Drogheda feud

Since 2018 two criminal gangs in Drogheda have tried to control the illegal drug trade in the town.[2]

Owen Maguire was shot six times by a gunman on 5 July 2018 at his home in Cement Road, Drogheda.[3] He was known to Gardaí though his most serious conviction was for affray near his home, for which he was sentenced to six months imprisonment.[3] His associates were the main targets of an operation by the Criminal Assets Bureau in April 2018.[3] He is a former associate of convicted criminal Cornelius Price.[3] One of the bullets that hit him was lodged in his spine.[3] Maguire was left paralysed by the shooting.[4]

Local councillor Kenneth Flood said “In July, after the shooting, gardáí openly said they didn’t have the resources to police the division. Then you have the cops saying they don’t have enough people to do the job. The criminals are looking at this and they’re thinking, ‘It’s Christmas’. "[2] He called for more resources for Gardaí and a more intelligent use of resources.[2] TD Fergus O'Dowd echoed the call for more resources and said that Drogheda Gardaí must be afforded all necessary resources to tackle recent crime.[2]

Since the shooting of Owen Maguire the two gangs have exchanged a series of tit-for-tat attacks.[2]

Louth Gardaí had their leave restricted by November 2018 in order to control the violence.[2]

In November 2018 a man was found stripped, beaten and stabbed in a house in Moneymore estate.[5] A rival gang had abducted him a short time before.[5] After Gardaí had rescued him, the fire brigade had to deal with a burning car that had gas cylinders inside.[5] The abduction had happened about 24 hours after an arson attack that had destroyed a car.[5]

A house in Lawrence's Park, near Moneymore estate, was petrol-bombed.[5] Further petrol-bomb attacks were seen in the following days.[5]

Brendan Maguire, brother of Owen, was shot on 26 February 2019 as he walked out of a toyshop in the M1 retail park during broad daylight.[6][7] He spent a number of weeks in hospital recovering from the shooting.[7] He had previously received a suspended sentence of ten months for brawling.[8]

Local politician Ged Nash criticised Gardaí senior management and the minister for not retaining more probationers.[6] He also said that the gangs were "running riot".[6]

In April 2019 a man was shot and wounded outside a house in Hardmans Gardens at approximately 4:30pm.[5][9] Up to nine shots were fired at him from a busy street - Gardaí described the attack as "indiscriminate".[5] The shooting was followed by more arson and bomb attacks.[5][9]

In April 2019 Garda Commissioner Drew Harris announced that the Garda Emergency Response Unit was deployed to Drogheda as part of the plan to deal with the feuding gangs.[10][11]

On 4 May 2019 there was a protest by around 500 people in Drogheda against the feud.[12] Mayor Frank Godfrey said that the feud did not reflect the people of Drogheda or their values.[12][5]

On 27 August 2019 Keith Brannigan was shot dead in Clogherhead while working on the decking of a mobile home.[1][13] The murder is being linked to the feud.[1][13][5] More than 90 incidents including two attempted murders and petrol bombings had been logged by Gardaí.[1]

On 4 November 2019 Richard Carberry arrived at his home around 11:40pm and was shot by a gunman.[14][5] Gardaí regarded him as a drug dealer who had supplied one side in the feud and one line of inquiry is that he may have been killed by the same side of the feud that murdered Brannigan.[14][5] He had survived a previous murder attempt the previous March and he had been formally warned by Gardaí that his life was in danger.[14]

Robbie Lawlor was a convicted criminal who was released from prison in December 2019.[15] He was mugged after leaving a gym later that month, which was filmed by his assailants.[15] The assailants stole his gym bag and flip-flops and posted photos of them wearing the latter after the mugging.[15] The assault was allegedly at the behest of a criminal foe of Lawlor.[15]

John Myles was a taxi driver who was shot while driving over the Bridge of Peace on 13 January 2020.[16][17][5] Gardaí and the driver suspect the front-seat passenger was the intended target.[17][16][5]

On 12 January 2020 teenager Keane Mulready-Woods was last seen in Drogheda around 6pm.[18] Human remains found in Coolock and Drumcondra on 13 and 15 January 2020 were confirmed by Gardaí to be his by 17 January.[19][5][20] His murder was part of the Drogheda feud.[21] The presence of flip-flops in the bag of Keane Mulready-Woods remains dumped in Coolock was widely interpreted as a threat not to cross Lawlor.[15]

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on 17 January 2020 that he wanted to set up a task force to tackle crime in Drogheda similar to one set up to tackle crime in North inner city Dublin.[22]

On 4 April 2020, Robbie Lawlor was shot around 11:50am outside a house in Etna Drive, Ardoyne in north Belfast.[25][26] He was suspected of ordering the murder and dismembering of Keane Mulready-Woods.[25][26] Lawlor was originally from Dublin, but had lived in County Meath and was heavily involved in organised crime, including the Drogheda feud.[25][26] He had been threatened by one faction in the Drogheda feud but was also at odds with a major Dublin criminal who is suspected of several murders including that of Alan Ryan.[25][26] Three men suspected of the murder were arrested and questioned by the PSNI at Musgrave police station.[25][26]

The shooting was condemned by Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy, as a callous murder, as a danger to the local community and adding to stress in the community during the coronavirus pandemic.[25][26] The shooting was also condemned by Minister for Justice Naomi Long and Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly.[25][26]

In June 2020, Warren Crossan, a dissident Republican who had been arrested after the murder of Robbie Lawlor, was shot dead in the Rodney Drive area of West Belfast.[27] [28] Police are following two lines of investigation into his shooting - one into the shooting of Robbie Lawlor, and one into a feud among dissident Republicans.[28]

In September 2020, Gardaí raided a number of properties, including that of a leader of a Drogheda gang.[29] The raid was part of investigations into the murder of Robbie Lawlor, and organised crime in general.[29] Lawlor was suspected of being behind a failed 2018 attempt on the life of the gang leader.[29] Gardaí believe Lawlor was murdered as payback for both the attempted murder of the gang leader and the murder of Keane Mulready-Woods.[29] The primary suspects are two Limerick criminals involved in organised crime for over a decade.[29]