Ger Dundon senior member of the notorious McCarthy-Dundon criminal gang was back on the streets of Limerick last night.

senior member of the notorious McCarthy-Dundon criminal gang was back on the streets of Limerick last night.Ger Dundon (22) returned to the city yesterday after being freed from the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise at lunchtime.Mystery remains over the exact circumstances surrounding his release, but a prison source said he had served his full sentence.Earlier this week, Dundon's barrister argued that his client should have been released on April 7 last as he had served 10 months for more than 30 motoring and public orderoffences. Dundon was locked up for 59 days from July 5 last to September 2, but was released pending appeal.His appeal, which was heard on October 24, was unsuccessful and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear before the court. He was eventually imprisoned last November.Last night Dundon was at his home on the southside of Limerick celebrating his release.

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Philip Collopy footage of the shooting he had taken on his mobile phone

Philip Collopy, 29, a top member of a feared feuding gang in Limerick, apparently didn’t realise his Glock 9mm pistol was loaded when he pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger. Investigating gardai were able to rule out any foul play in the death almost immediately after one of his associates handed over footage of the shooting he had taken on his mobile phone. Five or six people at the party were all being “unusually fully co-operative” because they didn’t want to be done for the killing, said one Garda source. Detectives believe Collopy, whose gang has been targeted by Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), was messing about with associates at his friend’s house in the early hours of Saturday morning when he unwittingly killed himself. It is believed there were drink and drugs taken at the party. One of the men in the house, in troubled Limerick housing estate St Mary’s Park, ran outside for help and alerted two officers on patrol from the Garda’s armed Regional Support Unit, set up last year to tackle gangland violence in the city.
But despite their efforts in taking him to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, he died when his life-support machine was switched off at the weekend. Collopy, who had a partner and several children, was a senior figure in the notorious Keane-Collopy crime gang, which has been locked in a murderous feud with arch-rivals, the Dundon-McCarthy faction. Both sides were in talks last year to secure a ceasefire after an escalation in the eight-year bloody turf war. Collopy was a suspect in the murder in 2000 of criminal Eddie Ryan, whose family then forged strong links with the Dundon-McCarthy faction. Ireland's CAB, which was set up after the gangland killing of journalist Veronica Guerin, last year seized a house, two cars and a substantial amount of cash from Collopy’s gang

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Gangster Philip Collopy (29) from St Mary's Park, Limerick is in the city's Mid-Western Regional Hospital where he has been since he shot himself

Gangster Philip Collopy (29) from St Mary's Park, Limerick is in the city's Mid-Western Regional Hospital where he has been since he shot himself in the head on Saturday morning.The career criminal shot himself with a glock handgun at close range in a house at St Munchin's Street, St Mary's Park. He had been inspecting the gun and removed the loaded magazine from it while handling it. However, he failed to realise a bullet was still in the chamber before he discharged the weapon while it was pointed at his head.A youth alerted members of the armed Regional Support Unit who were on patrol in the estate and told them that an ambulance was needed for the wounded man.A glock handgun and three magazines were recovered from the scene. Eight bullets were recovered from the magazine which Collopy removed from the gun before he shot himself.Gardai have put the shooting down to misadventure. Officers are investigating the source of the firearm. It will be forensically examined to see if it was used in any of the feud-related shootings in the city.Collopy's younger brother, Damien was in the house at the time and was treated for shock.Brothers, Ray and Kieran travelled back from Spain to be at their brother's bedside.

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Shane Geoghegan (28) was shot dead by members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang

