Poverty in Ireland

An EU survey on income and living conditions released yesterday stated that one in five people in Ireland are in danger of falling into income poverty. As usual single-parents, the elderly, people living alone and the disabled are mentioned as people most at risk.

People earning less than 185 euros per week are defined as being at risk of poverty. While this may seem about right the average monthly wage in Poland is only the equivalent of 250 euro per month. Obviously to a large extent whether you are poor or not will depend on the price of goods and services where you are living and in this reguard Irish retailers, wholesalers and the government are placing a huge burden on peop[le with the extortianite cost of almost everything from food to accomodation etc. Only health care and education compare favourably with other countries at a similar stage of econopmic development.

More tellingly the Central Statistrics Office claim that 7 percent of the population are consistently poor. Consistently poor is defined as being unable to afford a meal at least once in the last fortnight, having to go without heating in the past year, being unable to afford two strong pairs of shoes and a warm water proof coat. This standard would probably have registered most of the population as living in poverty in years gone by. Our overall standard of living has risen exponentially.

Yet large sections of the population continue to live on the margins. Judging by the figures it would seem this "poverty" is driven by not only the rising cost of goods and services but by the snobbishness that has come with the celtic tiger. People seem to believe they have no choice but to fall into debt in their quest to keep up with the Jones' and get the newest model of everything from car to phone to mp3 player. The misleading economic growth in this country coupled with rapid increases in crime rates and a body of people who seem to be obsessed with material gain are classic symptoms of the post industrial society.

The pull of economics is leading to the homogenisation of developed countries all over the world including here. We must resist this urge and maintain a culture that is uniquely ours starting with a more understanding approach to the disadvantaged members of our society. Irish people give more money per head to international charities than anyone else if we could be as giving towards our own we'd be well on our way to eliminating the scourge of poverty.

Attention Rathmines and Harolds Cross residents

I know at least a couple of people in the class live in these areas but all of you probably know a couple there seeing as its stydent central. With that in mind heres a cheery story for youhttp://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1525332&issue_id=13406

Part 2 of Stanley Williams story

This man is obviously rehabilitated. In his most recent appeal to the U.S supreme court his conviction was upheld but 9 of 24 judges concluded that the evidence used to convict him was circumstantial. They went on to say that the original L.a. court's urge to find an all-white jury and some of the language used by the prosecution showed evidence of institutionalized racism. At one stage during his original trial Williams was referred to as a "wild animal roaming the Jungle".

Williams has issued a final 14 page plea for clemency, so the final say will now belong to Governor Schwarzenneger. One of the tenets of Schwarzennegers election mandate was that he would be tough on crime and in an election year common wisdom would suggest that he wont risk isolating his conservative support base. However, Schwarzenneger has also actively cultivated his celebrity status and the Hollywood community have been amongst Williams staunchest supporters. In a story that could only unfold in the States the last Governor of California to over turn a death sentence was another actor turned politician Ronald Regan.

The bottom line seems to be that what should be a decision based on morality will be a decision based on gaining votes at the next election. My own view would be that Williams offers a unique role model to millions of disenfranchised African-Americans and to take his life in spite of his continual striving for redemption would only serve to further polarize the races. Having said that i can see both sides of the story. Tookie Williams' home page allows you to write an e mail to Governor Schwarzenneger I would strongly suggest doing that here no matter what side of the fence you sit on.

Stan "Tookie" Williams and the role of the penal system;punishment or rehabilitation

Some of you will be familiar with the figure Stan "Tookie" Williams, for those of you who are not here is a brief bio.

Wilson, 51, is currently on death row in the infamous San Quentim state penetentiary in California. He is due to be executed via lethal injection on December 13. He was convicted of the murder of 4 people in 2 seperate robberies in 1981. Amongst the victims of these murders were an entire family, mother, father and daughter, who were gunned down during a motel robbery.

Williams has maintained his innocence throughout the 24 years he has spent in prison. He has also admitted to being a founding member of the Crips street gang in Los Angeles. The Crips, they're the ones who wear blue, have swelled to over 150,000 members worldwide. Their on-running war with the rival Bloods has effectively led to the genocide of an entire generation of young African-American men in the inner cities of the United States. Upon entering prison Williams maintained his violent ways before spending time, 6 years to be exact, in "The Hole".

