'Fat' Freddie Thompson, Dublin gangster was spotted at a District Court sitting in the city this week where he accompanied a young defendant, who is himself facing serious charges.The accused, in his late teens and from south Dublin, is believed to have 'hired' Thompson as security during his court appearances, after an incident a number of weeks ago in which he was attacked with a knife -- in court."Freddie was riding shotgun for this kid," said a source."It looks like Fred has gone into the bodyguard business," the source added.The young man, who is free on bail despite the serious nature of the charges he is facing, had a narrow escape as he waited for his case to be called. Another man pulled a knife and attempted to stab him, but was apprehended by gardai and removed from the court.Gardai believe that members of the young man's family contacted Thompson to ask him to appear in court this week as 'security', to intimidate other criminals and offset any attacks.Thompson (28) duly appeared at the court and stood beside the youngster, while the teen waited for his case to be called yesterday. The accused cannot be named for legal reasons.
Crime boss Thompson, who is known to head a Crumlin-based gang, then left the court after the hearing.
"Freddie just stood beside the young lad and let it be know that he was with him. The kid is in trouble with other people from his local area and the knife attack in court was obviously a pretty serious matter."The guards in court were joking that Freddie must be hit by the recession if he had to hire himself out as a bodyguard."The incident was Thompson's second court appearance this week, following his own arraignment last Monday on public order charges. He is accused of threatening behaviour and failing to comply with the instructions of a garda.The charge was brought over an alleged incident which occurred on Aungier Street the previous evening. The court heard that Thompson replied, when charged, "I just want to apologise to the guard".Despite his involvement in underworld activity, Thompson's previous convictions are for relatively minor offences.
Friday, November 13, 2009
SHARON TOOK A BULLET FOR HER MOBSTER LOVER
THIS is the loving couple who were the victims of gangland's latest bloody outrage.
Arm in arm, Sharon Rattigan (26) and boyfriend Shay O'Byrne (27), smile for the camera as they enjoy a night out with family and friends. But on Friday night O'Byrne, a major player in one of Dublin's most dangerous crime gangs, was shot three times in the
back and killed outside a house in Tymon North in Tallaght.
His gutsy girlfriend was lucky to escape with her life as she put up a ferocious fight to save her lover.
GANGLAND HIT: The scene of O’Byrne’s death
Despite being shot in the leg during the attack, Sharon Rattigan is understood to have disarmed the gunman and thrown his revolver into her boyfriend's car. Gardai are currently examining the weapon. She also pulled off his balaclava and scratched his face, which may now provide vital DNA evidence in helping cops catch the killer.
Traumatised
However, the traumatised young woman, who had been living with her boyfriend for several years, checked herself out of hospital yesterday morning and has not spoken to detectives.
Last night three men were still being questioned by gardai after they were arrested in Crumlin a short time after the attack, which took place around 8.20pm. Gardai have also asked the public for help in tracing two suspect cars which they believe were used in the murder - a silver colour Nissan Primera with a partial registration number of 00 D and a sky blue Volkswagen Passat with a partial reg number of 06 WW.
Both cars were seen in the Tymon North Gardens area at the time of the shooting. O'Byrne's murder is the most serious escalation
in the blood feud between the two warring drug gangs in Drimnagh and Crumlin in south Dublin, which has now claimed 12 lives.
THUG: Fat Freddie Thompson
In recent months there had been an uneasy peace between the two sides that have been killing, shooting and bombing each other since 2000. But in the past few weeks a number of thugs associated with the Fat Freddie Thompson gang have been responsible for a number of gun attacks on houses in the Crumlin and Drimnagh areas.
Extra armed gardai under the umbrella of Operation Anvil were drafted into the area to back up local units amid fears that warfare was about to erupt again. In that operation, detectives from Crumlin seized a lethal pumpaction shotgun which fired solid shot cartridges similar to ones used by the ERU to punch holes in engine blocks.
One of the young thugs behind the recent escalation is aged just 21 and suitably nicknamed 'Mad Dog'. One of the men arrested in connection with the O'Byrne murder is understood to be a close associate of this out-of-control psychopath.
It is understood that as the shooting incidents grew more frequent - there were nine incidents in just over two weeks - members of the Thompson side of the feud decided to hit a major player on the other side.
Shay O'Byrne,who had no serious criminal convictions, was one of the senior players in the gang which has been warring with the
Thompson mob. Gardai arrested him for questioning in relation to a murder attempt on the life of 'Canal Butcher' Mark Desmond three years ago.
Originally from Lansdowne Valley Park in Drimnagh, he organised the gang's huge drug business. He is the eighth gangland murder victim so far this year.
Shootings
Last night extra garda patrols were mobilised on the streets of the working-class suburbs which have witnessed hundreds of shootings and scores of bomb incidents in the past eight years. It had been hoped that the two sides had grown tired of trying to kill and maim each other as a fragile peace emerged in recent months.
But they keep producing younger, even more ruthless thugs, who are ready to throw their weight around. In gangland terms the Crumlin and Drimnagh gangs are now connected with practically every other drug gang in the greater Dublin area.
Friday night's murder has guaranteed that there is little hope of peace on the streets of south Dublin.
Arm in arm, Sharon Rattigan (26) and boyfriend Shay O'Byrne (27), smile for the camera as they enjoy a night out with family and friends. But on Friday night O'Byrne, a major player in one of Dublin's most dangerous crime gangs, was shot three times in the
back and killed outside a house in Tymon North in Tallaght.
His gutsy girlfriend was lucky to escape with her life as she put up a ferocious fight to save her lover.
GANGLAND HIT: The scene of O’Byrne’s death
Despite being shot in the leg during the attack, Sharon Rattigan is understood to have disarmed the gunman and thrown his revolver into her boyfriend's car. Gardai are currently examining the weapon. She also pulled off his balaclava and scratched his face, which may now provide vital DNA evidence in helping cops catch the killer.
Traumatised
However, the traumatised young woman, who had been living with her boyfriend for several years, checked herself out of hospital yesterday morning and has not spoken to detectives.
Last night three men were still being questioned by gardai after they were arrested in Crumlin a short time after the attack, which took place around 8.20pm. Gardai have also asked the public for help in tracing two suspect cars which they believe were used in the murder - a silver colour Nissan Primera with a partial registration number of 00 D and a sky blue Volkswagen Passat with a partial reg number of 06 WW.
Both cars were seen in the Tymon North Gardens area at the time of the shooting. O'Byrne's murder is the most serious escalation
in the blood feud between the two warring drug gangs in Drimnagh and Crumlin in south Dublin, which has now claimed 12 lives.
