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Limerick feud

October 27, 2023

The Limerick feud is a feud between rival criminal gangs in Limerick City, Ireland. The feud started between two criminals in the year 2000 and then spread to involve several criminal families, mainly the Keane-Collopy gang from St. Mary's Park and the McCarthy-Dundon gang from Ballinacurra Weston. While control of the drug trade is a factor in the feud, according to Garda Superintendent Gerry Mahon, the primary driving force is "absolute hatred by each side for the other".[1][2] Up to twenty murders and hundreds of shootings, stabbings, and pipe bomb attacks have been attributed to the feud since it began.[3]

Background edit

 
A line graph showing the rise and fall of gun crime in Limerick between 2003 & 2013.

Throughout the latter part of the twentieth century, Limerick grappled with a crime problem, with numerous high-profile crime incidents occurring in city. In this period the city gained notoriety being dubbed "Stab City" by media outlets, while nationally the city gained a popular image and reputation for criminality, violent disorder, and toughness. While there are a number of various and complex reasons for feuding and crime in the city, part of the problems arise from the deprivation experienced in some of the suburban local authority housing estates built by Limerick Corporation from the mid-to late 20th century. By end of the 20th century, endemic unemployment and deprivation in these estates were amongst the highest in Ireland, fostering major antisocial behavior in the estates as well as high levels of organized crime amongst rival gangs within the city in order to control the city's drug trade.

While feuding in parts of the city goes back decades, the present feud can be traced back to a dispute between gang boss Christy Keane and close associate, Eddie Ryan. In 2000. Keane, a major drug dealer and leader of the Keane-Collopy gang, and Ryan, the gang's main enforcer, had a bitter falling-out after a series of violent incidents involving relatives of the men.[4] On the afternoon of Friday, 10 November 2000, an attempt was made on the life of Christy Keane as he was collecting his son from school at Ignatious Rice College on Shelbourne Avenue. A gunman, believed to be Eddie Ryan, approached him as he sat in his car and he tried to shoot Keane, but the gun jammed and Keane escaped with his life.[5] Two nights later as forty-year-old Ryan was drinking in the Moose Bar in Cathedral Place, two gunmen entered and shot him dead. Ryan's son Keiran, who almost certainly would have been killed as well, survived; as he had gone to the toilet seconds before the killers arrived at the bar.[6] The gunmen were believed to be Keiran Keane, a brother of Christy, and Philip Collopy. As well as dozens of other serious incidents over the following year, there were at least 30 petrol bomb and gun attacks on the home of Eddie Ryan's brother, John.[7]

Double Cross edit

The McCarthy-Dundon gang, who were involved in drug dealing, robbery, and extortion, secretly agreed to join forces with the Ryan faction in an attempt to take control of the Limerick drug scene. They had been careful not to allow themselves to be seen to be allied with the Ryans and their associates. They deceived the Keane-Collopys in to believing they would remain neutral in the feud even though they had supplied them with guns previously.[7]

On 23 January 2003, Eddie Ryan's sons, Eddie Jr. (aged 20) and Keiran (aged 19) were reported abducted after being bundled in to a van by several armed and masked men on Moylish Road, Ballynanty.[8]

It is unclear if the McCarthy-Dundons set up the "kidnapping plot" after being contracted to do so by Keiran Keane. Keane had agreed to pay €60,000 in the return for the Ryan brothers' murder.[7]

Seven days after the Ryans were allegedly abducted, Keiran Keane and his nephew Owen Treacy went to a house in the Garryowen area of the city to meet Dessie Dundon. They believed they were going to witness the execution of the Ryan brothers or view their dead bodies. On entering the house they were confronted by several armed men, had their hands tied and were beaten. After a failed attempt by the captors to also lure brothers Keiran and Phillip Collopy in to a 'trap',[7] Keane and Treacy were eventually brought to a country lane in Drumbanna, five miles outside the city. Keiran Keane was stabbed in the face before being shot in the back of the head. Owen Treacy was stabbed seventeen times in the face, head and chest. The attackers left believing both men to be dead but Treacy survived and made his way to a nearby house for help.[9]