While there Williams began to reform himself and began working on a series of memoirs and other books, most of them childrens books warning of the dangers of gang culture. Since then he has been a model prisoner, has negotiated gang truces in L.A., New Jersey and Cincinatti, has been nominated for 4 Noble peace prizes, his memoirs were nominated for the Noble prize for literature and he has been presented with the "Presedential call to service award" by George W. Bush, who ironically sanctioned more executions while Governor of Texas than anyone in history. A film starring Oscar winner Jamie Foxx has been made about his life and his high profile supporters include Ffoxx, Desmond Tutu, Harry Belafonte and Snoop Dogg(himself a former Crips member).

Peoples personal feelings on the death penalty will obviously colour their opinions of what should happen to Tookie but the real question remains; Is prison meant to punish or rehabilitate?

Journalism; a dubious career?

Ye are all probably well aware of the unstructured nature of the world of journalism but i actually thought i was going to be guaranteed some job security after finishing this masters. I have just finished compiling the weeks tv listings for Village for zero cash, no mention of your name or byline and no chance to express yourself in any way. This is probably the reality of a daily life for a lot of journalists who probably had the same notions as ourselves in the maj at some point. It seems even if you become a "success" the rewards are not that great unless of course you do a Halley-esque sellout for the euro. Sorry for the rant, if anyone reads this muck anyway, but it does seem worrying.

Belated comment on Gwen Halleys article

There are so many deficiencies in this article in terms of style and content its hard to know where to begin but here goes. The article is extremely crass in terms of the mudslinging with reguards Sinead O'Connor and also Halley's constant references to sex or sexual activity/attitudes. Her whole polemic is based on Browne's alleged sexism yet she clearly displays inverted sexism when calling "tribunals, sport and cars" male gossip. Her use of the term "rednecks" is also typical of the elitism one would expect from the Sindo. She mentions Browne's interview with Dana twice, as both a reason for her admiration and loathing of him. In fact the whole slew of references to her time in Griffith College gives the piece something of the air of the lover scorned. Her reference to "our group"when talking about Independent News and Media is revealing. She seems to have married two of the groups favourite themes- slagging off Vincent Browne and the I.R.A and Sinn Fein. I wont go down to her level by commenting on her alleged current "romance". There is no statistical backing to any assertion she makes and her use of adjectives is utterly predictable. All in all the article reads like someone with very little real information trying to skirt around a subject by being controversial.

Gardai in need of radical overhaul

Founded in 1922 An Garda Siochana was one of the pillars upon which the Irish Free State was established. As a people just freed from hundreds of years of foreign, often brutal, rule the fact our police force would be unarmed was of major importance. The Garda was to be a keeper of the peace and a servant of the people in the best traditions of democracy. Irelands relatively innocent, predominantly rural and overwhelmingly Catholic society ensured it was free of major crime epidemics for the majority of the last century.

As Ireland began to urbanise and modernise the stress placed on the police has risen exponentially. It would seem that they have not risen to this challenge. The recent Morris Tribunal has exposed a web of police corruption comparable with that in Los Angeles pre Rodney King. The death of Richard Barron in Donegal may have sparked the events that led to the Morris Tribunal but evidence of widespread police incompetence can be garnered from many events of the last few years.

The arrest of Paul Ward for the murder of Veronica Guerin on the basis of a fabricated statement, the brutal assault of demonstrators at the May Day riots and the shooting and killing of two bank robbers at Lusk were all instances where the public had to seriously question the course of action of the Gardai.

Irish culture has always been a culture with a problem speaking out against incompetence for fear of making waves. In the aftermath of the Morris Tribunal the police are under investigation for two crimes of the most serious nature. It would seem that the unearthing of the corruption so apparent in Donegal has emboldened the public at large to speak out against other injustices which otherwise may have gone unreported.

14-year-old Brian Rossiter from Clonmel died on the 10th of September 2002 after spending the night in Garda custody. It was initially claimed the boy had been on a five-day alcohol and ecstasy binge, yet there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol in his system upon his death. State pathologist Marie Cassidy had declared the boy had died with head trauma that caused slow bleeding in the brain. He apparently sustained these injuries in a fight he had been involved in two days earlier. The boy’s parents have been sceptical of this reasoning from day one, so much so that an independent pathologist has been brought in from England. If his findings are at odds with Cassidy’s the public’s confidence in the Gardai will be completely shattered. The youth died with priapic erection that could indicate sustained assault to the groin. The worst-case scenario in this situation is horrifying.