THUG: Fat Freddie Thompson
In recent months there had been an uneasy peace between the two sides that have been killing, shooting and bombing each other since 2000. But in the past few weeks a number of thugs associated with the Fat Freddie Thompson gang have been responsible for a number of gun attacks on houses in the Crumlin and Drimnagh areas.
Extra armed gardai under the umbrella of Operation Anvil were drafted into the area to back up local units amid fears that warfare was about to erupt again. In that operation, detectives from Crumlin seized a lethal pumpaction shotgun which fired solid shot cartridges similar to ones used by the ERU to punch holes in engine blocks.
One of the young thugs behind the recent escalation is aged just 21 and suitably nicknamed 'Mad Dog'. One of the men arrested in connection with the O'Byrne murder is understood to be a close associate of this out-of-control psychopath.
It is understood that as the shooting incidents grew more frequent - there were nine incidents in just over two weeks - members of the Thompson side of the feud decided to hit a major player on the other side.
Shay O'Byrne,who had no serious criminal convictions, was one of the senior players in the gang which has been warring with the
Thompson mob. Gardai arrested him for questioning in relation to a murder attempt on the life of 'Canal Butcher' Mark Desmond three years ago.
Originally from Lansdowne Valley Park in Drimnagh, he organised the gang's huge drug business. He is the eighth gangland murder victim so far this year.
Shootings
Last night extra garda patrols were mobilised on the streets of the working-class suburbs which have witnessed hundreds of shootings and scores of bomb incidents in the past eight years. It had been hoped that the two sides had grown tired of trying to kill and maim each other as a fragile peace emerged in recent months.
But they keep producing younger, even more ruthless thugs, who are ready to throw their weight around. In gangland terms the Crumlin and Drimnagh gangs are now connected with practically every other drug gang in the greater Dublin area.
Friday night's murder has guaranteed that there is little hope of peace on the streets of south Dublin.
THE GANGS OF DUBLIN...
"THE gang war between 'Fat' Freddie Thompson and a rival gang has been blamed for a 300pc increase in the use of bomb, grenades and explosive devices in Dublin.Garda figures released yesterday show the extraordinary rise in the use of explosives. Thompson has been involved in a feud with a rival drugs gang, the so-called Rastas and with INLA drugs gangs. There were 24 incidents involving grenades, pipe bombs or other improvised devices in the Dublin area in 2007. This year so far, there have been 76 such incidents. While it is believed the INLA -- which is now mainly involved in drugs dealing and racketeering -- have been behind some of the more sophisticated devices, criminals have also tried to make their own bombs. Some have been disguised in crisp packets and sweet tubes and gardai are concerned that innocent children could become victims of homemade devices."
What sort of malignant mindset puts explosives in a crisp packet? The INLA (Irish republican terrorists, or if you like the IRA with "O" levels) is obviously using that invaluable experience gained when killing people here in Northern Ireland to optimum effect. It appears the Irish police have a major gang-war problem in Dublin and it does not seem to be winning it. In that regard it is not alone. Why is it that these drug gangs seem so impervious to effective policing techniques? And to those who think legalising drugs is a good idea, any thoughts on what the Rastas and INLA would do in such a future scenario?
What sort of malignant mindset puts explosives in a crisp packet? The INLA (Irish republican terrorists, or if you like the IRA with "O" levels) is obviously using that invaluable experience gained when killing people here in Northern Ireland to optimum effect. It appears the Irish police have a major gang-war problem in Dublin and it does not seem to be winning it. In that regard it is not alone. Why is it that these drug gangs seem so impervious to effective policing techniques? And to those who think legalising drugs is a good idea, any thoughts on what the Rastas and INLA would do in such a future scenario?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Investigation into Limerick stabbing
Gardaí are investigating a stabbing incident in Limerick city in which a man was injured.
The incident happened at around midnight in O'Malley Park in the Southill area.
The man was taken to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital Dooradoyle.
His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
The incident happened at around midnight in O'Malley Park in the Southill area.
The man was taken to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital Dooradoyle.
His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Two men held after garda swoop
Two men remain in garda custody following their arrest near a post office in Indreabhán, Co Galway, yesterday evening.
The men, who are in their 30s, were detained following an intelligence-led operation into organised crime.
A number of items were recovered, including what is believed to be a firearm, as well as knives, balaclavas, gloves and mobile phones.
The men, who are in their 30s, were detained following an intelligence-led operation into organised crime.
A number of items were recovered, including what is believed to be a firearm, as well as knives, balaclavas, gloves and mobile phones.
Three jailed over Securicor van robbery
Three men were convicted of kidnapping the family of a Securicor driver and forcing him to hand over €2.28 million in cash have been sent to prison.
Jason Kavanagh, of Parlickstown Court in Mulhuddart, and Mark Farrelly, of Moatview Court in Priorswood, were both sentenced to 25 years in prison, while 61-year-old Christopher Corcoran from Bayside Boulevard was jailed for 12 years.
Judge Tony Hunt described the gang as 'inhuman monsters'.
He said the fact that all three men were fathers meant they had a clear insight in the primal terror they inflicted on Paul Richardson and his family.
He said sentencing should reflect both punishment and deterrent and he said that society was now affected by a spate of these so-called 'tiger kidnappings'.
He said he did not know where the term came from or what happened in the animal kingdom, but he said the kidnapping of women and children preyed on the greatest fear of a father and had no place in a civilised society.
He said this crime was a foul and repulsive cancer which when located must be subjected to radical and aggressive treatment.
He said that it did not affect those at the higher echelons of our banking institutions but struck fear into the hearts and homes of ordinary decent family. No ordinary family working for a bank or financial institution can rest easy from the fear of such an ordeal, he said.
The judge said he was satisfied that if the spate of these goes un-checked, an innocent parent or child will be maimed or killed. This case, he said, set the precedent for this criminal activity and that these men today cannot complain if they are to become the example and that their sentences are to serve notice on others who may become involved in such cruel and degrading treatment.
He said as well as the direct horror for the victims and their families, there was a wider concern.
He said the money taken in these cases could serve only two outcomes: the premature retirement for those involved - which he did not believe was the aim - or the proceeds would become the seed capital for further criminal ventures, namely drug trafficking and the importation of guns to protect turf.
The judge also commended the bravery and the resilience of each member of the Richardstown family. He said the intangible damage done to Paul Richardson would be permanent in some degree, but he said he hoped the passage of time would ease those feelings.
Jason Kavanagh, of Parlickstown Court in Mulhuddart, and Mark Farrelly, of Moatview Court in Priorswood, were both sentenced to 25 years in prison, while 61-year-old Christopher Corcoran from Bayside Boulevard was jailed for 12 years.
Judge Tony Hunt described the gang as 'inhuman monsters'.