Irish police believe they now know who killed rugby player Shane Geoghegan and expect to charge the suspect this weekend.Last night, officers were concentrating their inquiries on a young man who is in custody in Limerick. He was arrested earlier this week in connection with the murder. The brutal killing shocked the country and led to a major crackdown on Limerick's criminal gangs.The development follows an intensive week of investigations where 120 detectives, working in 36 teams, repeatedly interviewed 16 people (eight women and eight men). Eight individuals remained in custody in stations in Limerick and Clare last night.
Mr Geoghegan (28) was shot dead by members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang, in the early hours of November 9. The gunman mistook him for a rival member of the Collopy gang.
The prime suspect is a 23 year old from Dublin and is well known in criminal circles. He moved to Limerick and is well connected to senior members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang. He was recently arrested by gardai for transporting drugs into the city from Dublin and has appeared before the courts in connection with it.
At a recent court appearance, members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang, wearing bullet proof vests, waited outside the court buildings to transport him away.It is expected that the young man will appear in court within 24 hours in connection with the murder.Mr Geoghegan, captain of Garryowen thirds team, was walking home from a friend's house in the Kilteragh housing estate, Dooradoyle, when he encountered the gunman. He ran for his life, but was cornered in the back garden of a neighbour's home and gunned down, with one bullet striking him in the head.Limerick's most senior garda officer, Chief Supt Gerry Mahon, described the case as one of the most significant investigations to take place in the division.Investigating detectives are also attempting to bring a number of other people who, they believe, were also involved in the murder, to the courts.Fifteen of the 18 individuals arrested and questioned so far are from Limerick and some are members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang.
Another member of the notorious gang, who is also suspected to have had a major role in the murder, remains on the run in London. He fled Limerick after the shooting and a bench warrant is out for his arrest in relation to another matter.

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Michael "Roly" Cronin €300,000 confiscated

Confiscated almost €300,000 from the assets of major gangland figure Michael "Roly" Cronin, who was murdered in the centre of Dublin last month.The money was handed over after a High Court decision yesterday afternoon.The Cab was granted a freezing order against Cronin in March 2001 after it seized three properties at Buckingham Street in the north inner city; Ballyboden, Rathfarnham; and Finebar-Fort, Wellmount Road in Finglas.The houses were subsequently sold by the receiver on behalf of Cab and following the statutory seven-year wait, an agreement was reached in court yesterday in which two sums of cash, €103,000 in one bank account, and €180,000 in another, were officially handed over to the Finance Minister.Also in the High Court yesterday, the Criminal Assets Bureau secured an order handing over €38,662.75 to the State.The money was the proceeds of drug trafficking by Cab target Michael Shannon, who gave an address at Minart House at Sligo Road in Longford.The cash was seized as part of a search of a house at Bishopscourt in Ennis, Co Clare and was subjected to a freezing order for the past seven years.Shannon, who then had an address at Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty at Limerick circuit court in October 2002 to possession of 100,000 ecstasy tablets with a street value of more than €1m.A third convicted drug trafficker also fell victim to the Cab in the High Court yesterday afternoon.The court heard that Stg£22,000 was seized from Kevin McEvoy, of Ajax Court, Townspark, Antrim, as he attempted to board a flight to Amsterdam in February 2007.The court was told that McEvoy had 48 criminal convictions, including some for drug trafficking.The Cab secured a consent order to confiscate a total of €31,995.28.

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Ger Dundon walked into Limerick court offices yesterday evening

Ger Dundon (21) had been sought by gardai to begin a 10-month jail sentence since he failed to appear for a Circuit Court appeal on October 24 last. He was handed the jail term after he pleaded guilty to a total of 34 motoring offences, including illegally driving a bullet- proof and armour-plated BMW supplied by his gang, the notorious McCarthy-Dundons. Gardai believe the same outfit is responsible for the brutal slaying of Mr Geoghegan on Sunday. Dundon, of Hyde Road, Ballinacurra-Weston, Limerick walked into Limerick court offices yesterday evening. He contacted gardai and gave himself over to officers. He was last night spending his first night of a 10-month sentence in Limerick prison. Investigating officers are certain to ask Dundon if he played any role, or had any knowledge of the network behind Mr Geoghegan's killing. His arrest came just hours after Limerick came to a virtual standstill for the funeral of the latest innocent victim of the city's murderous feud. On a bitterly cold day, more than 2,000 attended the emotional funeral service while hundreds more lined the three-mile route to the cemetery. Bishop of Limerick Dr Donal Murray issued a plea for an end to the 'evil feud' between the city's gangs.
In a letter to the congregation, he said: "The death of Shane has shocked all of Limerick and beyond. This senseless killing of an innocent man, with his whole life before him, is further evidence of the futility of this evil feud, and the callous inhumanity with which it is pursued." As Mr Geoghegan's remains were carried through the city, gardai stepped up their search for the murder weapon. Yesterday morning, Ger Dundon failed to appear at a district court sitting in the city on public order offences, and a second bench warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested on October 13 at Mill Lane, Henry Street, Limerick and charged with offensive behaviour and intoxication -- after he allegedly urinated on a garda patrol car.
Court staff were said to be shocked when the criminal appeared before them yesterday to begin his jail sentence. But his older brother, John Dundon (28), failed to appear before Judge Tom O'Donnell yesterday. A bench warrant has been issued for his arrest. John Dundon was also charged on October 13 last of using threatening and abusive behaviour in Pineview Gardens, Moyross. His whereabouts were still unknown last night. Despite his young age, Ger Dundon has now amassed almost 50 convictions. Last August, he was jailed for nine months after he attempted to use a false passport in Cork airport to board a European flight. In April 2004, he received a three-year suspended prison sentence for possessing €30,000 worth of drugs for sale or supply. He was 15-years-old. Within four months he had committed three breaches of the Public Order Act including, on one occasion, roaring and jeering outside the St Mary's Park home of Owen Treacy -- the nephew of murdered crime boss Kieran Keane. As a result Dundon had broken his bond to keep the peace and the suspended sentence was activated in 2005. The McCarthy-Dundons have been to the forefront of crime in Limerick since the return of gang members from the UK in the late 1990s. Officers investigating the weekend murder say it is progressing well. More than 50 gardai are involved. Justice Minister Dermot Ahern yesterday reiterated his vow to wage war on the country's criminal gangs, as he promised to push resources into policing the streets and busting gangland bosses. The minister said he had secured additional money for next year to increase the allocation ringfenced to tackle serious crime -- from €20m to €21m. The budget available to the Criminal Assets Bureau has also been increased by 20pc.