Terence Wheelock from Dublin’s North inner city has been in a coma for the past three weeks. He was arrested at 1 pm and had been complaining of little more than a sore arm, at 3 pm he was admitted to the Mater hospital in his current state. The intermittent two hours had been spent in police custody. It is important to acknowledge that the Gardai may have had no involvement in either of these incidents but one does start to wonder how many similar incidents have gone unheralded throughout the years.

Much like the government the Gardai have erected a wall of secrecy and silence around their internal workings. Accountability would seem to be a foreign concept to them. In the course of researching this article I have come across several people who have made complaints about police behaviour. In each case they were barely acknowledged let alone investigated. These people include a Rosbrien man with no previous convictions whose family home was raided under the Misuse of Drugs Act on the basis of hearsay.

As justice Morris advocated, rapid structural overhaul is a necessity. Noel Conroy must be removed as Garda Commissioner and replaced with an independent outsider. Minister for Justice McDowell has advocated the establishment of a 3-person Ombudsman commission but even the proposed chairman of the commission Senator Maurice Hayes claims this is almost useless. Ombudsmen officials would need permission to enter a Garda station and it is very unclear which member of the commission would have veto rights. The reform measures taken in Northern Ireland have transformed the old RUC, one of the worlds most corrupt forces, into the PSNI which while not perfect is a vast improvement on the old model. Such radical measures are needed within the Garda Siochana.

It has not been my intention to label individual Garda as corrupt to the last man. There are many Gardai struggling manfully with an over inflated caseload. The Gardai are forced to deal with some of societies worst members on a daily basis and yet their detection rate involving major crimes is hugely admirable. However, this does not change the fact that as an institution An Garda Siochana is at best outdated and in need of review and at worst immoral and inept.

Dvd review

Chasing the Lions with Hector O heochagain and Risteard Cooper has generated huge hype in the media. The title is particularly apt as Sky’s exclusive rights to the 2005 Lions tour allowed Hector no access to on the field action and the whole DVD plays like a 90 minute exercise in trying to obtain sound bites from the Irish Lions.

Hector does display admirable ingenuity in his attempts to get an audience with the players. At one stage he poses as a courier to gain access to the foyer of the Lions hotel. He succeeds in getting a package delivered to Brian O’Driscoll’s room, a home made t-shirt proclaiming “Wanted Tana Umaga for the assassination of Brian O’Driscoll”.

The DVD follows in linear order the progress of the tour mainly through analyzing media coverage both here and in New Zealand. Gerry Thornley, Eddie Butler and George Hook all contribute from this part of the world while the range of Kiwi pundits is fantastic. Legendary All-Blacks such as Colin Meads, Ian Jones and Grant Fox offer insightful perspectives.

Irish viewers may be most interested in the views of Stu Wilson, Wilson was the original rampaging All-Black wing long before Lomu and Kirwan. He toured Ireland with the Grand slam winning New Zealand side of 1978 that famously came unstuck against Munster at Thomond Park. Little Seamus Dennison of Munster knocked Wilson into the middle of next week in a tackle that changed the course of the match. The moment has bee re-created as one of the seminal scenes in “Alone It Stands”, the Broadway play made in memory of the game.

Whether you enjoy this DVD or not will largely depend on your feelings about O heochagain and Cooper. Cooper’s impersonations of Eddie O’Sullivan, Clive Woodward and George Hook, among others, are sidesplitting. Hectors brash style works well in some of his dealings with the New Zealand media but the fact he is not a huge rugby fan is obvious. The over shoulder style of the documentary can look shabby when compared to the sleek packaging we have come to expect from modern sports programming

All in all the entire documentary is good fun but not something to engage the serious rugby buff. It was always going to prove extremely difficult to make a compelling documentary about a subject matter that was so disappointing.

Larrys news story(forgot to post it on squirrelmail)

Flooding the latest problem for troubled Limerick estate

On Wednesday 2cnd October residents of Crecora Ave. in Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick City awoke to find up to two feet of flooding outside their homes. The street outside was completely submerged and water was beginning to flood many of the gardens.

