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RSU in Limerick are the first to respond to all firearms incidents


These are the highly-trained and heavily-armed gardai who are keeping Limerick’s streets safe from notorious gangland thugs.

The Regional Support Unit was set up just over five years ago but since then the brave officers have patrolled the city.

And in an exclusive piece the Irish Mirror was given a behind-the-scenes look at the unit.

Chief Supt David Sheahan explained the important role the team plays in bringing the Treaty city from the brink of anarchy to one of Ireland’s safest cities.

He said: “One of the major factors in dealing with the peak of 2007 was bringing on board the Emergency Response Unit to patrol some of the streets of Limerick.

“We would have had great assistance from our colleagues in Dublin, both in respect of surveillance and the ERU.

“In 2008 to 2009 a decision was made to put the Regional Support Unit in certain areas in the city.

“Really since that date their ability to be able to respond to armed incidents has had a significant impact within the city and how we deal with matters thereafter.

“The RSU was set up to be first responders. If there were incidents of shooting the gardai are unarmed.

“They are highly trained, they have the equipment and they provided a lot of security for the city. From that point in time their presence has had a huge effect.”

The RSU in Limerick are the first to respond to all firearms incidents and because of the unique way they are set up the skilled officers do not spend hours filling out paperwork or sitting in court rooms.

Their arsenal includes Sig Sauer P226 handguns, Heckler & Koch MP7 sub-machine guns, Benelli shotguns and stun grenades.

Other weapons at their disposal are the X-26 Taser gun and large pepper spray canister.

Press 22Chief Supt Dave Sheehan with members of the ERU Unit
They also have door breachers and a “ferret” gun which enables officers to smash windows and fire pepper powder into rooms.

Other gear includes bulletproof helmets and shields.

Over the past five years the unit have tackled gang members from both the McCarthy/Dundon and the Keane/Collopy gangs.

The RSU – who use XC 70 Volvos – have also been at the forefront of the war against dissidents in Limerick city and county.

Also in the unit’s sights are tiger kidnappers, drugs gangs and violent bank robbers. Garda Barry O’Brien has been stationed with the RSU in Henry Street station for over five years and he explained how the officers had to go through a gruelling training programme before being accepted into the unit.

He said: “You have to fulfill a certain minimum number of criteria before you can apply for it.

“And then you could have 10 people in the station that would go for it and it would be up to the superintendent to recommend three or so to put forward to it.”

Garda O’Brien explained successful applicants go through a selection course before completing an intensive 13-weeks of training.

He said: “You would have three weeks’ driving, three weeks of shooting and five weeks’ between tactical training and negotiation.

“You would have a one-week first-aid course at the end of it.

“It is an intensive course and you would be zonked at the end of it.

“Because we were first to do it they gave us everything. They have tapered it down since.”

Garda O’Brien explained that they have both non-lethal and lethal options when dealing with armed incidents.

And the preference is always to use non-lethal force first.

The some of the equipment of ERU Unit of Henry Street Garda Station Limerick..Picture Credit Brian Gavin Press 22
Prior to January 2014 the five RSU teams around the country were not armed full-time.

The uniformed members would patrol unarmed with their weapons locked in the boots of their cars.

But they were converted into an armed unit if called on to respond to an incident where there was a threat to life or the possibility of an armed confrontation. Today they are fully armed all the time and that means they do not lose crucial minutes in dealing with a tense situation.

The landmark move was sanctioned by former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan and it has already made a difference in the day-to-day running of the force.

Chief Supt Sheehan explained that the RSU units across the country work together and there is an option to call for support when needed.

Thankfully, he revealed, that hasn’t been necessary in recent years.

But he added: “If we come under pressure at times we can call on our colleagues below in Cork to provide us with back-up.

“Fortunately, as a result of the introduction of the RSU, in my time here we can say that now with some certainty [we haven’t needed] that since 2010.

“In early 2010 we had an incident where we brought on board the national units but since then we haven’t had the need to bring them on board here.”

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Chief Superintendent David Sheahan reveals how he cleaned up the city which hasn't had a gangland murder in over three years


The top garda who helped nail some of the country’s most dangerous gangsters has warned there can be no complacency about crime.

Chief Supt David Sheahan has overseen the transformation of Limerick from a city on the brink of anarchy to one of the safest places in the country.

In an exclusive interview, he revealed there hasn’t been a gangland murder there in over three-and-a-half years while gun crime has fallen by more than 90%.

Increased resources and new legislation has seen some of the most notorious mobsters in the country’s history jailed for lengthy terms.

And this has allowed communities in Limerick to rebuild without the fear of intimidation or violence.

But Chief Supt Sheahan has warned they cannot rest on their laurels and called on the Government and Garda bosses to continue to support the drive.