He said the fact that all three men were fathers meant they had a clear insight in the primal terror they inflicted on Paul Richardson and his family.
He said sentencing should reflect both punishment and deterrent and he said that society was now affected by a spate of these so-called 'tiger kidnappings'.
He said he did not know where the term came from or what happened in the animal kingdom, but he said the kidnapping of women and children preyed on the greatest fear of a father and had no place in a civilised society.
He said this crime was a foul and repulsive cancer which when located must be subjected to radical and aggressive treatment.
He said that it did not affect those at the higher echelons of our banking institutions but struck fear into the hearts and homes of ordinary decent family. No ordinary family working for a bank or financial institution can rest easy from the fear of such an ordeal, he said.
The judge said he was satisfied that if the spate of these goes un-checked, an innocent parent or child will be maimed or killed. This case, he said, set the precedent for this criminal activity and that these men today cannot complain if they are to become the example and that their sentences are to serve notice on others who may become involved in such cruel and degrading treatment.
He said as well as the direct horror for the victims and their families, there was a wider concern.
He said the money taken in these cases could serve only two outcomes: the premature retirement for those involved - which he did not believe was the aim - or the proceeds would become the seed capital for further criminal ventures, namely drug trafficking and the importation of guns to protect turf.
The judge also commended the bravery and the resilience of each member of the Richardstown family. He said the intangible damage done to Paul Richardson would be permanent in some degree, but he said he hoped the passage of time would ease those feelings.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Cannabis seized in Hempstown
Cannabis with a potential street value of €1 million was seized by gardaí and Revenue Customs Service officers in Hempstown, Co Wicklow, yesterday afternoon.
The drugs were discovered in a yard in the town.
The 100kg of herbal cannabis and cannabis resin had been transported from Holland to Dublin Port earlier, hidden in clothes and electrical lights.
Officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit believe they were brought in by a south Dublin criminal gang.
The drugs were discovered in a yard in the town.
The 100kg of herbal cannabis and cannabis resin had been transported from Holland to Dublin Port earlier, hidden in clothes and electrical lights.
Officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit believe they were brought in by a south Dublin criminal gang.
Device made safe in Crumlin
Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on a viable device at a house in Dublin early this morning.
An Army bomb disposal team made the device safe at the house on Cashel Avenue in Crumlin at 12.20am.
They had arrived on the scene about an hour earlier following a request by gardaí.
The remains of the device were given to gardaí who are now investigating the incident.
An Army bomb disposal team made the device safe at the house on Cashel Avenue in Crumlin at 12.20am.
They had arrived on the scene about an hour earlier following a request by gardaí.
The remains of the device were given to gardaí who are now investigating the incident.
Cash-in-transit robbery foiled
Three men have been arrested after gardaí foiled an attempted robbery on a cash-in-transit van in Co Kildare this morning.
The three men were arrested just outside Johnstownbridge.
Two stolen cars and a number of weapons were seized but no firearms were recovered.
The van was collecting money from businesses in the Enfield area of Co Meath.
No one was hurt during the operation, which was led by the Organised Crime Unit and backed up by the armed Emergency Response Unit.
One of the men has been taken to Leixlip Garda Station, while the other two are being held in Naas.
The three men were arrested just outside Johnstownbridge.
Two stolen cars and a number of weapons were seized but no firearms were recovered.
The van was collecting money from businesses in the Enfield area of Co Meath.
No one was hurt during the operation, which was led by the Organised Crime Unit and backed up by the armed Emergency Response Unit.
One of the men has been taken to Leixlip Garda Station, while the other two are being held in Naas.
Long sentences for drug offences rare - report
A new report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe has found the average sentence for drug offences in Ireland to be two years and ten months.
With automatic quarter remission, the maximum average time served by a drug offender in Ireland is less than two years and two months.
The report from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction shows that although sentences, such as the mandatory minimum for serious drugs offences in Ireland, are supposed to act as a deterrent, long prison sentences for drug addicts or dealers here are rare.
There were no cases where the offender received the maximum sentence in the reporting year and only 22 of 530 offenders in Ireland were given ten years or more.
In a 2003 survey, the mandatory minimum ten-year sentence was given in only three of 55 eligible cases between 1999 and 2001.
The report also says that Ireland is one of only five EU countries that sentences drug offenders to community work instead of prison.
With automatic quarter remission, the maximum average time served by a drug offender in Ireland is less than two years and two months.
The report from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction shows that although sentences, such as the mandatory minimum for serious drugs offences in Ireland, are supposed to act as a deterrent, long prison sentences for drug addicts or dealers here are rare.
There were no cases where the offender received the maximum sentence in the reporting year and only 22 of 530 offenders in Ireland were given ten years or more.
In a 2003 survey, the mandatory minimum ten-year sentence was given in only three of 55 eligible cases between 1999 and 2001.
The report also says that Ireland is one of only five EU countries that sentences drug offenders to community work instead of prison.
Three held after cannabis seizure
Three men are being questioned in Monaghan and Ballymena after the PSNI and the gardaí broke up a cross-border drug smuggling operation.
The three were arrested last night and cannabis with the potential street value of £500,000 was recovered.
The drugs were brought from Dublin across the border.
The three were arrested last night and cannabis with the potential street value of £500,000 was recovered.
The drugs were brought from Dublin across the border.
Three guns recovered in Limerick
Three handguns and a quantity of ammunition have been recovered as a result of a number of searches carried out in the St Mary's Park area of Limerick city.
The searches took place in a number of houses and open areas in the city.
The firearms have been forwarded for technical exminatons and investigations are continuing.
No arrests have been made so far.
The searches took place in a number of houses and open areas in the city.
The firearms have been forwarded for technical exminatons and investigations are continuing.
No arrests have been made so far.
Two charged over Dawson Street raid
Two men have appeared at Dublin District Court on charges arising from an attempted robbery of a jewellery shop in Dublin city centre last Friday.
Clive Kavanagh, 41, from Portland Row in Dublin and Michael Martin, 25, from Oriel Street in Dublin, were both charged with stealing €100,000 worth of jewellery from Dawson Jewellers on Dawson Street.
They were also charged with possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances.
Both men were granted legal aid and the case was put back for a bail hearing this afternoon.
A third man, who was injured after he was tackled by the owner Ken McDonagh, is still in hospital.
He is expected to be discharged and questioned later this week
Clive Kavanagh, 41, from Portland Row in Dublin and Michael Martin, 25, from Oriel Street in Dublin, were both charged with stealing €100,000 worth of jewellery from Dawson Jewellers on Dawson Street.
They were also charged with possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances.
Both men were granted legal aid and the case was put back for a bail hearing this afternoon.
A third man, who was injured after he was tackled by the owner Ken McDonagh, is still in hospital.