There is some confusion as to the cause of the flooding. Local housing officer Katherine Kirby believes gutters on the street are filling too quickly due to the drainage pipes not being able to process the water as it falls. Many residents seem to think Limerick Corporation installed the wrong type of drainage system when the estate was being built.

Ballinacurra Weston, built in the Thirties, is a large council estate on the Southside of the city. It is one of the countries designated unemployment black-spots. Poverty, crime and drug abuse are major problems here. According to a recent study by PAUL Partnership Limerick, the cities combat poverty agency, called Moving Forward Together one in three households live in income poverty, their income is less than half the national average. Up to 70 percent of residents have not completed their Leaving Cert and, astonishingly, 13.8% of houses still have no bathroom. This area does not need additional problems to deal with.

Mrs. Kirby remains calm when asked about the issue; “This flooding has been here every time it rains heavily for well over twenty years”. Despite the matter of fact way in which she deals with the problem, the flooding is causing more damage now than it has done in the past.

In the area directly affected by the flood are several abandoned houses, one such house was petrol bombed as part of the ongoing feud in the city. What were once the front gardens of these houses are now dumping sites. Everything from household waste to old washing machines and television sets decorate the gardens.

As well as being magnets for anti-social behaviour these abandoned houses are drawing rodents in their droves. It is inevitable that the rats eventually work their way into the occupied homes in the area.

It is the Corporation’s responsibility to repair the damaged houses and also to clear the rubbish piles in the garden. They refuse to do so on the basis that none of the tenants on their housing list will accept accommodation in an area so run down. Their solution is to knock the dilapidated properties.

Once a property is knocked the Corporations New Lettings Crew are responsible for rebuilding it. The Crew are currently so understaffed that the space would lay idle for two years before a new house would be built. For local residents the options seem to be to live next to a landfill or a wasteland.

Therese Moran, a 74 year old widow, has lived in the area for over forty years. She believes living conditions are worse now than at any time in the past; “The rats are all
over my garden anytime you go out there and I’ve seen, not many, but a few in the house. The children are out there playing and its filthy, it’s only a matter of time before something terrible happens one of them”.

Mrs. Moran goes on to point the finger of blame squarely at Limerick Corporation’s inactivity; “I’m tired of complaining at this stage. It’s been seven years (since her first complaint on the matter) and you get absolutely no response from the Corporation”. In the PAUL study it came to light that 94% of residents in the areas corporation owned homes are unhappy with the service provided by Limerick Corporation.

Housing officer Kirby’s official role would be to act as a vehicle for delivering residents concerns to the Corporation; unfortunately some locals aren’t even aware of her existence. Mrs. Kirby acknowledged that “The Corporation are much quicker to answer queries if they come through official channels such as me or another community representative. Some residents have complained so many times independently, to no avail, that they lose all hope of anything ever being done”.

Catherine Liddy is Welfare Rights officer for the area and manager of the local community centre. She believes the corporation are essentially fighting a losing battle in trying to restore the neighbourhood; “The corporation will come out and fix something or clean up an area but there budget is severely restricted and they’re very wary of fixing something which may be destroyed again immediately afterwards”.

On the issue that the government have just committed 9.5 million euros per day for the next ten years to the implementation of Transport 21 but haven’t the money for essential repairs in Weston, local councillor Joe Carroll was unavailable for comment.

This lack of comment at government level was mirrored within the ranks of the Corporation. The community liaison officer for Weston, Pat Daly, and the Corporation’s Environmental officer were also unavailable for comment. The resident’s of the area’s eagerness to talk was in stark contrast to their representatives.

In some residents eyes the Corporation were not the only ones to blame for failing to properly address problems in the area. The media were blamed by many for perpetuating the negative image the community has to live with. Many felt it was time the media stopped focusing solely on the crime within the area and began informing the wider public of the harsh reality of life people must endure.

A quick Google search of the term “flooding in Ballinacurra Weston” shows the validity of this assertion. The search will yield 54 results, 21 of which will be about murder, assault or arson attacks which have taken place within the area. None of them are about the flooding on Crecora Ave.