Six hours later the Ryan brothers walked into a Gardaí station in Athlone. Subsequent Garda investigations revealed they had never been kidnapped and spent the week at the home of an associate in Thurles, Tipperary.[10]

Dessie Dundon (aged 20), David Stanners (aged 31), James McCarthy (aged 24), Christopher Costelloe (aged 20), and Anthony McCarthy (aged 21) were all given life sentences for the murder of Keiran Keane[11]

Post Double-Cross Killings edit

John Ryan, 47, was killed in Thomondgate in July 2003. Two men on a motorbike arrived as he stood outside a house and the pillion passenger shot him several times. Twenty-three-year-old Michael Campbell McNamara was a member of the Keane-Collopy gang and was centrally involved in the feud. On 21 October 2003, his mutilated body was found on waste ground near Southill, Limerick. His arms and legs were bound and he had been stabbed multiple times and shot twice.[12] Other victims of the feud were the 2006 murders of Aidan Kelly (aged 19) shot dead near Ardnacrusha, "Fat" Frankie Ryan (aged 21), a senior McCarthy-Dundon member shot dead in Moyross, Noel Crawford (aged 40) shot dead in Southhill after being mistaken for his brother Paul, a known McCarthy-Dundon associate, and Noel Campion (aged 35), a convicted armed robber from a notorious family in Moyross, shot dead by the McCarthy-Dundons in Thomondgate.[13][14][15][16]

There were over 100 shooting incidents in the city in 2007 linked to the feud as rival gang members attacked each other and each other's homes.[17]

On 5 April 2008, Mark Moloney (aged 40), a friend of the Keane-Collopys, was shot dead at 3 pm as he spoke to a friend outside a shop in Garryowen.[18] Two days later as Gardaí searched waste ground looking for the gun used in Moloney's murder, they found the body of James Cronin (aged 20) buried in a shallow grave near Ballinacurra Weston. He had been shot in the back of the head the day before. Gardaí suspect Cronin drove the getaway car in the Maloney murder and was killed by his fellow gang members because they feared he would talk to the Gardaí if arrested.[19][20]

A killing that caused a public outrage in the city was the murder of Shane Geoghegan (aged 28), who was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity near his home in Dooradoyle in November 2008. Shane was an innocent victim with no connection to the feud. The intended target was Shane's neighbour, John McNamara, an ally of the Keane-Collopys who had survived three previous attempts on his life.[21][22]

Daniel Treacy, a brother of Owen, was killed on 22 February 2010 at a filling station on the Ennis Road. Thirty-five-year-old Treacy, who was not involved in the feud, was shot three times in the head by a lone gunman.[23]

2011 onwards edit

 
Heavily armed Garda detectives from the NBCI conduct an aggressive stop-and-search on a drug gang suspect in Limerick

Gardaí have been extremely successful at putting the feud to a stop, which has led to a dramatic reduction in the violence.[24] Up to sixty key figures involved in the feud are in prison.[25]

Dessie, John and Wayne Dundon are serving life sentences for murder. Their brother Gerard, was held in prison for violent disorder.[26][27] Nathan Killeen, a senior McCarthy-Dundon member, is also serving a life sentence for murder and is awaiting trial for a second murder.[28][29]

The McCarthy-Dundons are currently led by a cousin of the Dundon brothers, who returned to Limerick from England in 2011, where he had served half an eleven-year sentence for a firearms offence.[30]

Keiran and Eddie Ryan J.r were both convicted of firearms offenses.[31] Ryan Jr. was released in July 2014 after a High Court Judge ruled that Ryan Jr. was entitled to one-third remission of his original six-year sentence.[32] However, Ryan Jr's remission was revoked in August 2014 after a Dublin court ruled his release constitutionally invalid.[33]

Many of the feud instigators in the Keane-Collopy gang are also serving long prison sentences.[34] Christy Keane, due to being suspected by Gardaí of being still involved in the drug trade, suffered an assassination attempt against him on June 29, 2015. He was shot multiple times by two gunmen on the University of Limerick campus as he made his way to use the University gym, but survived the attack. Young criminals aligned to the McCarthy-Dundon and Ryan gangs are the main suspects.[35][36]

