons had Roy Collins shot dead because members of his family gave evidence against Dundon. "Annabell Dundon isn't involved in crime in any way, but the refusal of Ryan Lee to serve her alcohol led to murder," said a source. "She is extremely loyal to her brothers and would do anything for her family. She sometimes has a strained relationship with her eldest brother Wayne; they've been known to fall out in the past and have rows. They are both quite hot-headed but they always make up. The Dundon brothers are equally protective of their only sister."
2. FRANCES CAHILL
Widow of murdered crime boss Martin 'The General' Cahill
Martin Cahill's sex life was an open secret during his criminal reign over the city. His wife Frances is the mother of five of his children but her sister, Tina Lawless, also had four children by Cahill. The unconventional arrangement saw The General spend his days and some nights at home with his wife but on other nights, he would stay overnight at her sister's house, which he bought for his other family. His wife gave her blessing to this unorthodox arrangement.
The General was shot dead in 1994 by the IRA over a row about his refusal to hand over cash to the paramilitaries from one of his biggest ever robberies.
Most of Cahill's millions are still missing, believed to be buried in the Dublin mountains.
Frances married the notorious criminal when she was just 16 and he was only two years older. She has always shunned publicity but gave a rare interview in 2002 and discussed the love triangle she was involved in for several decades. Her husband's criminal career is the subject of two films and one book. "I've never seen either The General or Ordinary Decent Criminal, and I didn't read the book. But I know they made it out like we both shared the bed with Martin all the time. It wasn't like that," she said.
Martin Cahill became a near-heroic figure for the various art, jewellery and cash heists he masterminded. But he also arranged a car bomb attack that almost killed forensic scientist James Donovan, somewhat destroying his image as a 'Robin Hood'-type character. While many women nowadays would find it unacceptable if their husband began a sexual relationship with their sister, at the time when Frances married The General the view was more widely held that a marriage was not something a person should walk away from despite any problems. Also, because of his vast wealth from the proceeds of crime, Cahill was able to keep both his wife and her sister in a style to which they soon became accustomed. Both women now live in the UK. Following Martin Cahill's murder, the bond between the sisters seemed to fracture. Frances Cahill has said her husband's criminal legacy has deeply affected her children. "Having Ireland's most notorious criminal as their father has made it difficult for them to get a start in life," aid Frances.
"They are perfectly normal children. But with one exception – they hate the police, and I can't blame them." The General's eldest daughter, also called Frances, made Irish publishing history in 2007 as the first offspring of a notorious Dublin criminal to pen a memoir of life growing up in the shadow of her infamous father.
3. NATASHA MCENROE
Girlfriend of imprisoned gang leader Brian Rattigan
Natasha McEnroe embodies the modern day squeeze of a major Irish gang leader – she is independent, outspoken and demands respect from her long-term partner's associates. Rattigan is a major gang leader from Drimnagh; he is currently serving a life sentence for the 2001 murder of his former friend Declan Gavin. Rattigan is the leader of the Drimnagh gang that has been involved in the long-standing Crumlin-Drimnagh feud, which has claimed 16 lives.
Despite the fact that he's serving a life sentence, Rattigan still has considerable influence over his gang. But since many of his criminal associates are now dead or also in prison, his influence is beginning to wane, and a new generation of young criminals are making names for themselves in the area. Rattigan and 27-year-old McEnroe started going out when they were teenagers. Fiercely loyal to Rattigan, she is standing by him despite the fact that he will spend at least the next 15 years behind bars after being convicted of murder last year. McEnroe regularly visits her boyfriend in Portlaoise, where he is held on the maximum security E1 landing with some of the country's most notorious criminals.