Weston, like disadvantaged communities throughout the country, is on the margins of society. Its needs are ignored by not just the Corporation or the media but by society at large. Local Parish priest, Fr. Pat Severs, eloquently stated these sentiments earlier this week; “If you look around you will see this place is in a bad state, the Corporation don’t care, the place is falling down. Even the Guards can’t really be bothered; they don’t really come in here anymore, their absence is quite noticeable. There’s no hope, no future here for the kids”.

"Mr. Big", according to the nationals, of drug importation captured by police

On Tuesday November 15 news of the arrest of a Limerick man in Antwerp on drug related charges was made public. Jim “Chaser” O’Brien from Lough Gur in Co. Limerick had been the subject of a major Garda operation since the spring of 2004. Operation Sword involved police from the U.K., Spain, Belgium and Holland and culminated in his arrest in late October. A mobile Ecstasy laboratory capable of producing 50,000 tablets per hour was seized.

Mr. O’Brien, according to Garda sources in Limerick, was second in command of the distribution network responsible for the supply of drugs in the South, West and Mid-West of the country. The man he worked for hails from Kilrush in Co.Clare and is said to be at the head of an empire at least equal in size to that of John Gilligan’s in its heyday. O’Brien would receive the product from the Kilrush based man and distribute it to local crime bosses including members of the McCarthy/Dundon and Keane crime families in Limerick. Cars were said to have been parked in Limerick valet centres with the drugs concealed in door panels, hours later the distributor would return to his car to find the drugs replaced by cash.

Chaser was not always involved in criminality. He came from a law abiding family and attended Le Salle C.B.S in Hospital, Co. Limerick. Other members of his family are all involved in mainstream society, holding employment in the legal and accounting professions among others .There has been no contact between the Jim and his family in over 5 years. Chaser himself had several legitimate businesses throughout Limerick such as the Red Cellar bar in Lough Gur, Chaser O’Briens in Pallasgreen and the Henry Cecil in Limerick City. It is believed his first encounters with senior gangland figures may have taken place during his time running the Cecil. The pub was closed after infamous Limerick criminal Mark Cronin shot Georgina O’Donnell in the face while attempting to shoot his common law wife. Ms. O’Donnell died from the injuries sustained.

O’Brien fled Limerick after the murder of Kieran Keane in 2003. One of Keanes convicted murderers, Dessie Dundon, was stopped by Gardai driving a car registered to O’Brien while trying to flee the country. While it is not believed O’Brien ordered the hit both himself and the Kilrush based criminal would have been aware of the plan. The survival of Keanes nephew, state witness Owen Treacy ensured Chaser could be named as a major figure in the Limerick Drug scene. Chaser repeatedly offered to clear his debts with CAB from his exile in Spain. O’ Brien and co would also have been aware of the plan to murder nightclub doorman Brian Fitzgerald.

An English based assassin, James Martin Cahill, has since been convicted of Fitzgerald’s murder and has subsequently turned super grass. O’Brien, his Kilrush based boss and members of the McCarthy/Dundon gang will all be on tender hooks awaiting the decision on whether Cahill’s testimony will be deemed admissible.

Many believe O’Brien continued to organize the importation of drugs to the Kilrush based man from his base on the continent. Importation methods ranged from the use of yachts coming into the marina in Killaloe Co.Clare, where another associate of the pair lives, to the use of lobster trawlers docking in Kilrush and throwing nets filled with the package overboard to be collected at a later time.

The Kilrush based businessman was shot 4 times in August 2003. The attack is believed to have been carried out by one of the Limerick families in response to the man’s alliance with another family. He has been convicted for two relatively minor crimes in the Eighties; the stealing of 30,000 euro worth of bicycles and the operation of a mobile brothel. The man is said to own much of Kilrush and run a furniture warehouse and several market stalls in the mid-west. His son was arrested in June 2004 for assaulting a guard and has 26 previous convictions. Fianna Fail councilor Larry O’Gorman was shot at after speaking out about the criminal element in his Kilrush constituency.

