The man who murdered Garda Tony Golden, seriously wounded his partner and then turned a handgun on himself, was not “high up the pecking order” in the dissident republican movement, senior security sources say.
Adrian Crevan Mackin (24) had engaged in "low level" dissident activity such as involvement in drugs and counterfeit cash, but he was not a senior player, according to the sources.
“In terms of dissident republicans he wasn’t in the top 10, he wasn’t even in the top 20,” said one informed source. “He was the sort of man who seemed to move from one side of the Border to the other quite a lot.”
Sources indicated it would not be unusual for a dissident of such rank to be armed with a gun like that used in the incident.
The sources said Mackin was known to both gardaí and the PSNI.
Extreme pornography
Prior to being charged with dissident republican membership in the Special Criminal Court in January, he had been convicted of having "extreme pornographic images" on his computer.
Mackin, who according to his Facebook page went to St Mark’s High School in Warrenpoint, Co Down, was found to have these images when PSNI officers were investigating him for dissident activity, the sources said.
The images were discovered during a search of his computer.
He first appeared in 2012 at Newry Magistrates’ Court, charged with having 23 images of women engaging in sex with animals. He was freed on bail of £250 with the case referred to the Crown Court.
In December of that year, Mackin, whose address then was Craigaveen Close in Newry, was convicted and received a sentence of four months in prison, suspended for one year.
One local source said he had a reputation for being violent to his partner. They added that while dissidents were active in the general area around north Louth, they "did not hold sway in the Cooley peninsula".
“This wasn’t about dissident republicanism - this was about violence against women, but with Garda Golden tragically caught up in the case,” they added.
Two children
It is understood the couple were together for a number of years and had two children together, both aged under four.
In January this year, Mackin, with an address at Mullach Álainn, Omeath, was brought before the Special Criminal Court, charged with IRA membership.
He was charged with membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Óglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA.
He was on bail awaiting trial when Sunday evening’s shootings occurred.