McEnroe was arrested as part of the Declan Gavin murder investigation and told gardaí the dead man was "only a rat". She said her only regret about the murder was that someone "should have got a motorbike and done it right. I hated him." But living without her partner is something McEnroe is well accustomed to – they have spent much of their relationship separated. Before he was jailed for life last year, Rattigan spent most of the previous six years in prison for possession of €27,000 worth of heroin in May 2003. But the couple seem determined to stay together; McEnroe has vowed to wait for him. The young woman has never been afraid to get involved in her criminal boyfriend's affairs. In 2002, two men burst into Rattigan's home and he was shot at point-blank range. Miraculously, he survived. McEnroe witnessed the incident and identified 'Fat' Freddie Thompson as the shooter but the DPP directed there be no prosecution. She has also been at the centre of a major criminal investigation.
In March, McEnroe was arrested after the names and addresses of the jury who found her boyfriend guilty of murder were found in her apartment. This sparked a major criminal investigation, but after several months it was decided that McEnroe would not be charged in relation to the "worrying discovery". Under the law, as a defendant, Rattigan was entitled to access to the personal details of the jury in his case. However, this did not mean that Natasha McEnroe was entitled to have this information in her possession. But as the young woman told gardaí that Rattigan must have left this confidential information at her apartment, there was insufficient evidence to charge her with any criminal offence. While there has been speculation that McEnroe has been involved in a relationship with another man, everyone agrees that her heart will always belong to Rattigan. A source said: "Natasha is extremely loyal to Brian. She commands respect from everyone and is in no way whatsoever seen as the 'little woman' in Brian's life. She is a powerful and influential woman in her own right."
4. SHARON RATTIGAN
Sister of crime boss Brian Rattigan and partner of murdered gang member Shay O'Byrne
Sharon Rattigan saw her long-term partner shot dead last year – and even got shot herself when she tackled the gunman to try and save Shay O'Byrne's life. Rattigan, who has two children with O'Byrne, was extremely dedicated to her partner, who was a key member in her brother's Drimnagh-based crime gang. Rattigan is not involved in criminality in any way. As well as her partner, she has also lost a brother in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud. Joseph Rattigan (18) was murdered in 2002. A source said she is "a very strong woman who has been through a lot. She was fearless when there was a gunman shooting the man she loved and she is equally protective of defending her family." She has a fractious relationship with the gardaí and believes that they regularly search the Rattigan family home purely to intimidate them.
5. GERALDINE GILLIGAN
Estranged wife of crime boss John Gilligan
Once upon a time, John and Geraldine Gilligan had the perfect life. As a major drug dealer, he amassed vast wealth and the couple lived an extravagant lifestyle. But by 1995, cracks in their relationship began to show and the couple split after 21 years of marriage as he was having an affair with a much younger woman. Today, he's serving a 20-year sentence for drugs offences while Geraldine is desperately trying to hang on to her home, the expansive Jessbrook House which encompasses an equestrian centre, which Cab has frozen and is currently trying to take complete control of.
The couple married in 1974 and had two children, Darren and Tracey. In 1994, Gilligan began buying land from farmers around Enfield in Co Meath. Throughout that year, Gilligan amassed some 77 acres of land, at a cost of less than £200,000. Work started on building a seven-bedroom bungalow and a 3,200sq m equestrian centre with stables, outhouses and an apartment for stable workers. The sign on the wall proclaimed Jessbrook Equestrian Centre as "more than a riding school". The Jessbrook estate, or the Taj Mahal as some gardaí call it, was an impressive monument to the profits of a cannabis importer.
Its wrought-iron electronic gates were controlled by a closed circuit television link to the family bungalow. Inside, the house was furnished with heavy Dutch furniture. Gardaí believe that the windows used in the house were stolen, along with some of the wiring equipment put in place to service the numerous kitchen and laundry appliances.
The man cleared of Veronica Geurin's murder clearly never strayed far from his criminal roots. Geraldine had ponies that grazed in the fields around the house and an impressive indoor arena with seating for hundreds of horse enthusiasts.