The tough-talking officer, who is based at Henry Street station in the city, said: “One thing about Limerick in particular – you cannot take your finger off the pulse.

“The day anyone thinks everything has gone away, that we can fold up the tent and go away, that day is not going to happen.

“Now is the time we really need to make sure the resources are made available to continue doing what we have been doing. Certainly trends are going the right way but we have to keep the trends going in the right direction.

“I will need all the support I can get both from the Government and our own organisation to make sure we do not reverse and go back down the road we had been on in the past number of years.”

Picture Credit Brian Gavin Press 22Garda Chief Supt Dave Sheehan of Henry Street Garda Station Limerick
Chief Supt Sheahan, who is originally from Co Wexford, was first stationed in Limerick in 2005 when he took up the post of superintendent at Roxboro station in the south side. He said that at the time the city was in the grip of a gangland war.

Just months earlier mob boss Wayne Dundon had threatened to kill innocent barman Ryan Lee for not serving his 14-year-old sister.

The Dundons were also at the centre of one of the bloodiest feuds in gangland history with the so-called Keane-Collopy gang.

Such was the level of violence local officers were forced to call in the armed Emergency Response Unit to patrol flashpoints in the city.

Chief Supt Sheahan added: “We were in difficult space, I will put that to you.

“The very fact that we had to bring on board the ERU and literally patrol the streets of Limerick – I don’t think you could come to any other conclusion but that we were bordering on anarchy or certainly that we were in a bad space.

“Those were drastic measures that were required to deal with a city that was really gone a small bit out of control.

"That’s through no fault of anybody, that was just basically the space we found ourselves in and the turf war that was going on between criminal gangs at the time.”

He said the consequence of this heavy focus on gangland activity was that gardai were not able to devote as much time to other offences.

Chief Supt Sheahan added: “Such were our efforts at that stage that other matters of policing didn’t get the same level of attention because of the amount of resources required to investigate such serious crime.

“Other aspects of policing can actually suffer. I’m including the likes of unauthorised taking of cars, theft from cars and related issues. Burglaries would have suffered as a result of it then.”

In 2005 there were 84 weapons fired in Limerick and this jumped to 102 in 2007.

Chief Supt Sheahan said that at the time Limerick city was accounting for more than 50% of all shootings in the country.

A number of crucial measures were taken at that point to try and stem the cycle of violence.

The Limerick Garda division received an extra 100 officers between 2007 and 2009 at the request of John Fitzgerald, who was appointed by the Government to overhaul deprived estates.

Just over a year later the gun murder of innocent rugby player Shane Geoghegan in a case of mistaken identity near his home in Dooradoyle shocked the city and country.

His death was followed six months later by the savage killing of innocent businessman Roy Collins.

Mr Collins’ cousin Ryan Lee and dad Steve Collins gave evidence against Wayne Dundon over a 2004 incident and the 35-year-old was killed in revenge.

Wayne Dundon - Limerick Gang boss
Mr Sheahan, who had moved out of the city on transfer, returned in 2010 as a Chief Supt to spearhead a renewed challenge to the gangs.

He said: “I would say society itself became very uncomfortable with the murders of Brian Fitzgerald, Shane Geoghegan and Roy Collins.

“Those investigations were watersheds – I think the people of Limerick decided at that stage we need to take appropriate action.

“As a result there was legislative change to include tackling gangland violence. Bail conditions were further enhanced and we were then able to make applications to the Director of Public Prosecutions to take prosecutions in the Special Criminal Court.”

Since then there has been a marked decrease in gun crime. From the high of 102 in 2007 the figures fell dramatically to just seven shootings in 2012, 11 in 2013 and four to date this year.

Running parallel to that, the murder rate has also dropped. There were six in 2006 and seven in 2007 but just one in both 2012 and 2013 and neither was gang-related.

The last mob-linked murder in the city was the gun killing of father-of-three Des Kelly, 23, and 28-year-old mother-of-three Breda Waters at Mr Kelly’s home in O’Malley Park, Southill, on January 9, 2011. Two people were convicted for these murders.

Numerous gang members have been caged due to the success of Operation Redwing against the McCarthy-Dundons and surveillance investigations on the northern side of the city have led to drug lords like “Fat John” McCarthy, 41, receiving jail sentences.

More than 60 Limerick gangland criminals have been locked up for a variety of crimes.

Last month Wayne Dundon, 36, and Nathan Killeen, 24, were found guilty at the Special Criminal Court of murdering of Mr Collins.

Roy Collins who was murdered in Limerick
Wayne joins his brothers John, 31, who is serving life for ordering the murder of Shane Geoghegan, and 30-year-old Dessie, who is also serving life for the murder of rival crime boss Kieran Keane, behind bars.

Brothers Brian, Kieran and Damien Collopy were sentenced for threatening Willie Moran. The older brothers are still in jail.