References edit

  1. ^ "Hate instils no fear of dying and no hesitation in killing". Irish Independent. 7 February 2004.
  2. ^ "Body count rises as two tribes continue to wage war". Irish Examiner. 8 April 2008.
  3. ^ Family Feud, Anthony Galvin. Hodder Headline Ireland (2003) ISBN 0-340-83153-7
  4. ^ "Limerick's feud: how it started and ended". The Irish Times. 16 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Limerick gang war marks its 10th year". Irish Examiner. 11 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Limerick feuds tear city apart". Herald. 10 November 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d Crime Wars, Paul Williams (2008) Merlin Publishing ISBN 1-903582-83-0
  8. ^ "Bloodbath fear after gunmen snatch brothers". The Guardian. 25 January 2003.
  9. ^ Mean Streets:Limerick's Gangland, Barry Duggan, O'Brien Press (2009) ISBN 1-84717-144-3
  10. ^ "Gangs of Limerick: a bloody four-year story of shooting, kidnapping and revenge". The Guardian. 30 January 2003.
  11. ^ "Five men jailed for life over Keane murder". Irish Independent. 22 December 2003.
  12. ^ "Man jailed for role in Limerick murder". RTÉ News. 25 July 2007.
  13. ^ Woulfe, Jimmy (14 August 2013). "Life of crime runs in the family, but ends in jail". Irish Examiner..
  14. ^ Cusack, Jim (24 September 2006). "One more killing and Limerick is murder capital of western Europe". Independent.ie.
  15. ^ Duggan, Barry (29 May 2007). "Gardai fear trouble as man is freed". Independent.ie.
  16. ^ Cusack, Jim (29 April 2007). "Murder victim was a "double agent" suspect". Independent.ie.
  17. ^ Duggan, Barry (21 April 2013). "Gardai winning war on crime in gang hotspot". Independent.ie.
  18. ^ "Limerickman gets 15 years for manslaughter of Mark Maloney in drive-by shooting". Limerick Leader. 1 December 2010.
  19. ^ McDonald, Henry (30 November 2008). "Blindsided in gangland". The Observer.
  20. ^ "Bloodbath fears as feud tears gang apart". Independent.ie. 9 April 2008.
  21. ^ "Angers grows over rugby player's murder". Herald.ie. 11 November 2008..
  22. ^ . Sundayworld.com. 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013.
  23. ^ O'Keeffe, Alan (22 February 2010). "Murdered for his brother". Herald.ie.
  24. ^ "A bright future now dawns for Limerick". Irish Examiner. 17 August 2013.
  25. ^ "Gardai "fracture" Limerick gangs as 60 jailed". Irish Examiner. 15 September 2012.
  26. ^ "John Dundon guilty of murder of Shane Geoghegan". RTÉ News. 13 August 2013.
  27. ^ "Court throws out Ger Dundon's appeal against five-year sentence over violent car chase". Independent.ie. 16 September 2013.
  28. ^ "Wayne Dundon and Nathan Killeen given mandatory life sentences". thejournal.ie. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014.
  29. ^ . SUNDAYWORLD.com. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013.
  30. ^ "Gang boss freed from English jail as three more begin sentences". Irish Examiner. 8 February 2011.
  31. ^ "Limerick brothers Keiran and Eddie Ryan jailed for firearms offences". Limerick Leader. 30 July 2010.
  32. ^ "Son of slain Limerick gangster freed as judge rules he's entitled to one-third remission". Irish Independent. 2 July 2014.
  33. ^ "Setback for Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt in bid for early release". Belfast Telegraph. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014.
  34. ^ "Garda successes lead to fall in organised crime". Irish Examiner. 15 September 2012.
  35. ^ "Convicted drug dealer Christy Keane critically ill after Limerick shooting". Breaking News. 29 June 2015.
  36. ^ . Sundayworld.com. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016.