He is expected to be discharged and questioned later this week
Third man due in court over jewellery raid
A man was due in court in connection with an attempted raid on a jeweller shop in Dawson Street in Dublin last Friday.
The man, who is in his 30s, was injured in a struggle with the owner of the jewellery shop and spent a number of days in hospital.
He was arrested last Friday during an attempt to steal €100,000 worth of jewellery from Dawson Jewellers in Dublin City centre.
Gardaí escorted him from St James's Hospital to Pearse Street Station earlier today for questioning.
Two other men have already been charged with robbery and possession of a firearm.
Clive Kavanagh, 41, from Portland Row in Dublin and Michael Martin, 25, from Oriel Street in Dublin are due in court again next Thursday
The man, who is in his 30s, was injured in a struggle with the owner of the jewellery shop and spent a number of days in hospital.
He was arrested last Friday during an attempt to steal €100,000 worth of jewellery from Dawson Jewellers in Dublin City centre.
Gardaí escorted him from St James's Hospital to Pearse Street Station earlier today for questioning.
Two other men have already been charged with robbery and possession of a firearm.
Clive Kavanagh, 41, from Portland Row in Dublin and Michael Martin, 25, from Oriel Street in Dublin are due in court again next Thursday
Gangland crime fuelled by rise in drug smuggling
THE RISE of gangland crime and murder in Ireland is being fuelled by an unprecedented amount of drugs crossing the State’s largely unguarded coastlines, an Opposition TD has said.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said he believed it was now “relatively easy” for criminals to get drugs into the country by sea or through ports and smaller airports, which was fuelling “gangland mayhem”.
“Customs is hampered by poor resources, with just one boat for the entire 4,300km coastline, one scanner for all commercial ports, and a lack of manpower at the smaller airports,” he said. “Promises for an extra X-ray machine for the ports, and another customs vessel remain unfulfilled.”
Quoting recent figures from the Central Statistics Office, Mr Flanagan said the number of drug offences has “soared by 75 per cent” in the last four years, from 13,326 in 2005 to 23,306 last year.
He said there was also strong evidence that drugs were being increasingly produced in Ireland, with a 338 per cent increase in offences for the cultivation or manufacture of drugs.
Mr Flanagan said there was a “cast-iron link” between the drugs trade and gangland crime and that drug barons were committing “one assassination every week”.
He pledged to challenge Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern in the Dáil over his failure to tackle the rise in “drug-fuelled” organised crime in the State.
A spokesman for Mr Ahern said the fact that the number of recorded drugs seizures had increased showed progress was being made in the fight against drugs and crime.
He said the statistics show gardaí have become more proactive on the ground and that he expects the number of gardaí to reach 15,000 by the year’s end.
“These increased numbers are having a positive effect on the ground,” he added
Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said he believed it was now “relatively easy” for criminals to get drugs into the country by sea or through ports and smaller airports, which was fuelling “gangland mayhem”.
“Customs is hampered by poor resources, with just one boat for the entire 4,300km coastline, one scanner for all commercial ports, and a lack of manpower at the smaller airports,” he said. “Promises for an extra X-ray machine for the ports, and another customs vessel remain unfulfilled.”
Quoting recent figures from the Central Statistics Office, Mr Flanagan said the number of drug offences has “soared by 75 per cent” in the last four years, from 13,326 in 2005 to 23,306 last year.
He said there was also strong evidence that drugs were being increasingly produced in Ireland, with a 338 per cent increase in offences for the cultivation or manufacture of drugs.
Mr Flanagan said there was a “cast-iron link” between the drugs trade and gangland crime and that drug barons were committing “one assassination every week”.
He pledged to challenge Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern in the Dáil over his failure to tackle the rise in “drug-fuelled” organised crime in the State.
A spokesman for Mr Ahern said the fact that the number of recorded drugs seizures had increased showed progress was being made in the fight against drugs and crime.
He said the statistics show gardaí have become more proactive on the ground and that he expects the number of gardaí to reach 15,000 by the year’s end.
“These increased numbers are having a positive effect on the ground,” he added
Gardai Probe Rumours of 'Fat' Freddie Assassination
GARDAI were last night trying to establish whether the Dublin gangland figure 'Fat' Freddie Thompson, leader of one of the feuding Drimnagh/Crumlin gangs, was alive or dead after rumours spread throughout Thompson's associates that he had been assassinated in Spain.
Senior garda sources said last night there had been no reports from Spanish police of a murder. Thompson left Dublin last weekend for Spain amid reports of a growing threat to his life. He has been warned several times by gardai about threats to his life.
The sources said that there was no evidence of a murder, or disappearance, but did confirm that Thompson's associates believe he is dead. Intelligence reached gardai early yesterday that Thompson's gang were unable to contact him and that it was completely out of character for him to lose contact with his gang.
Thompson, 27, was in Estepona in southern Spain in February when one of his close associates, Paddy Doyle, also 27, was shot dead. The murder has not been solved but Spanish police indicated to gardai that they suspected Doyle -- and Thompson -- had run foul of Turkish drug traffickers.
Thompson was on the scene shortly after the murder, though it was not absolutely established if he was travelling in the car in which Doyle was shot, though Spanish police believe he was. A short time later Spanish police seized a car in a nearby car park and found 110kg of cocaine.
Thompson travels between Dublin, Amsterdam and the Costa del Sol. He was arrested in Rotterdam in October 2006 when police seized seven kilos of cocaine, six handguns and ammunition at an apartment he had been used. He evaded prosecution on a technicality when the case came to trial in February 2007.
Thompson is also an associate of Martin Foley, who has been the target of several murder attempts -- the latest in January when he survived being hit by five bullets.
The feud in which Thompson and Foley are caught up began in 2000 when a gang of young drug dealers from the Drimnagh-Crumlin area fell out after gardai seized cocaine in the Holiday Inn in Pearse Street. The gang split and the violence started with the murder of one of the gang in 2001.
Since then there have been nine more murders, dozens of attempted murders and hundreds of violent incidents.
The intelligence reaching gardai about Thompson's disappearance come after an upsurge in activity from his enemies, who carried out at least one known assassination attempt early this month and were planning another murder last week.
The spread of Irish gangland violence to Spain is not new and six known Irish criminals have been murdered there in the past four years. In 2004, the leaders of the Westies gang, Stephen Sugg and Shane Coates, were murdered and buried in a secret grave in Alicante.
John McKeown, 48, said to be a major figure in international drug trafficking, was shot dead in January last year in Torrevieja. Sean Dunne, 32, from Coolock, was shot dead in September 2005, also near Alicante. And, the body of Cork man Michael 'Danser' Ahern was found stuffed into a freezer in Albuifera, Portugal, in September 2005.