Gardai believe O’Brien was involved with the importation of several seized shipments of drugs over the past 18 months. Among these were 20 Kilograms of Cocaine seized in Cork in May with a street value of 1.4 million euro, 650,000 Euro worth of LSD found in Dublin docks in April, 6 Kilo’s of cocaine seized in Ardee, Co.Louth last October and the seizure of 1.2 tonnes of cannabis worbury Co.Kildare in August.

organised crime limerick style

Minister for Justice McDowell’s new crime laws have brought organized crime back into the national spotlight. In recent weeks Dublin has been rocked by a series of high profile gangland killings. Despite a relative calm over the last 15 months the Limerick feud remains the bloodiest in Irish history in terms of both the number of killings and non fatal attacks. Over the past month violence has again reared its head in Limerick. 2 murders and 7 non-fatal shooting incidents have highlighted the futility of the Gardai’s tactics in dealing with the city’s violent underworld. The feud in Limerick has also given us our greatest knowledge of the organized crime problem in the country. Members of the cities feuding factions have displayed savagery of a terrifying nature as well as a blatant disregard for the Gardai and the Justice system through their ongoing intimidation of state witnesses. Here is a timeline of some of the major incidents since the turn of the century and a list of who’s who in the cities underworld.

Oct 26 2000; Anne Keane, the wife of crime boss Christy’s Brother Anthony, is attacked by the two teenage daughters of John Ryan while collecting her daughter from Bishop Street primary school. She is brutally beaten before being held on the ground and having her face slashed with a Stanley blade.

19 Nov 2000; Former Keane henchman Eddie Ryan is shot dead in The Moose Bar on Cathedral Place. He is shot 11 times at point blank range by his two assailants; bullets travel through both his lungs and tear through his spinal chord. The killers are armed with a 357 magnum revolver and 9 mm pistol respectively. Two innocent bystanders, Mary and Deirdre Reddan, receive gunshot wounds to the abdomen and chest. Keane families second in command, Kieran, and Paul Coffey are charged with murder. Coffey makes a statement naming Keane as the killer but withdraws the statement in the face of relentless intimidation.

21 Aug 2001; Christy Keane is found walking through St. Mary’s Park with a sack filled with 240,000 euro worth of cannabis. At his trial the following year Daniel Braddish appeared in the court claiming it was he who police had caught with the drugs not Keane. It is alleged he was offered money or threatened into taking the fall. Keane was eventually sentenced to ten years in Portlaise prison

6 Sept 2001; 18 year old Eric Leamy is stabbed to death in Lee Estate. Liam Keane, son of Christy, is charged with the murder after a group of witnesses make statements. Six key witnesses fail to corroborate their statement at his trial. Mr. Justice Paul Csrney states the six must be suffering from “collective amnesia”. In April of this year Keane was in court for threatening to kill Eric’s brother John Paul. John Paul was subsequently shot earlier this month.

Jan 2002; Eddie Ryans widow Mary is taunted by members of the Keanes outside Limerick courthouse. “The maggots are ‘atein Eddie” they were heard to have said. When she responded with abuse of her own Kieran Keane approached her and head butted her twice in the face, breaking her nose in the process.

5 March 2002; Eddie Ryan Jnr stabs Liam Keane in the back in the city centre. When asked who attacked him in court Keane replies “Eddie Ryan stabbed me in the back”. When asked to identify him, Keane said he couldn’t see him in the court even though he sat only a few yards away. The Judge states “social chaos and anarchy” will consume the city if such ambivalence towards the law is maintained.


23 Aug 2002; Eddie Ryan’s nephew John McCarthy and his 9 year old son are fired on with an AK47 assault rifle by Keane associates Ross Cantillon and Roy Woodland. Woodland, who was only 19, had already lost his leg after being shot and on another occasion nearly died after being stabbed in the head.

29 Nov 2002; Head of security at Docs nightclub, Brian Fitzgerald, was shot dead on his way home from work. Fitzgerald had refused to allow members of one of the city’s gangs deal drugs on the premises. Earlier this year, James Martin Cahill, an English hit man was convicted of the murder. In fear of his life he recently turned super grass; his employers wait anxiously to learn if his testimony will be deemed admissible.

23 Jan 2003; Eddie Jnr and Kieran, the sons of Eddie Ryan are abducted at gunpoint. A third man, Christopher “Smokey” Costelloe manages to escape. A huge Garda search is undertaken amidst frenzied media coverage.