Further reading edit

October 27, 2023
limerick, feud, feud, between, rival, criminal, gangs, limerick, city, ireland, feud, started, between, criminals, year, 2000, then, spread, involve, several, criminal, families, mainly, keane, collopy, gang, from, mary, park, mccarthy, dundon, gang, from, bal. The Limerick feud is a feud between rival criminal gangs in Limerick City Ireland The feud started between two criminals in the year 2000 and then spread to involve several criminal families mainly the Keane Collopy gang from St Mary s Park and the McCarthy Dundon gang from Ballinacurra Weston While control of the drug trade is a factor in the feud according to Garda Superintendent Gerry Mahon the primary driving force is absolute hatred by each side for the other 1 2 Up to twenty murders and hundreds of shootings stabbings and pipe bomb attacks have been attributed to the feud since it began 3 Contents 1 Background 2 Double Cross 3 Post Double Cross Killings 4 2011 onwards 5 References 6 Further readingBackground edit nbsp A line graph showing the rise and fall of gun crime in Limerick between 2003 amp 2013 Throughout the latter part of the twentieth century Limerick grappled with a crime problem with numerous high profile crime incidents occurring in city In this period the city gained notoriety being dubbed Stab City by media outlets while nationally the city gained a popular image and reputation for criminality violent disorder and toughness While there are a number of various and complex reasons for feuding and crime in the city part of the problems arise from the deprivation experienced in some of the suburban local authority housing estates built by Limerick Corporation from the mid to late 20th century By end of the 20th century endemic unemployment and deprivation in these estates were amongst the highest in Ireland fostering major antisocial behavior in the estates as well as high levels of organized crime amongst rival gangs within the city in order to control the city s drug trade While feuding in parts of the city goes back decades the present feud can be traced back to a dispute between gang boss Christy Keane and close associate Eddie Ryan In 2000 Keane a major drug dealer and leader of the Keane Collopy gang and Ryan the gang s main enforcer had a bitter falling out after a series of violent incidents involving relatives of the men 4 On the afternoon of Friday 10 November 2000 an attempt was made on the life of Christy Keane as he was collecting his son from school at Ignatious Rice College on Shelbourne Avenue A gunman believed to be Eddie Ryan approached him as he sat in his car and he tried to shoot Keane but the gun jammed and Keane escaped with his life 5 Two nights later as forty year old Ryan was drinking in the Moose Bar in Cathedral Place two gunmen entered and shot him dead Ryan s son Keiran who almost certainly would have been killed as well survived as he had gone to the toilet seconds before the killers arrived at the bar 6 The gunmen were believed to be Keiran Keane a brother of Christy and Philip Collopy As well as dozens of other serious incidents over the following year there were at least 30 petrol bomb and gun attacks on the home of Eddie Ryan s brother John 7 Double Cross editThe McCarthy Dundon gang who were involved in drug dealing robbery and extortion secretly agreed to join forces with the Ryan faction in an attempt to take control of the Limerick drug scene They had been careful not to allow themselves to be seen to be allied with the Ryans and their associates They deceived the Keane Collopys in to believing they would remain neutral in the feud even though they had supplied them with guns previously 7 On 23 January 2003 Eddie Ryan s sons Eddie Jr aged 20 and Keiran aged 19 were reported abducted after being bundled in to a van by several armed and masked men on Moylish Road Ballynanty 8 It is unclear if the McCarthy Dundons set up the kidnapping plot after being contracted to do so by Keiran Keane Keane had agreed to pay 60 000 in the return for the Ryan brothers murder 7 Seven days after the Ryans were allegedly abducted Keiran Keane and his nephew Owen Treacy went to a house in the Garryowen area of the city to meet Dessie Dundon They believed they were going to witness the execution of the Ryan brothers or view their dead bodies On entering the house they were confronted by several armed men