Gardai who know Thompson said last week that the murder in Spain of his friend Paddy Doyle had badly affected him and he had been acting in an erratic manner since.
Doyle was Thompson's main "enforcer" and had personally carried out the assassinations of two of Thompson's rivals. Doyle had been living in Spain since 2005.
Twenty-five drug dealers in south inner Dublin have been cautioned by gardai that their lives are under threat arising from the bloody feud between the two Drimnagh and Crumlin-based gangs.
It is the largest number of such warnings ever issued in a single division.
Intelligence has led local detectives to intercept and prevent several murders, but sources say the threat to life is ever present, with gang members "floating around" looking for rivals and setting up people for assassination.
One attempt at murder narrowly failed earlier this month when a leading member of one gang, whose brother was killed in the seven-year feud, was shot at near the North Strand.
That plot was carried out by members of the gang led by the opponents of Freddie Thompson, who narrowly escaped assassination in February this year when gunmen opened fire on a car he was a passenger in at Estepona on the Costa del Sol.
Paddy Doyle, from Portland Row in north inner Dublin, who was a front seat passenger in the car, was shot dead. Gardai said that following yet another upsurge in activity around the south inner city, Thompson left for Spain last week.
Gardai arrested a man in the south inner city last week who is suspected of carrying out gun and machete attacks on the homes of Thompson's mother and grandmother earlier this year.
Gardai say that Thompson's opponents, the gang formerly led by Joseph Rattigan who was murdered in 2002, are currently pushing to try and take over control of the drugs trade in the south inner city.
The Garda "G" District -- which covers the Crumlin and Drimnagh areas -- currently, has the highest homicide rate in the country, with eight killings since last October, though not all of these were gang related.
Local gardai say that this might be a record for a single Garda District, and that they are desperately short of resources to handle so many murder investigations.
Gardai in some of the worst affected areas in Dublin are critical of the fact that even though they are making regular arrests of gang members on drugs and firearms offences, they nearly all get bail.
"We're doing out job, the DPP is doing their job and the prisons are keeping them in. The courts aren't doing their job," one source said.
The Government changed the Bail Act in 1997 following a referendum the previous year sparked by public outrage over the number of accused, including people charged with murder, who were routinely being released on bail.
Garda sources say that some of the most dangerous criminals in Dublin are currently on bail.
In many cases, they say, the criminals are at their most active when on bail because they are usually trying to amass money to look after family while they are in prison.
Meanwhile, gardai in Finglas and Coolock are continuing their search for the killers of the two men gunned down within 12 hours last weekend.
Both Trevor Walsh from Finglas and Anthony Foster from Coolock are believed to have been killed by rival drug dealers.
Gardai said the murders do not appear to have been linked.
Asked about feuding that had been going on the Finglas-Blanchardstown area last week, one local garda said: "It's too complicated to explain." There are a number of rivalries and vendettas between drug dealers in the Finglas-Blanchardstown area that have arisen since the break up of the "Westies" gang and the murders of its leaders Stephen Sugg and Shane Coates in Spain two years ago; and the break up of the gang led by Martin Hyland, who was shot dead in December 2006.
One source said that there are currently a number of criminals vying to take over the drugs trade in the north-western suburbs of the city, and this is expected to lead to more killings.
The north inner city feud, which has claimed four lives over the past year, is still "live" according to gardai.
And despite claims earlier this year that a truce had been engineered in the Limerick feud between the Keane-Collopys and the McCarthy-Dundons, this too is "active".
A plot to murder a senior McCarthy-Dundon gang member was uncovered last month when gardai stopped a car containing two rival gang members and a former IRA assassin.
Senior garda sources said last night there had been no reports from Spanish police of a murder. Thompson left Dublin last weekend for Spain amid reports of a growing threat to his life. He has been warned several times by gardai about threats to his life.
The sources said that there was no evidence of a murder, or disappearance, but did confirm that Thompson's associates believe he is dead. Intelligence reached gardai early yesterday that Thompson's gang were unable to contact him and that it was completely out of character for him to lose contact with his gang.
Thompson, 27, was in Estepona in southern Spain in February when one of his close associates, Paddy Doyle, also 27, was shot dead. The murder has not been solved but Spanish police indicated to gardai that they suspected Doyle -- and Thompson -- had run foul of Turkish drug traffickers.
Thompson was on the scene shortly after the murder, though it was not absolutely established if he was travelling in the car in which Doyle was shot, though Spanish police believe he was. A short time later Spanish police seized a car in a nearby car park and found 110kg of cocaine.
Thompson travels between Dublin, Amsterdam and the Costa del Sol. He was arrested in Rotterdam in October 2006 when police seized seven kilos of cocaine, six handguns and ammunition at an apartment he had been used. He evaded prosecution on a technicality when the case came to trial in February 2007.
Thompson is also an associate of Martin Foley, who has been the target of several murder attempts -- the latest in January when he survived being hit by five bullets.
The feud in which Thompson and Foley are caught up began in 2000 when a gang of young drug dealers from the Drimnagh-Crumlin area fell out after gardai seized cocaine in the Holiday Inn in Pearse Street. The gang split and the violence started with the murder of one of the gang in 2001.
Since then there have been nine more murders, dozens of attempted murders and hundreds of violent incidents.
The intelligence reaching gardai about Thompson's disappearance come after an upsurge in activity from his enemies, who carried out at least one known assassination attempt early this month and were planning another murder last week.
The spread of Irish gangland violence to Spain is not new and six known Irish criminals have been murdered there in the past four years. In 2004, the leaders of the Westies gang, Stephen Sugg and Shane Coates, were murdered and buried in a secret grave in Alicante.
John McKeown, 48, said to be a major figure in international drug trafficking, was shot dead in January last year in Torrevieja. Sean Dunne, 32, from Coolock, was shot dead in September 2005, also near Alicante. And, the body of Cork man Michael 'Danser' Ahern was found stuffed into a freezer in Albuifera, Portugal, in September 2005.
Gardai who know Thompson said last week that the murder in Spain of his friend Paddy Doyle had badly affected him and he had been acting in an erratic manner since.
Doyle was Thompson's main "enforcer" and had personally carried out the assassinations of two of Thompson's rivals. Doyle had been living in Spain since 2005.
Twenty-five drug dealers in south inner Dublin have been cautioned by gardai that their lives are under threat arising from the bloody feud between the two Drimnagh and Crumlin-based gangs.
It is the largest number of such warnings ever issued in a single division.
Intelligence has led local detectives to intercept and prevent several murders, but sources say the threat to life is ever present, with gang members "floating around" looking for rivals and setting up people for assassination.
One attempt at murder narrowly failed earlier this month when a leading member of one gang, whose brother was killed in the seven-year feud, was shot at near the North Strand.