29 Jan 2003; Kieran Keane is murdered and his nephew Owen Treacy left for dead in Drombana Co. Limerick. The gun used to shoot Keane execution style jams as David “Frog-eye” Stanners goes to shoot Treacy. He is stabbed 17 times and has his throat slashed. After his miraculous recovery he turns state witness, his testimony leading to the murder sentences imposed on Stanners, Dessie Dundon, Anthony “Noddy” McCarthy, James McCarthy and Christopher “Smokey” Costelloe. Hours later, the Ryan brothers arrive unharmed into a midlands Garda station. Following the incidents the Garda Emergency Response Unit descend on the city with round the clock armed patrols and checkpoints.

Mar 2003; The Central Criminal Court is forced to leave Dublin for the first time. Limerick Detectives and police are missing too much time at work travelling to Dublin for murder trials. There have been 25 murders in Limerick in the past 2 years.

May 2003; A pitched battle between members of the Ryan and Keane family occurs outside Supermacs on the Ennis Road on a Sunday afternoon. 6 men, 3 from each side, are later imprisoned.

July 2003; John Ryan, brother of Eddie, is murdered while building a patio in Thomondgate. The two suspects for the murder are aged 15 and 16. That night members of the Keanes rang the Ryan’s to inform them their celebration was underway. One side popped champagne while the other mourned.

20 Oct 2003; 23 year old Michael Campbell McNamara is found murdered near his Southill home. He had been tortured before he was killed. A Keane associate, his killers tried to get him to lure 2 members of the Collopy family, now running the Keane Empire with Christy incarcerated and Kieran killed, to their deaths.

0ctober 28 2005; David Nunan from Southill is found murdered in Parteen Co. Clare. He had 50 previous convictions at the time of his death and had just been released from Limerick prison. He was a known drug dealer. This is the Limerick areas first murder in 15 months.

8 Nov 2005; 18 year old Darren Coughlan is kicked to death on the old Cratloe Road near his Moyross home. While Coughlan himself was not involved in gang activity his cousin David Stanners pulled the trigger that killed Kieran Keane. Limerick gangs have been known to look for soft targets. In May 2001 Owen Treacy’s father Daniel, a baker, had 2 petrol bombs thrown through the front window of his house. He suffered serious burns.

Keane Family.

Christy Keane; The undisputed Godfather of crime in Limerick until his incarceration in 2002. Currently serving 10 years his brother Kieran has been murdered while he has been in jail. Local police don’t believe he has the will or the firepower to go up against the McCarthy /Dundon family upon his release. Despite links to arms, racketeering, prostitution, money laundering and stolen vehicle trades the Keanes are seen as the lesser of 2 evils in Limerick. The city was largely peaceful until their authority was challenged. They also loaned money at almost zero interest and bought many council tenants in their St.Mary’s Park strongholds houses in an attempt to clean their money.

Kieran Keane; Christy’s younger brother assumed control of the family following his brothers incarceration. He was believed to have been behind the murder of Eddie Ryan before his death in 2003.

Liam Keane; Christy’s son was infamously photographed giving two fingers to the national media following his acquittal for the murder of Eric Leamy. He is said to harbour ambitions of running family business but other associates don’t like his attention attracting ways.

Owen Treacy; Hated amongst rival families for his testimony in his uncle Kieran’s murder trial. Refused to go into witness protection believing he was safer in his St.Mary’s Park stronghold. Retains round the clock police protection and escorts. Drives a top of the line BMW with impunity from CAB as reward for his co-operation in his uncle’s murder trial.

Brian Collopy; Reputed to have taken over as number 1 in the Keane organisation after Kierans death. Recently had a 250,000 euro property seized by CAB in Fedamore Co. Limerick. Collopy and his brothers Kieran and Philip were believed to have been targets when both Kieran Keane and Michael Campbell McNamara were murdered. Rumours abound of a split between Collopy and Christy Keane. It was a dispute between Collopy’s father Jack and the Ryan’s which sparked the cities infamous feud as the Keanes supported the Collopy’s.