had their hands tied and were beaten After a failed attempt by the captors to also lure brothers Keiran and Phillip Collopy in to a trap 7 Keane and Treacy were eventually brought to a country lane in Drumbanna five miles outside the city Keiran Keane was stabbed in the face before being shot in the back of the head Owen Treacy was stabbed seventeen times in the face head and chest The attackers left believing both men to be dead but Treacy survived and made his way to a nearby house for help 9 Six hours later the Ryan brothers walked into a Gardai station in Athlone Subsequent Garda investigations revealed they had never been kidnapped and spent the week at the home of an associate in Thurles Tipperary 10 Dessie Dundon aged 20 David Stanners aged 31 James McCarthy aged 24 Christopher Costelloe aged 20 and Anthony McCarthy aged 21 were all given life sentences for the murder of Keiran Keane 11 Post Double Cross Killings editJohn Ryan 47 was killed in Thomondgate in July 2003 Two men on a motorbike arrived as he stood outside a house and the pillion passenger shot him several times Twenty three year old Michael Campbell McNamara was a member of the Keane Collopy gang and was centrally involved in the feud On 21 October 2003 his mutilated body was found on waste ground near Southill Limerick His arms and legs were bound and he had been stabbed multiple times and shot twice 12 Other victims of the feud were the 2006 murders of Aidan Kelly aged 19 shot dead near Ardnacrusha Fat Frankie Ryan aged 21 a senior McCarthy Dundon member shot dead in Moyross Noel Crawford aged 40 shot dead in Southhill after being mistaken for his brother Paul a known McCarthy Dundon associate and Noel Campion aged 35 a convicted armed robber from a notorious family in Moyross shot dead by the McCarthy Dundons in Thomondgate 13 14 15 16 There were over 100 shooting incidents in the city in 2007 linked to the feud as rival gang members attacked each other and each other s homes 17 On 5 April 2008 Mark Moloney aged 40 a friend of the Keane Collopys was shot dead at 3 pm as he spoke to a friend outside a shop in Garryowen 18 Two days later as Gardai searched waste ground looking for the gun used in Moloney s murder they found the body of James Cronin aged 20 buried in a shallow grave near Ballinacurra Weston He had been shot in the back of the head the day before Gardai suspect Cronin drove the getaway car in the Maloney murder and was killed by his fellow gang members because they feared he would talk to the Gardai if arrested 19 20 A killing that caused a public outrage in the city was the murder of Shane Geoghegan aged 28 who was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity near his home in Dooradoyle in November 2008 Shane was an innocent victim with no connection to the feud The intended target was Shane s neighbour John McNamara an ally of the Keane Collopys who had survived three previous attempts on his life 21 22 Daniel Treacy a brother of Owen was killed on 22 February 2010 at a filling station on the Ennis Road Thirty five year old Treacy who was not involved in the feud was shot three times in the head by a lone gunman 23 2011 onwards edit nbsp Heavily armed Garda detectives from the NBCI conduct an aggressive stop and search on a drug gang suspect in LimerickGardai have been extremely successful at putting the feud to a stop which has led to a dramatic reduction in the violence 24 Up to sixty key figures involved in the feud are in prison 25 Dessie John and Wayne Dundon are serving life sentences for murder Their brother Gerard was held in prison for violent disorder 26 27 Nathan Killeen a senior McCarthy Dundon member is also serving a life sentence for murder and is awaiting trial for a second murder 28 29 The McCarthy Dundons are currently led by a cousin of the Dundon brothers who returned to Limerick from England in 2011 where he had served half an eleven year sentence for a firearms offence 30 Keiran and Eddie Ryan J r were both convicted of firearms offenses 31 Ryan Jr was released in July 2014 after a High Court Judge ruled that Ryan Jr was entitled to one third remission of his original six year sentence 32 However Ryan Jr s remission was revoked in August 2014 after a Dublin court ruled his release constitutionally invalid 33 Many of the feud instigators in the Keane Collopy gang are also serving long prison sentences 34 Christy