That plot was carried out by members of the gang led by the opponents of Freddie Thompson, who narrowly escaped assassination in February this year when gunmen opened fire on a car he was a passenger in at Estepona on the Costa del Sol.
Paddy Doyle, from Portland Row in north inner Dublin, who was a front seat passenger in the car, was shot dead. Gardai said that following yet another upsurge in activity around the south inner city, Thompson left for Spain last week.
Gardai arrested a man in the south inner city last week who is suspected of carrying out gun and machete attacks on the homes of Thompson's mother and grandmother earlier this year.
Gardai say that Thompson's opponents, the gang formerly led by Joseph Rattigan who was murdered in 2002, are currently pushing to try and take over control of the drugs trade in the south inner city.
The Garda "G" District -- which covers the Crumlin and Drimnagh areas -- currently, has the highest homicide rate in the country, with eight killings since last October, though not all of these were gang related.
Local gardai say that this might be a record for a single Garda District, and that they are desperately short of resources to handle so many murder investigations.
Gardai in some of the worst affected areas in Dublin are critical of the fact that even though they are making regular arrests of gang members on drugs and firearms offences, they nearly all get bail.
"We're doing out job, the DPP is doing their job and the prisons are keeping them in. The courts aren't doing their job," one source said.
The Government changed the Bail Act in 1997 following a referendum the previous year sparked by public outrage over the number of accused, including people charged with murder, who were routinely being released on bail.
Garda sources say that some of the most dangerous criminals in Dublin are currently on bail.
In many cases, they say, the criminals are at their most active when on bail because they are usually trying to amass money to look after family while they are in prison.
Meanwhile, gardai in Finglas and Coolock are continuing their search for the killers of the two men gunned down within 12 hours last weekend.
Both Trevor Walsh from Finglas and Anthony Foster from Coolock are believed to have been killed by rival drug dealers.
Gardai said the murders do not appear to have been linked.
Asked about feuding that had been going on the Finglas-Blanchardstown area last week, one local garda said: "It's too complicated to explain." There are a number of rivalries and vendettas between drug dealers in the Finglas-Blanchardstown area that have arisen since the break up of the "Westies" gang and the murders of its leaders Stephen Sugg and Shane Coates in Spain two years ago; and the break up of the gang led by Martin Hyland, who was shot dead in December 2006.
One source said that there are currently a number of criminals vying to take over the drugs trade in the north-western suburbs of the city, and this is expected to lead to more killings.
The north inner city feud, which has claimed four lives over the past year, is still "live" according to gardai.
And despite claims earlier this year that a truce had been engineered in the Limerick feud between the Keane-Collopys and the McCarthy-Dundons, this too is "active".
A plot to murder a senior McCarthy-Dundon gang member was uncovered last month when gardai stopped a car containing two rival gang members and a former IRA assassin.
Two killed in Dublin gangland shooting
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin has described the shooting dead of two men in Dublin last night as appalling, and an absolute lack of respect for human life.
He said the Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan, will meet senior gardaí to discuss any new measures that are required for the investigation.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to the double killing in south Dublin.
Up to ten bullets were fired at the victims in Walkinstown shortly before 10pm.
It is believed that one gunman on a motorbike drove up to the back of a house and garage on Greenhills Road and targeted a garage owner and one of his employees believed to have been a salesman.
The garage owner's mother and his two of his children were in the house at the time of the murders. His six-year-old son ran to him after he was shot.
Both men were pronounced dead on admission to hospital.
One of the victims is a 40-year-old man from Tallaght and the other is 24-year-old man from Clondalkin.
The garage owner was known to the gardaí.
Officers say it is still too early to identify a motive.
Fine Gael Deputy Leader, Richard Bruton, called for a review of policing methods to tackle organised crime.
He said it would take the sort of concerted garda effort that followed the murder of the journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996.
He said the Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan, will meet senior gardaí to discuss any new measures that are required for the investigation.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to the double killing in south Dublin.
Up to ten bullets were fired at the victims in Walkinstown shortly before 10pm.
It is believed that one gunman on a motorbike drove up to the back of a house and garage on Greenhills Road and targeted a garage owner and one of his employees believed to have been a salesman.
The garage owner's mother and his two of his children were in the house at the time of the murders. His six-year-old son ran to him after he was shot.
Both men were pronounced dead on admission to hospital.
One of the victims is a 40-year-old man from Tallaght and the other is 24-year-old man from Clondalkin.
The garage owner was known to the gardaí.
Officers say it is still too early to identify a motive.
Fine Gael Deputy Leader, Richard Bruton, called for a review of policing methods to tackle organised crime.
He said it would take the sort of concerted garda effort that followed the murder of the journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996.
Three held over Dublin gangland killing
Three people are still being questioned by garadí tonight after being arrested over the fatal shooting of a man in Tallaght last night.
The killing of 27-year-old Shay O'Byrne has been linked to a feud between rival drug gangs in the Crumlin and Drimnagh suburbs of Dublin. A 26-year-old woman was shot in the leg during the attack.
A Garda spokesman said the three arrests were made late last night in the Crumlin area. "All 3 people arrested are male and they are being detained at Rathfarnham and Tallaght Garda Stations under section 30 of The Offences Against The State Act," he added.
One man is in his late teens, while the other two are in their mid 20s.
The shooting in the Tymon estate in Tallaght, west Dublin, is the 11th murder in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud since 2000, and the eighth gangland murder in Dublin so far this year.
Mr O'Byrne and his partner were sitting in a parked car outside a house at Tymon North Park just before 8.30pm when a gunman got out of another car, approached their vehicle and opened fire with a handgun. It is believe that the man was shot in the back as he ran away from the gunman.
The woman is believed to have struggled with the gunman during the incident. Gardaí are investigating whether the couple was waiting to meet somebody. A gun was found at the scene.
The woman injured in last night’s shooting was in a relationship with Mr O'Byrne. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening and she is being treated at Tallaght hospital.
Gardaí later said a man was spotted running away from the scene on Tymon North Park before being driven away in a silver-coloured Nissan Primera car on Tymon North Gardens. The car had a partial registration number of 00D and was seen in nearby Castlelawn Estate a short time later.
Another car, a sky-blue Volkswagen Pasat, with a partial registration number of 06WW was also seen in Tymon North Gardens at the time of the shooting.
The gunman is believed to be between 25 and 30 years of age, 172cm (5 feet 8 inches) tall with dark hair. He was dressed in black and had a hood. The other man is believed to be in his mid to late 30's, 172cm tall, with a strong build and dark tight cut hair.