Liam Keane, 29, once pictured giving two fingers to a photographer when the murder trial of Eric Leamy collapsed, is serving 10-and-half years in Portlaoise for the unlawful possession of a gun.

Chief Supt Sheahan said the convictions “allowed communities a bit of breathing space to build up resilience”.

He added: “To be able to say, ‘I don’t need to do this anymore, we don’t need to do this any more’.

“They were building up that resilience, building up that confidence with the gardai and their ability to be able to come forward and provide us with intelligence and information that was able to move investigations forward that had otherwise become stagnant.”

It has also allowed gardai to focus on other areas of crime and road deaths fell from 23 in 2009 to seven last year.

Burglaries in the period between 2010 and 2013 reduced by 24%. The unauthorised taking of cars fell by 60% while theft from the person reduced by 24%.

Chief Supt Sheahan said: “In each of the years thereafter, as a result of being able to focus our resources on other matters that were affecting communities, we were certainly able to have a serious impact on other crime, not just the serious crime.”

The jailing of high-level criminals has created a power vacuum at the top of gangs and Chief Supt Sheahan said gardai will do everything in their power to stop new mobsters taking over.

He added: “The challenge for the police service here has always been and will continue to be to make sure that vacuum is never filled to the same level.”

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Gardai from Kevin Street Drug Unit and Kilmainham station made the discovery during the planned search of two flats in the South Circular Road/Rialto area of Dublin, yesterday afternoon

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Three men and a woman have been arrested after Gardai seized guns and drugs in Dublin.

Gardai from Kevin Street Drug Unit and Kilmainham station seized heroin and cannabis with a worth €15,000.

Gardai also uncovered a 9mm handgun, sawn-off shotgun and ammunition during the planned operation.

The raid took place at two flats in the South Circular Road/Rialto area of Dublin, yesterday afternoon.

The three men, aged in the mid-30s and a 29-year-old woman were arrested at the scene.

Two men are being held under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 at Kevin Street Garda Station.

The third man and woman being held under at Kilmainham and Irishtown Garda Stations.

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The 35-year-old, who was cleared of killing Marioara Rostas, fears someone is trying to kill him


Alan Wilson and Mountjoy Prison
The man cleared of killing Marioara Rostas fears someone is trying to poison him in prison.

Alan Wilson, currently serving a seven-year sentence for a brutal meat cleaver attack, will only eat salad and non-processed food.

It’s because the thug is convinced any meal he is given has been laced with killer substances.

The 35-year-old believes someone is trying to kill him by giving him a small dose of poison in his food over a prolonged period of time.

A prison source last night revealed: “Wilson has become extremely paranoid recently and will only eat plain food while locked up at Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison.

“Wilson only really eats salads which he knows can’t be tampered with. He won’t go near meats or dairy.

“He knows that there are a lot of people out for him and therefore is taking things to extremes in protecting himself.

“However, he has become a bit too cautious and paranoid in his attempts.”

The source added that Wilson is very quiet in jail and tends not to interact much with other inmates.

He also prides himself on his appearance and meticulously washes and dresses every day.

The source said: “While he was on trial for the murder of Marioara Rostas he had a new shirt prepared and ironed and placed in a plastic bag for every day he was in court.

“He would even remove his shirt in the holding cell for fear it would get dirty.”

PAMarioara Rostas
Last month, Wilson was cleared over the murder of teen Marioara.

The 18-year-old died of four gunshot wounds to her head and was buried in a shallow grave, where she was found four years later.

Father-of-four Wilson, of New Street Gardens in Dublin City, denied murdering Marioara between January 7 and January 8, 2008.

The five-week trial at the Central Criminal Court heard the victim was an ethnic Roma who moved to Ireland in 2007 and began begging with her parents and younger brother.

Just 18 days after her arrival, the family was begging at the junction of Lombard Street and Pearse Street behind Trinity College.

Her younger brother Dumitru, then aged 13, told the court he saw her talking to a man in a car who told him he was taking Marioara to McDonald’s and would return in 10 minutes.

But the family never saw her alive again. However, a frightened Marioara rang her brother in Romania the following day and cried for her “Daddy to come get her”.

Alexandru Rostas said his sister told him she was out of town and read a street sign, but the line was cut off. Months later the investigation led to a house on Brabazon Street, the home of Wilson’s sister Maxine and her partner Fergus O’Hanlon.

Wilson and O’Hanlon, a convicted criminal, were arrested in October 2008 and quizzed about the murder but no progress was made until late 2011 when O’Hanlon told gardai he had helped Wilson bury Marioara in the Wicklow Mountains.

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A gang boss who was lucky to survive after he was shot in the face outside a north-Dublin pub is so paranoid that he has almost become a recluse in his fortified south inner city home.