Keane due to being suspected by Gardai of being still involved in the drug trade suffered an assassination attempt against him on June 29 2015 He was shot multiple times by two gunmen on the University of Limerick campus as he made his way to use the University gym but survived the attack Young criminals aligned to the McCarthy Dundon and Ryan gangs are the main suspects 35 36 References edit Hate instils no fear of dying and no hesitation in killing Irish Independent 7 February 2004 Body count rises as two tribes continue to wage war Irish Examiner 8 April 2008 Family Feud Anthony Galvin Hodder Headline Ireland 2003 ISBN 0 340 83153 7 Limerick s feud how it started and ended The Irish Times 16 April 2013 Limerick gang war marks its 10th year Irish Examiner 11 November 2010 Limerick feuds tear city apart Herald 10 November 2008 a b c d Crime Wars Paul Williams 2008 Merlin Publishing ISBN 1 903582 83 0 Bloodbath fear after gunmen snatch brothers The Guardian 25 January 2003 Mean Streets Limerick s Gangland Barry Duggan O Brien Press 2009 ISBN 1 84717 144 3 Gangs of Limerick a bloody four year story of shooting kidnapping and revenge The Guardian 30 January 2003 Five men jailed for life over Keane murder Irish Independent 22 December 2003 Man jailed for role in Limerick murder RTE News 25 July 2007 Woulfe Jimmy 14 August 2013 Life of crime runs in the family but ends in jail Irish Examiner Cusack Jim 24 September 2006 One more killing and Limerick is murder capital of western Europe Independent ie Duggan Barry 29 May 2007 Gardai fear trouble as man is freed Independent ie Cusack Jim 29 April 2007 Murder victim was a double agent suspect Independent ie Duggan Barry 21 April 2013 Gardai winning war on crime in gang hotspot Independent ie Limerickman gets 15 years for manslaughter of Mark Maloney in drive by shooting Limerick Leader 1 December 2010 McDonald Henry 30 November 2008 Blindsided in gangland The Observer Bloodbath fears as feud tears gang apart Independent ie 9 April 2008 Angers grows over rugby player s murder Herald ie 11 November 2008 Shameless Sundayworld com 27 February 2012 Archived from the original on 17 November 2013 O Keeffe Alan 22 February 2010 Murdered for his brother Herald ie A bright future now dawns for Limerick Irish Examiner 17 August 2013 Gardai fracture Limerick gangs as 60 jailed Irish Examiner 15 September 2012 John Dundon guilty of murder of Shane Geoghegan RTE News 13 August 2013 Court throws out Ger Dundon s appeal against five year sentence over violent car chase Independent ie 16 September 2013 Wayne Dundon and Nathan Killeen given mandatory life sentences thejournal ie 15 July 2014 Archived from the original on 18 July 2014 Limerick criminal Nathan Killeen charged with 2008 gun murder before special criminal court SUNDAYWORLD com 2 July 2013 Archived from the original on 12 November 2013 Gang boss freed from English jail as three more begin sentences Irish Examiner 8 February 2011 Limerick brothers Keiran and Eddie Ryan jailed for firearms offences Limerick Leader 30 July 2010 Son of slain Limerick gangster freed as judge rules he s entitled to one third remission Irish Independent 2 July 2014 Setback for Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt in bid for early release Belfast Telegraph 23 August 2014 Archived from the original on 26 August 2014 Garda successes lead to fall in organised crime Irish Examiner 15 September 2012 Convicted drug dealer Christy Keane critically ill after Limerick shooting Breaking News 29 June 2015 Gang boss barred from niece s communion Sundayworld com 14 June 2010 Archived from the original on 4 May 2016 Further reading editWilliams Paul Crime Wars Merlin Publishing 2008 ISBN 1 903582 83 0 Williams Paul Badfellas Penguin Ireland 2012 ISBN 0 241 95474 6 Duggan Barry Mean Streets Limerick s Gangland O Brien Press 2009 ISBN 1 84717 144 3 Galvin Anthony Family Feud Gangland Limerick Exposed Hodder Headline Ireland 2003 ISBN 0 340 83153 7 Galvin Anthony Blood on the Streets A Murderous History of Limerick Mainstream Publishing 2013 ISBN 978 1 78057 586 5 Thompson Tony Gang Land From Footsoldiers to Kingpin the Search for Mr Big Hodder and Stoughton 2011 ISBN 0 340 92007 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Limerick feud amp oldid 1177398363, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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