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Gangland war worsens as Super Gangs fight it out on the streets of Stab City

The situation in Limerick,will further worsen later this year when key figures from both the main super gangs are released. Both have sworn vengeance against each other and their families.
Gardai also believe that Russell was murdered because he was suspected of murdering Gerard Byrne, 25, of Ferryman's Crossing, Dublin, who was shot dead in the IFSC on December 13, 2006. A €50,000 contract is believed to have been put on Russell's head. The north inner city feud has been underway for over two years since it emerged that a previous gang leader, Christy Griffin, had been raping and sexually abusing his partner's daughter from since she was only eight years of age. When Griffin was finally jailed for life in April last year the woman, from the Summerhill area, assumed control of his gang. She is thought to be the only woman gang leader in Ireland and is described by gardai as "highly dangerous".
Although it was initially thought last week that there had only been two murders resulting from the feud prior to Russell's killing, it has since emerged that a fourth murder, that of Paul Kelly, 26, who was shot dead outside his apartment off the Malahide Road in April last year, also stemmed from the feud. The other man to die was Stephen Ledden, 28, shot dead in Oriel Street in the financial services district in December 2006.The feud is showing no signs of abating, gardai say. It is one of nine or 10 current feuds between drugs gangs in Ireland, all of whom continue to step up their armed capacity. The Dublin gangs also continue to attempt to develop a bomb capacity. Gardai say that the two bomb makers in Dublin are showing signs of improvement and that it is "only a matter of time" before some one is killed. This followed the discovery by gardai of components for up to 20 pipe bombs in a car parked in Greenhills Road in Tallaght. The feud in Crumlin-Drimnagh, which has been going on for eight years, is now the longest and bloodiest in Dublin and has been made worse by the entry of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) into the fighting on the side of one of the gangs. The INLA is also believed to be behind the introduction of the pipe bombs. The republican terror-turned-drugs gang was once capable of constructing highly sophisticated bombs and used a tilt-switch under-car device to kill the Conservative Party spokesman on Northern Ireland, Airey Neave, in the underground car park of the House of Commons in 1979. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that since leading Dublin and Limerick gangsters have become acquainted in prison, they have formed mutual-assistance pacts where the sides supply each other with weapons and even contract killings out to each other while also assisting in drug trafficking. There is now understood to be an alliance involving the Dundon-McCarthy gang from Limerick, the south inner Dublin gang allegedly led by "Fat" Freddie Thompson, the INLA and figures from Finglas. This is probably the largest crime organisation in Ireland at present. This has exacerbated the situation in Dublin where the leader of the opposing gang, led by a man currently in Mountjoy Prison, still has use of mobile phones in the jail and is understood to be sending out instructions for people to be killed. This gang has formed an alliance with the Dundon-McCarthy's rivals in Limerick, the Keane-Collopys. Both these two "super gangs" are, however, inherently unstable. The groups forming the alliances all have their own personal agendas and vendettas underway. The INLA has been involved in what is effectively side-bar feuding in Dublin since one of its leading members, Patrick Campbell, was killed in a melee at an industrial park in Ballymount in 1999.
At least four men have been shot dead since Ballymount and gardai in Dublin say the INLA is still intent on settling scores over the matter. As some of their targets have been associates of the gang opposed to Freddie Thompson's gang, this has helped continue the eight-year-old Drimnagh-Crumlin feud. While the feuds in the north and south inner city areas remain active, garda action has, temporarily at least, stopped the blood feuding in the Finglas-Blanchardstown areas which claimed over 10 lives in the past three years. Garda arrests are the main reason for the reduction in violence in this area which culminated in the murder of former gang leader, Martin "Marlo" Hyland in December 2006. Much of the violence in the Finglas-Blanchardstown area was a result of the break-up of the once powerful "Westies" gang, whose original leaders, Shane Coates and Stephen Sugg, were assassinated in Spain in late 2003. The situation in Limerick remains as volatile as ever. A man in his forties had a narrow escape on Wednesday afternoon when he was the subject of a drive-by shooting, now the favoured form of assassination in the city. He was outside his house in Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra West, on when the attack took place at around 4pm. Local sources said the attack was linked to one of about seven feuds, though others say that these are now not so much feuds as acts to assert the dominance of the Dundon-McCarthy gang which prompt occasional acts of retaliation.
Some of the families formerly at the forefront of the feuding with the Dundon-McCarthys are now said to be struggling to hold on in the city and their families are being subjected to daily acts of intimidation.
One of the Dundon-McCarthy allied gangs in Moyross has recruited up to a 100 teenagers who cause havoc in the area and have access to weapons.