Gardaí now fear the relative lull in hostilities in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud in recent months will be followed by further violence. The area around last night’s murder scene was sealed off by gardaí, and members of the Garda Technical Bureau will this morning begin an examination. The State Pathologist’s Office has also been informed.
The killing of 27-year-old Shay O'Byrne has been linked to a feud between rival drug gangs in the Crumlin and Drimnagh suburbs of Dublin. A 26-year-old woman was shot in the leg during the attack.
A Garda spokesman said the three arrests were made late last night in the Crumlin area. "All 3 people arrested are male and they are being detained at Rathfarnham and Tallaght Garda Stations under section 30 of The Offences Against The State Act," he added.
One man is in his late teens, while the other two are in their mid 20s.
The shooting in the Tymon estate in Tallaght, west Dublin, is the 11th murder in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud since 2000, and the eighth gangland murder in Dublin so far this year.
Mr O'Byrne and his partner were sitting in a parked car outside a house at Tymon North Park just before 8.30pm when a gunman got out of another car, approached their vehicle and opened fire with a handgun. It is believe that the man was shot in the back as he ran away from the gunman.
The woman is believed to have struggled with the gunman during the incident. Gardaí are investigating whether the couple was waiting to meet somebody. A gun was found at the scene.
The woman injured in last night’s shooting was in a relationship with Mr O'Byrne. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening and she is being treated at Tallaght hospital.
Gardaí later said a man was spotted running away from the scene on Tymon North Park before being driven away in a silver-coloured Nissan Primera car on Tymon North Gardens. The car had a partial registration number of 00D and was seen in nearby Castlelawn Estate a short time later.
Another car, a sky-blue Volkswagen Pasat, with a partial registration number of 06WW was also seen in Tymon North Gardens at the time of the shooting.
The gunman is believed to be between 25 and 30 years of age, 172cm (5 feet 8 inches) tall with dark hair. He was dressed in black and had a hood. The other man is believed to be in his mid to late 30's, 172cm tall, with a strong build and dark tight cut hair.
Gardaí now fear the relative lull in hostilities in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud in recent months will be followed by further violence. The area around last night’s murder scene was sealed off by gardaí, and members of the Garda Technical Bureau will this morning begin an examination. The State Pathologist’s Office has also been informed.
Dark side of Ireland's economic boom is the growth of high-octane gangsterism
Mark Glennon knew what was coming. He slept in a bullet-proof vest and his west Dublin council house was a fortress of bullet-proof glass, CCTV cameras and reinforced doors. To maintain his edge, and his trigger finger, he fuelled himself with cocaine.
But last month Glennon, 32, became the latest in a long line of drug dealers with reputations for extreme violence to be shot dead in Ireland's gangland wars. He was gunned down in broad daylight outside his home in Blanchardstown, Ireland's silicon valley, an area of conspicuous wealth.
Nearly 10 years after the crime reporter Veronica Guerin was shot dead for pursuing Dublin's drug barons, Ireland's criminal gangs are more dangerous and unpredictable than ever, according to residents on their estates. They are heavily armed with automatic weapons from eastern Europe. They are high on their own cocaine supply and turning over ever-increasing profits from drugs and spectacular armed robberies - some making in six months what the godfathers of Guerin's time made in two years.
Thirteen men have been shot dead in gangland-style killings this year, 11 in Dublin alone. Politicians say people are so inured to the turf wars that it now merits little attention when the bullet-riddled corpse of a drug dealer is discovered.
The government, which had prematurely declared last year that the fight against gangs was nearly won, is now cracking down, and police are seizing weapons - 500 this year - from sawn-off shotguns to M16 rifles and armour-piercing bullets. Amid the clamour for police to be seen to be addressing Ireland's armed robberies, two post office raiders, one an armed drug dealer and another unarmed man, were gunned down by undercover police in an ambush in May.
Crossfire
Amnesty International is demanding an independent inquiry and the men's families are planning a case for the European court of human rights alleging excessive force. Politicians and commentators are warning of the dangers of civilians getting caught in the crossfire.
The new generation of Irish druglords, known as the "mini-godfathers" or the "Celtic tiger cubs", are not the character criminals of the desperate days of 1980s Ireland, men like "the general", Martin Cahill. Unlike the abstemious Cahill, who carried out one of the world's biggest art heists, the new breed are described by those who live among them as "cocaine androids", whose personalities seem to have been formed by the drug they use and peddle.
Their lives are fast and short, their violence is said to be almost psychopathic. Some who lost kidneys in shoot-outs continued to wage war on their rivals unworried by their colostomy bags, pumping themselves with steroids to compensate for ill health.
Ireland has the third highest cocaine use in Europe. Seizures of the drug have gone up 800% in the last five years. "People get shot and we don't even hear about it. It just becomes commonplace - drug-related and part of a feud," said one community worker on Blanchardstown's sprawling estates, driving past landmarks of recent feuding. There are flowers at a tree where a young man bled to death after he was shot in the legs. At a parade of shops, another group of men were lined up and shot for stepping out of line. The local hospital is becoming expert at gunshot wounds - admissions have gone up fourfold in four years.
If this sounds ominously like Belfast, but in a wealthier setting, it is because the new gangsters have begun to ape paramilitary methods of intimidating their own communities. Joan Burton, Labour MP for Blanchardstown, said: "Dublin is seeing a mixture of guns and paramilitary culture."
Some gangsters even claim to be in the IRA - boasts sometimes not without credibility as the IRA has long "licensed" criminals in Dublin, taking a cut of the action in return for protection. "There is a quasi-social and political control associated with thuggery and crime," Ms Burton added. "There is harassment and intimidation across the estates."
There is a hard core of 15 to 30 gangs, and some are branching out into multimillion euro cash-in-transit robberies. Irish people, once among the poorest in Europe, are now second richest in the world, according to the United Nations; with so much money sloshing around, it seemed inevitable that an high-octane criminal culture would develop. But although the tiger brought jobs, Ireland now has one of the widest gaps between rich and poor in the developed world.
Torture
Not far from where Mark Glennon was shot is the council house that once belonged to John Gilligan, head of the gang responsible for shooting Guerin in 1996. He was acquitted of ordering her murder, but is serving a 20-year term after being convicted of running the biggest drugs empire Ireland had known.
Glennon and his brother Andrew, known as "Madster", were the second wave of drug dealers on the local patch. Once part of the notorious "Westies" gang, which dominated the area by torturing its rivals, the Glennons broke off and challenged their former bosses. They were suspects in the 2003 murder of a leading "Westie". But the Glennons did not last long. Andrew was killed five months before his brother, in April, when a rival gang surrounded his car and riddled him with bullets. But the Glennons had associates prepared to avenge them, and locals fear the feud is not over.
