Extra Garda resources, intelligence-led policing, profiling of criminal assets and new legislative powers were among the hallmarks of a gangland empire dismantled in Limerick where, despite the enormous success in overcoming the scourge of crime, there is no room for complacency.
Limerick was blighted by gangland murders and family feuds for over a decade; in 2007 at the height of the violence the city accounted for almost a third of all shooting incidents in the country. The number of murders peaked in 2006 and 2008 with six in each year.
It took many watershed moments, including an arson attack on two young Moyross children and the murders of a number of innocent people, including security man Brian Fitzgerald, rugby player Shane Geoghegan and businessman Roy Collins to finally focus the attention of government on the need to support those tasked with tackling the criminals.
Regeneration plan
Former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald, who was appointed to oversee a regeneration plan for Limerick’s most deprived housing estates, was quick to highlight the desperate need for extra Garda resources, and an additional 100 gardaí were assigned to the Limerick Garda division.
The increased resources coupled with legislative changes enabling gardaí to take prosecutions to the Special Criminal Court, resulted in the jailing of some of the country’s most notorious criminals including brothers John and Wayne Dundon, Nathan Kileen and Barry Doyle.
The new legislative powers also dealt with issues surrounding jury intimidation and cases of “collective amnesia”, a term coined by a Limerick judge to describe the number of witnesses who failed to recount evidence in court which they previously gave to gardaí.
There hasn’t been a gang-related murder in Limerick since 2011. However, for those who have worked and continue to face the front line there are constant warnings about the need to remain focused.
On his recent retirement, Detective Superintendent Jim Browne said gardaí had won the fight against gangland crime in Limerick, but warned there was still no room for complacency.
Browne was part of a dedicated local police force that oversaw the demise of the Dundon/McCarthy criminal network and the Keane/Collopy gang. Among the measures put in place in Limerick was the deployment of the national armed Emergency Response Unit, to patrol critical crime hot spots. Since then the armed Regional Support Unit continues to support local Garda units.
‘Resources’
Former mayor of Limerick Cllr John Gilligan said: “Limerick had a reputation as being one of the most violent cities in Europe and now we look at Dublin and we can see the same thing happening. The Garda Síochána’s representative bodies say they are short 2,000 gardaí so we need to give them the resources they need, if we want to take these guys on.
“You can’t have policing on the cheap and what worries me is that if we don’t continue to invest in Garda resources things will go back to the same way they were. We can’t afford to take our foot off the pedal, if we do these guys will take over. We shouldn’t allow these people rule our streets.”
The murder of rugby player Shane Geoghegan on November 9, 2008, caused outrage in Limerick, and revulsion reverberated across the country. In 2013 John Dundon was given a life sentence for the murder.
Speaking after Dundon’s conviction Mr Geoghegan’s aunt, Margaret Walsh also cautioned against complacency.
“Limerick is a safer place because these people have been put away, but they are not going to stay there forever.”