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Eight planned assassinations as Gang warfare breaks out in the Crumlin-Drimnagh area

Gardai have linked a number of bomb finds with a major feud between rival Dublin city gangs which has claimed ten lives since 2005.In one of the most significant breakthroughs, the Garda’s Organised Crime Unit discovered two grenades and a high-calibre handgun during a vehicle check in west Dublin earlier thismonth.
Aseries of recent arrests under the auspices of Operation Anvil, which targets armed crime, have led detectives to conclude that several attacks were being planned against a rival gang involving the use of firearms and grenades.
The feuding gangs are based in the Crumlin-Drimnagh area, and have been involved in bloody warfare since a row over seized drugs led to a series of accusations of information being passed to gardai and tit-for-tat killings, which have culminated in at least eight planned assassinations.
But it is the increasing use of home-made bombs by criminals involved in minor disputes which is of most concern to senior gardai. Last week alone there were three bomb finds in central Dublin, including a device left attached to the side of a car outside flats in Pimlico.
Among the concerns that gardai have is the fear that members of the public - in particular, children - will inadvertently detonate a device which they do not realise is a homemade explosive.Describing the threat from recent bombs disabled by the army’s bomb-disposal unit as ‘‘low-grade’’, security risk analyst and former Irish army ranger John Henry said the crude nature of the devices and their deployment suggested that there was ‘‘very fortunately, no significant paramilitary involvement’’.‘‘What we are seeing are really very unsophisticated devices, with none of the components used by expert bomb makers.The natural conclusion is that these devices are made from instructions from the internet,” said Henry, who is the chief executive of Specialist Security Services. ‘‘Their deployment lacks the skill or expertise of trained bomb deployment.”Henry added that this was an indication that the greatest risk of injury caused by such bombs could, in fact, be to members of the public.On a number of occasions, gardai have discovered pipe bombs left in public locations - almost certainly for collection by the criminal gangs who ordered their manufacture.Two such devices were found by a man who was walking his dog in Fairview Park in north Dublin last November. The bombs were left near bushes which are close to a Dublin City Council building and within proximity to a busy pedestrian bridge.Garda forensic experts examined the remnants of the devices after they were made safe. The detonation material was taken from fireworks while the explosive packet was made up of steel screws and bolts. As with several other finds, the bombs in this case were viable but were not primed for detonation.However, despite the poor quality of most of the explosive finds, detectives are concerned that a number of incidents last year included the use of fragmentation grenades, which are military-issue and pose a far greater risk to life than pipe bombs. The grenades most likely originated in the Balkans, though tracing their arrival here is almost impossible.So-called ‘‘frags’’ are designed to kill or maim with maximum effect by propelling fragments of their exterior shell outward at extreme force.
Frag grenades can be used to devastating effect as part of a booby-trap, when the safety pin is removed and the spring-based safety lever is held pressed against another object, such as the steering column of a car, and will not detonate until the foreign object is moved.
Gardai are deeply concerned at the possibility of high-performance military issue explosive devices being freely available to organised criminals here.In one instance, there appears to be a connection between a former INLA activist and the use of frag grenades in a dispute between Dublin-based men. However, Garda intelligence suggests that such military ordnance is not widely in circulation.
Nor is the use of crudely manufactured pipe bombs a purely Dublin phenomenon. Gardai last year discovered a series of pipe bombs outside Limerick city, which they believed were linked to one of the city’s main feuding gangs.
This was not the first time Limerick criminals were shown to have stored explosive devices for use against rivals.