The family often travelled to far-flung destinations for holidays and generally enjoyed a charmed existence. But all was not well between the couple; Gilligan had met a 19-year-old woman from Palmerstown at a bookmakers where she worked. Gilligan ended his marriage to Geraldine in July 1995, putting Jessbrook in her name. But the couple remained close.
At present, Gilligan, who has been imprisoned since 2001, is trying to prevent Cab from taking complete control of properties that once belonged to his estranged wife and children – the biggest of them Jessbrook in Co Meath – that were first frozen by the bureau in 1996 as part of a process to sell them off. Pending the outcome of the legal challenge, Geraldine Gilligan has the right to remain as "caretaker" in Jessbrook.
Gilligan claims the properties were bought with funds accrued through legitimate business and through gambling and could not be classed as the proceeds of crime. The action has been adjourned until October.
After he was jailed for drugs offences in 2001, Geraldine and her daughter lived on the Costa del Sol, and worked at The Judges Chamber pub in Alicante, which it is believed Gilligan bankrolled. Despite their split, the couple have maintained contact and are united in their fight to try and keep the various family properties Cab is determined to take.
Geraldine has always shunned the limelight, with some gardaí even saying she has a "dignified air," and is regarded as someone who is dedicated to her children and grandchildren. In court in her battle with Cab she has consistently claimed she had known nothing about how her husband paid to build their home and equestrian centre and said he kept her very much in the dark about where his money was coming from.
A source said: "She's a very intelligent woman. Family is of paramount importance to her. She is of a different breed to the younger women currently involved in relationships with Ireland's gang leaders. But it has been a spectacular fall from grace for John and Geraldine."
6. APRIL COLLINS
Partner of gangland criminal Ger Dundon
The pregnant young mother-of-two was recently charged with intimidating a woman whose relative is the only witness in a major investigation into organised crime in Limerick. On 26 May, the 23-year-old appeared before Limerick District Court charged with the offence. Collins is accused of following the woman into Penneys on Limerick's O'Connell Street in May, where the offence is alleged to have taken place.
Solicitor Sarah Ryan told the court that Collins, who was pushing a buggy at the time of the alleged offence, is "a regular customer in Penneys" and would have left the store if she realised the alleged injured party was there. Collins, who lives at Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, is the primary carer of both her children who are aged four years and 19 months, and she is expecting another child.
Her boyfriend Ger Dundon is facing trial for violent disorder at the Special Criminal Court, along with seven other men charged with other offences, under the new gang legislation brought in last year. When the charge was put to him at Limerick district court on 24 July, Dundon gave the judge the middle finger and said: "I am not listening to the court."
7. VICKY DEMPSEY
Partner of 'Fat' Freddie Thompson
Vicky Dempsey has been in a relationship with the gang leader, a key figure in the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud, since they were teenagers. They have a 10-year-old son together. They broke up for a couple of weeks five months ago because of the strain put on their relationship due to his self-imposed exile from Ireland following threats on his life, but are now back together.
Thompson is said to be a dedicated father. He fled to Spain in February 2008 following a number of attempts on his life. He returns to Ireland sporadically and Dempsey often travels with her son to visit him abroad.
From the Marylands Estate in south Dublin, Thompson first started dating Dempsey when he was just an up-and-coming drug dealer in the '90s. Her relationship with the notorious criminal has been anything but plain sailing. Just one day after Thompson left Ireland last year, his enemies placed a pipe bomb under a car parked outside her house. The army bomb disposal unit had to defuse the device, which was attached to the underside of a E320 Mercedes.
Dempsey's brother Karl is a well-known associate of Thompson's. In 2000, Karl Dempsey was jailed for five years after he was caught with €63,000 of heroin. CAB also ordered him to pay over €400,000 following an investigation in 2002.
Vicky's younger brother Les was also on the outskirts of Freddie Thompson's gang but was not considered a key player. He took his own life just days before his 26th birthday in August 2008. Dempsey has set up an online tribute to him.
