Mr John Gilligan was the leader of a drugs gang who played "a leading part in a pre-arranged plan" to shoot journalist Ms Veronica Guerin, a prosecution lawyer told the Special Criminal Court today.
Mr Eamonn Leahy SC said it was not the prosecution's contention that Mr Gilligan was present at the Naas Road and Boot Road junction shortly before 1 p.m. on June 26th, 1996 when Ms Guerin was shot dead.
But he said it was the prosecution contention that he played a leading part in a pre-arranged plan to shoot Ms Guerin and was therefore complicit in the murder and guilty in law.
Mr Leahy was making the closing submission for the prosecution on the thirty ninth day of the trial of Mr John Gilligan. Mr Gilligan (48), with addresses at Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin; Jessbrook Equestrian Centre, Mucklon, Enfield, Co Kildare; and HM Prison Belmarsh, London, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sunday Independent crime reporter Ms Veronica Guerin (37) at Naas Road, Clondalkin, Dublin on June 26th, 1996.
Mr Gilligan also denies fifteen other counts alleging the importation of cannabis and firearms and ammunition offences.
Mr Leahy told the three judges at the non jury court that just over three months ago Gilligan was arraigned on sixteen counts and that over thirty nine days the court had heard close to 200 witnesses.
He said that the court had heard evidence of the "immediate and devastating impact" of the six bullets that hit Ms Guerin.
Mr Leahy said that fundamental to the prosecution case was the existence of an organised criminal gang operating from premises at the Greenmount industrial estate in Harold's Cross in Dublin. He said that Mr Gilligan was the leader and the gang included Brian Meehan, Paul Ward, Charles Bowden and two other men who cannot be named by order of the court.
He said that evidence heard during the trial established connections between Mr Gilligan and other members of the gang. Counsel said that the court also had evidence of telephone calls between Mr Gilligan, Brian Meehan and Russell Warren on the day of the murder.
He said that John Dunne had given evidence that Mr Gilligan had arranged for the importation of packages into Cork from Holland and if the court accepted Dunne's evidence it showed that a "regular system of importation" was set up by Mr Gilligan with fictitious names for consignees and cash payments to Dunne.
Mr Leahy said that Greenmount was "the distribution centre for the gang and the business of the gang was the business of the wholesale distribution of cannabis."
He said Mr Gilligan was implicated in the distribution operation by the evidence of Dunne and Charles Bowden. He said that Bowden had identified Mr Gilligan to the court and had given evidence that Mr Gilligan received 2,000 pounds per kilo of cannabis from the other gang members.
Counsel said that Russell Warren had given evidence of collecting money from Paul Ward, Brian Meehan and other gang members and he said all this money belonged to Mr Gilligan. He also took money, never less than £100,000 at a time to Schipol airport and Warren's evidence connected Mr Gilligan to enormous amounts of money coming from the cannabis gang.
He said that it was significant that no alternative hypothesis was ever put to Warren as to why he had contact with Mr Gilligan.
"It is the prosecution contention that this was a gang that was about the importation and distribution of cannabis for massive financial gain," he said.
Mr Leahy said that the extent to which the gang was prepared to "protect their evil empire" was supported by the evidence of the importation of arms. He said that the court had heard that summonses were issued against Mr Gilligan as a result of an alleged incident involving Ms Guerin at his equestrian centre in Enfield in September, 1995.
The court had heard the evidence of barrister Mr Felix Mc Enroy that a man whose voice he recognised as Mr Gilligan's had threatened to kidnap and rape Ms Guerin's son. The court had also heard the evidence of journalist Ms Liz Allen that she had interviewed Mr Gilligan in Amsterdam and that he had confirmed this threat to her and had told her that Ms Guerin had been annoying him for an interview which he didn't want to give.
Mr Leahy said that Ms Guerin's killing "had the hallmarks of being well planned. The gunman and the driver would have been well focussed on their task. The motorcycle and the .357 Magnum were the essential tools of Ms Guerin's destruction. So too were mobile phones," he said.
Mr Leahy said there were 23 calls between mobile phones used by Russell Warren, Brian Meehan and John Gilligan prior to 1 p.m. on the day of Ms Guerin's death.
He said that there was a call between Warren's mobile phone and a phone that the prosecution contend was used by Gilligan at 12.57 p.m. on that day which lasted ten seconds. The evidence was that Ms Guerin's last call was made at 12.54 pm.
He said the phone evidence was capable of supporting Warren's account to the court that he spoke to Mr Gilligan within minutes of witnessing the murder.
He said that the evidence given by Warren was "entirely clear" at all stages.
He said that it was the prosecution submission that the accused was involved in a plan to kill Ms Guerin and was guilty of murder.
"It is our submission that the arrangements for the killing of Ms Guerin were elaborate arrangements involving a number of people," he said.
Mr Leahy said that the evidence of John Dunne was the evidence of an accomplice in relation to the drugs charges, the evidence of Charles Bowden was the evidence of an accomplice in relation to the drugs, firearms and murder charges and the evidence of Russell Warren was the evidence of an accomplice in so far as the movement of money was concerned.
But he said the fact that the evidence was accomplice evidence does not change the ultimate question for the court which was does the evidence convince the court in relation to the issues on trial.
Mr Leahy said that it was the prosecution submission that the twenty three telephone calls between Warren, Meehan and Mr Gilligan on the day of the murder was "independent, reliable evidence that affords corroboration in relation to the account given by Russell Warren in relation to the murder."
The closing defence submissions in the trial begin tomorrow.