Blanchardstown is in no way unique. Drug gang wars have spread across the city - and into Europe. Last month a Cork drug smuggler's corpse was found in the freezer of an apartment in the Algarve in Portugal. Michael "Danzer" Ahern's head was said to have been severed as proof of his death.
Last year the "Westies" leaders, Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, went missing from a villa near Alicante in Spain. They are presumed dead, perhaps killed in a row over drug importation.
But on their old turf some residents fear that they staged their own disappearance and could return. "Their families haven't seemed to be in mourning," said one local man. Others feel that, like Mark Glennon, they would be unable to stay away, whatever the risk.
But last month Glennon, 32, became the latest in a long line of drug dealers with reputations for extreme violence to be shot dead in Ireland's gangland wars. He was gunned down in broad daylight outside his home in Blanchardstown, Ireland's silicon valley, an area of conspicuous wealth.
Nearly 10 years after the crime reporter Veronica Guerin was shot dead for pursuing Dublin's drug barons, Ireland's criminal gangs are more dangerous and unpredictable than ever, according to residents on their estates. They are heavily armed with automatic weapons from eastern Europe. They are high on their own cocaine supply and turning over ever-increasing profits from drugs and spectacular armed robberies - some making in six months what the godfathers of Guerin's time made in two years.
Thirteen men have been shot dead in gangland-style killings this year, 11 in Dublin alone. Politicians say people are so inured to the turf wars that it now merits little attention when the bullet-riddled corpse of a drug dealer is discovered.
The government, which had prematurely declared last year that the fight against gangs was nearly won, is now cracking down, and police are seizing weapons - 500 this year - from sawn-off shotguns to M16 rifles and armour-piercing bullets. Amid the clamour for police to be seen to be addressing Ireland's armed robberies, two post office raiders, one an armed drug dealer and another unarmed man, were gunned down by undercover police in an ambush in May.
Crossfire
Amnesty International is demanding an independent inquiry and the men's families are planning a case for the European court of human rights alleging excessive force. Politicians and commentators are warning of the dangers of civilians getting caught in the crossfire.
The new generation of Irish druglords, known as the "mini-godfathers" or the "Celtic tiger cubs", are not the character criminals of the desperate days of 1980s Ireland, men like "the general", Martin Cahill. Unlike the abstemious Cahill, who carried out one of the world's biggest art heists, the new breed are described by those who live among them as "cocaine androids", whose personalities seem to have been formed by the drug they use and peddle.
Their lives are fast and short, their violence is said to be almost psychopathic. Some who lost kidneys in shoot-outs continued to wage war on their rivals unworried by their colostomy bags, pumping themselves with steroids to compensate for ill health.
Ireland has the third highest cocaine use in Europe. Seizures of the drug have gone up 800% in the last five years. "People get shot and we don't even hear about it. It just becomes commonplace - drug-related and part of a feud," said one community worker on Blanchardstown's sprawling estates, driving past landmarks of recent feuding. There are flowers at a tree where a young man bled to death after he was shot in the legs. At a parade of shops, another group of men were lined up and shot for stepping out of line. The local hospital is becoming expert at gunshot wounds - admissions have gone up fourfold in four years.
If this sounds ominously like Belfast, but in a wealthier setting, it is because the new gangsters have begun to ape paramilitary methods of intimidating their own communities. Joan Burton, Labour MP for Blanchardstown, said: "Dublin is seeing a mixture of guns and paramilitary culture."
Some gangsters even claim to be in the IRA - boasts sometimes not without credibility as the IRA has long "licensed" criminals in Dublin, taking a cut of the action in return for protection. "There is a quasi-social and political control associated with thuggery and crime," Ms Burton added. "There is harassment and intimidation across the estates."
There is a hard core of 15 to 30 gangs, and some are branching out into multimillion euro cash-in-transit robberies. Irish people, once among the poorest in Europe, are now second richest in the world, according to the United Nations; with so much money sloshing around, it seemed inevitable that an high-octane criminal culture would develop. But although the tiger brought jobs, Ireland now has one of the widest gaps between rich and poor in the developed world.
Torture
Not far from where Mark Glennon was shot is the council house that once belonged to John Gilligan, head of the gang responsible for shooting Guerin in 1996. He was acquitted of ordering her murder, but is serving a 20-year term after being convicted of running the biggest drugs empire Ireland had known.
Glennon and his brother Andrew, known as "Madster", were the second wave of drug dealers on the local patch. Once part of the notorious "Westies" gang, which dominated the area by torturing its rivals, the Glennons broke off and challenged their former bosses. They were suspects in the 2003 murder of a leading "Westie". But the Glennons did not last long. Andrew was killed five months before his brother, in April, when a rival gang surrounded his car and riddled him with bullets. But the Glennons had associates prepared to avenge them, and locals fear the feud is not over.
Blanchardstown is in no way unique. Drug gang wars have spread across the city - and into Europe. Last month a Cork drug smuggler's corpse was found in the freezer of an apartment in the Algarve in Portugal. Michael "Danzer" Ahern's head was said to have been severed as proof of his death.
Last year the "Westies" leaders, Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, went missing from a villa near Alicante in Spain. They are presumed dead, perhaps killed in a row over drug importation.
But on their old turf some residents fear that they staged their own disappearance and could return. "Their families haven't seemed to be in mourning," said one local man. Others feel that, like Mark Glennon, they would be unable to stay away, whatever the risk.
A lawless ghetto
Associates of an outfit which has left a trail of blood and heartbreak proudly display elaborate tattoo tributes to fallen gang members.
Our startling photograph show three Limerick men, their affiliations permanently etched onto their bodies.
In a chilling tribute to victims of the city's bloody feud, the men are proud to reveal their tattoos for the camera.
Violent
The tattoo designs are a disturbing mix of religious and violent gun imagery.
On the far right, James Collins (41) displays a tattoo of a firing gun beneath the name ‘Frankie’, as well as a crucifix on his right arm.
The ‘Frankie’ in question is ‘Fat’ Frankie Ryan, who was killed in September 2006.
The Keane/Collopys were understood to have hired a gunman to murder the McCarthy/Dundon’s key man in Moyross.
Ryan was ambushed and shot in the back of the head as he sat in his car at Pineview Gardens in Moyross.
There is little sign of the gunshot wounds which James Collins himself suffered in an assassination attempt earlier this year, when he was blasted several times with a machine gun. He survived and recovered from the attack.
His son Garrett, scarved in the centre of the picture bears the most extensive tattoos, showing a “thug angel” carrying a gun in each hand, kneeling at the graves of two victims.
On his upper chest, two pistols point downwards, beneath the inscription: “Know your rights”. Beside him, Christopher McCarthy shows off a tattoo of an automatic handgun on his right shoulder.
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