Ryan Family

Eddie Ryan; Murdered in 2000, Eddie had attempted to kill Christy Keane a week earlier only to be foiled by a faulty gun. Ryan is alleged to have been the Keanes enforcer and a hit man for hire around the country. He had strong Republican links and was genuinely feared throughout Limerick. Believed to have been one of the shooters during the New Years Eve massacre of 1993 when two men entered a caravan in the midst of a wake for “Pa” McCarthy and opened fire killing 2 and wounding others. Christy Keane was later tried and found innocent of the murder of McCarthy, the witnesses evidence was deemed unreliable. The Ryan’s never had the strength of the Keanes and have been totally decimated by the feud.

John Ryan; Eddie’s brother John had no direct involvement but was the family’s senior figure following his brothers murder. His house in the Keane stronghold of Lee Estate was shot at and petrol bombed over 40 times in a 1 year period before his death.

Eddie Jnr and Kieran Ryan; Famously involved in an “alleged” kidnapping which now seems to have been a ruse to lure Kieran Keane to a meeting where he would be killed. Eddie Jnr was acquitted for stabbing Liam Keane when Keane would not identify him in court.

David “Frog Eyes” Stanners and James McCarthy; Ryan associates convicted of the murder of Kieran Keane. Stanners is believed to have pulled the trigger.


McCarthy/Dundon gang; Based in Ballinacurra Weston on the Southside of the city, the Dundons grew up largely in England before returning to Ireland in the early part of this century. Married into McCarthy’s and another feared settled traveller family from Southill, the Dundon’s have taken over the city since the murder of Kieran Keane. Extremely violent, their strength is unmatched. Believed to have been behind the murder of Brian Fitzgerald and Campbell McNamara.

An unidentifiable member of the Dundon Family is said to control operations. It is rumoured he is the Limerick man recently arrested in London reported to be the “Mr.Big” for drug trafficking into Limerick and the West of Ireland. Garda sources in Limerick though have previously identified him as no.3 in the smuggling operation behind “Chaser” O’Brien and a Kilrush based “businessman”.

Dessie Dundon; Currently imprisoned for the murder of Kieran Keane.

Ger Dundon; Serving 3 years for drug dealing, he was just 15 when caught with 30,000 euro worth of cocaine and ecstacy, and threatening the life of Owen Treacy.

John Dundon; Also serving prison time for death threats to Treacy. Previously jailed in England for assaulting and intimidating prison officers.

Wayne Dundon; Sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for threatening to kill a barman who wouldn’t serve his 14 year old sister, the barman was shot later that night. He assaulted 2 Gardai who arrested him, breaking one of their noses and the others jaw. The bar was burned down days later and the owners placed under police protection. Wayne famously mooned a judge during a court appearance telling him “that’s what the Dundon’s think of this court”.

Kenneth Dundon; Awaiting extradition to England for a murder in Hackney, London in 2003. He briefly made Scotland Yard’s most wanted list.

Anthony “Noddy” McCarthy; Serving time for the murder of Kieran Keane Famously turned to the Keane hordes and said “For every action there’s a reaction” while being led into custody following his conviction. He and Dessie Dundon are now being legally represented by Giovanni Di Stefano, Saddam Hussein’s lawyer. Nephew of Euro millions winner Dolores McNamara.

A family of settled travellers based in Southill are related to the Dundon’s by marriage. The gang are involved in an ongoing feud with the Kelly family, former city alderman Michael Kelly was murdered and his brother Anthony has had an estimated 66 shots fired at him in the past year. The settled traveller family are said to be behind up to 20 gang rapes in the Southill area, while police deny these claims a local GP has come forward anonymously to the Limerick press and claimed to have treated the victims, the family are believed to be supplied with drugs by the Dundon’s.

Irish rugby selection

The Irish team to play Romania was announced last night with 5 changes from the side that capitulated against Australia last week. Eddie O'Sullivan seem woefully confused about the direction he's taking the team in. With the World cup in 2 years time a young side needs at least two years to acclimatize to international rugby. Eddie is half heartedly giving youth its chance while persisiting to play players whose capabilities we are already aware are not good enough, Leo Cullen, Johnny O'Connor take a bow. The brave selection, giving youth a chance and putting players in place capable of playing the new style of explosive, continuity based rugby would read as ; 15. Murphy 14.Bowe 13.Trimble 12.Darcy 11.Horgan 10.O'Gara 9. O'Leary 8.Heaslip 7.Jennings 6.Leamy 5.Casey 4.O'Callaghan 3.Best 2.Byrne 1.Horan