8. ANNE CASEY
Wife of Limerick gang leader Wayne Dundon
Casey was there to greet her husband in March upon his release from prison after completing a lengthy sentence for threatening to kill barman Ryan Lee. The couple travelled to Mexico for a holiday after his release from prison. Casey, like her husband, is from a well-known settled Traveller family. The couple have two children.
In May, the couple raised eyebrows when they splashed out thousands of euro on a horse-drawn Cinderella carriage for the First Holy Communion celebration for their daughter. The party brought city-centre traffic to a halt when the Dundons and their entourage pulled up outside the People's Park to pose for photos.
Wayne Dundon later reacted angrily when these photos were published in newspapers and stormed into the Limerick Leader newspaper offices to speak to the editor.
"All Travelling people do a big day for their children's Communion. It was on the TV last week. I'm a Traveller, my wife [Anne] is a Traveller. But we didn't spend €8,000 like it says here," he said.
Casey has focused on raising their two children while her husband's criminal exploits have made him a household name.
9. CIARA KILLEEN
Partner of John Dundon
John Dundon was jailed three weeks ago for two years after he was caught driving a stolen Mercedes-Benz valued at €54,000 in Dublin. This means that his partner has been left to raise their young son alone while he is incarcerated. Like most of the partners of the Limerick gangland criminals, she shuns media attention and is not involved in criminality. Her brother, Nathan Killeen, is a key member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang and has been questioned in relation to the murders of Roy Collins and Shane Geoghegan.
10. NICOLA NUGENT
Partner of jailed gangland criminal Karl Breen
Karl Breen is the leader of the Clondalkin 'D22' gang. He has been in prison since he was convicted in 2007 of the manslaughter of his friend Martin McLaughlin, who he stabbed to death on New Year's Eve 2006. Nicola Nugent was present that night when her boyfriend killed his friend in a drunken row in Jury's hotel beside Croke Park after they had spent the night drinking champagne and returned to the hotel room Breen had booked for himself and Nugent, with whom he has three children.
After his two-week trial ended, Nugent spoke of the heartbreak it would cause her to have the father of her children locked up for nine years.
"This is a nightmare," she said. "You have no idea what it's like to have to go through something like this. I've got small children and this is such an incredibly difficult time for them. For them to see my picture splashed across the papers going to court every day was awful. I now just want to be left alone when this whole thing is over. It's a nightmare."
11. MICHELLE BAMBRICK
Partner of drug dealer James O'Reilly
Michelle Bambrick was jailed for three years three months ago for her role in possessing €300,000 of drugs under a secret panel in her bedroom press. The mother-of-four's partner, James O'Reilly, was jailed for 10 years for possession of a gun, ammunition and drugs worth over €300,000 a week before his partner was arrested in 2007. Gardaí found cocaine, amphetamines, MDMA and mixing agent in the bedroom and hydraulic presses in the garden shed.
The 34-year-old woman showed gardaí where the drugs were hidden under a bedroom press panel and broke down to officers, saying she didn't think her partner had been "that far" into the drugs trade. James O'Reilly had been arrested on other matters a week before the garda raid on her home and had told her that someone would come to collect the drugs.
Michelle is a niece of Michael Bambrick, who in the early 1990s butchered two women and buried their bodies.
12. LORNA DALY
Girlfriend to murdered crime boss Martin 'Marlo' Hyland
Hyland was shot dead by some of his associates in a house in Finglas in December 2006, along with innocent apprentice plumber Anthony Campbell. The major drug dealer had been coming under increasing pressure both from within his own gang and as a result of sustained unwelcome garda attention. He was involved in a long-term relationship with Lorna Daly since his teenage years.
Though in the last few months of his life, she saw little of him as he moved around safe houses as he knew his life was in danger. He had become increasingly distant to everyone in his life, including Daly, because of the strain he was under as he knew he was wanted dead.
Those close to Daly say that she is still heartbroken and hasn't recovered from her partner's death.
August 8, 2010
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