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Four crimelords based in Gangland Limerick

small group of criminal godfathers is directing the gangland violence which has claimed the lives of 11 people in Limerick in the past eight years, a chief state prosecutor revealed last night.Limerick state solicitor Michael Murray, who has overseen landmark convictions following the murders of crime boss Kieran Keane and night-club doorman Brian Fitzgerald, said the criminal masterminds remain untouchable because a steady supply of willing lieutenants are willing to risk jail to serve them. Mr Murray said the good work of the country's leading gardai was being undone by the ready availability of disadvantaged aspiring criminals to do the dirty work for their seniors.
Up to four crimelords based in the Mid-West region are conducting the notorious gangland criminality in Limerick which has led to the violent deaths of at least 11 men since 2000 and Mr Murray describes their activities as "unrelenting". "So long as the godfathers are there, they will always manipulate the vulnerable," Mr Murray said. "The reality is the city (Limerick) is in a grip of a feud by organised groups. They are creating all sorts of problems. It is unrelenting.
"The problem really is that drugs are so lucrative, there are people at the top end that are not coming up on the radar screen and are orchestrating all of this, that is the problem. "There is no more than three or four in the Mid-Western region. They are in the background. That is their real strength, their ability to remain in the background. "Once their operatives are put out of the way, they just go around and find somebody else to put in their place," he added. The solicitor said a cross-section of all ages -- vulnerable adults and children -- were being used by senior gang members. "There has been a problem and a difficult problem for the courts to deal with. Indeed, adults who are not known to the gardai are often coerced to do things for drugs people on the basis that they are persuaded that they have no previous convictions and haven't been in the courts before," Mr Murray said.
"They are not likely to be caught first of all and even if they are caught, they are going to get a light sentence.
"Now, that has gone a step further where they are finding it is easier to manipulate young fellows on the basis that they can be persuaded -- 'you are a young fella, even if you are caught, nothing will happen to you.' I have no doubt that is happening". New legislation may be required to stem the ongoing criminality.
"The problem is in order to address that, the courts should in one sense treat the vulnerable more severely," Mr Murray said. "I suppose the theory should be that the vulnerable should be more afraid of the courts than they are of the criminals. That, unfortunately, is unpalatable in itself. It is a difficult one.
"In fairness, the guards have kept a lid on it as best they can. But it is a little bit like rolling a stone up a hill. Once it gets to the top it rolls back down and you have to start all over again."

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bullet-proof BMW worth €100,000 belonging to a leading member of one of the country's most dangerous criminal gangs

Siezed bullet-proof BMW worth €100,000 belonging to a leading member of one of the country's most dangerous criminal gangs after a high-speed car chase.The driver of the car, who is a close relation to the vehicle's owner, was arrested following the pursuit after he failed to stop the high-performance vehicle at a garda checkpoint in Limerick city.Officers also recovered a bullet-proof vest in the vehicle. The arrested man is likely to face charges in connection with the incident.The top-of-the-range black BMW, which was fitted with bullet-proof glass at a cost of €100,000 to the owner, belongs to a leading member of the Dundon-McCarthy gang. The car owner, who is behind bars, and the arrested driver remain a target for gangs based in the St Mary's Park area of the city.The vehicle remains impounded following the high speed chase on Tuesday.The driver of the vehicle who is in his early 20s is well known to Limerick gardai investigating ongoing criminal and gangland activity in the city.He has just returned to Limerick from Spain where he was in the company of murdered Dublin criminal Paddy Doyle until days before he was shot dead. Doyle was shot dead in the Costa del Sol last week.The Limerick man who returned to the city a fortnight ago has served three years for drug dealing has openly threatened to kill opposing members in Limerick city's ongoing feud. He was released from prison last November.

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