Lynch was shot in the head last October, after a gunman opened fire on a crowd attending a 21st birthday party in Hanlon's pub on North Circular Road, but survived - albeit with horrific facial injuries.

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A source explained: "Lynch is still very much shaken after this incident and you do not see him walking the streets or even really being driven around anymore.

"He is very much keeping his head down and has never had such a low profile. But gardai are under no illusion that he is still up to his neck in organised crime. He is clearly very paranoid."

As Lynch continues to recuperate from his injuries, detectives are still investigating whether the first gangland murder of the year was carried out in revenge for last October's reckless gun attack in which three innocent women also received gunshot injuries to their legs.

Detectives believe Ballymun criminal Michael 'Mad Mickey' Devoy (42) was lured and shot dead as revenge for the attempted murder of Lynch.

Devoy was shot three times in the head before his body was dumped on the side of the road at Fox Hill Lane, Tallaght, in January.

Intelligence received by detectives indicated that Devoy was the bungling hitman who shot Greg Lynch.

In the aftermath of the attempted hit, the gunman, who wore a balaclava, ran towards a waiting BMW and continued firing back towards the pub, hitting the three women. The car was found burnt out in Walkinstown.

Lynch is a key member of a drugs gang that also includes Paul Rice and Gerard 'Hatchet' Kavanagh - a mob with close links to the international crime syndicate controlled by godfather Christy Kinahan.

Originally from the Oliver Bond flats complex, Lynch has been a long-term target for gardai and rival gangsters including the 'Mr Big' drugs organisation.

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Senior sources say Lynch is among the top 10 heroin and crack cocaine importers here.

In a major operation codenamed 'Wireless' in September, 2011, in which 18 suspected gangsters were arrested after officers carried out 50 raids, Lynch's crew were the target.

Officers from various national and regional units swooped on the suspects in a co-ordinated series of raids. Three of Lynch's closest associates were picked up in the raids.

Lynch was aged just 19 when he was jailed for six years in 2004 after he was caught handing over €400,000 of heroin.

THE country's latest gangland shooting victim will be buried today in a gold-plated coffin.

There was a large garda presence last night at the removal of 'Fat' Andy Connors (45) at the parish church in Saggart, west Dublin.

The remains of the well-known burglary gang boss were brought from his home in nearby Blessington Road to the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the ceremony which began shortly after 7pm.

Connors' body was brought to the church by his family in a gold-plated coffin worth €28,000, which was imported from England.

Photographs of Connors were held by some mourners in the procession to the church.

His funeral mass will take place at the Saggart church at noon today and his body will then be brought to St Michael's Cemetery in Gorey, Co Wexford, where he will be buried this evening.

Earlier this week, the family of Connors told the Herald that that they do not want any revenge for his savage slaying.

A niece of 'Fat' Andy said: "We do not want any revenge for what happened - none of our family wants revenge.

"Andy has six brothers and none of them wants anything only peace now. The family will not be avenging Andy's death.

"The family is in a lot of fear now."

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It is understood that funeral arrangements for 'Fat' Andy were delayed until yesterday evening because his family were fearful that gangsters would target them. A large number of the burglary gang boss's relations travelled to England following the murder.

His niece, who asked not to be named, said that she had been authorised to contact the Herald by her family after death threats had been made to other members of the Connors family in the Tallaght area over the past week. She said that the threats happened in phone calls and have not been reported to gardai because "the family will not talk to gardai".

"We don't want to co-operate with gardai, we just want to live in peace. Family members have got calls threatening them to leave their homes," the woman said.

Gardai are exploring a number of theories in relation to the gun murder of the father-of-six who was shot dead in front of some of his children last week.

Officers are probing whether he was killed by the INLA after he refused to pay up to their extortion demands and are also investigating a dispute he was involved in with a high-profile south Dublin businessman.

Connors was a senior figure in a burglary gang that robbed from homes across the country.

I know im not in Ireland but my folks were and lived in Belfast and were catholic.when they came here my daa and granddad moved to hells kitchen.he joined the marine corps and was shipped off to the Korean war and I followed but joining the marine corps and going to beruit abd panama but we hold dearly our irish blood and values.we supported the IRA and followed bobby sands was he passed from his hunger strike,. my granddad being in hells kitchen with my dad and I were regular patrons of the rise and fall of the WESTIES,they always treated my granddad,father and myself with care and respect.i want you to know my entire famile did and would support the IRA and believed in the vision to get the orange out of northern Ireland

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Annabell and Ger Dundon
For the first time one woman lifts the lid on life inside the Dundon crime gang.

She reveals the reign of terror inside the clan known as Murder Inc, the fall of their evil empire, and how the last of the gang are regrouping abroad.

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Gardai have arrested a man who fraudulently claimed €450,000 worth of social welfare payments using seven different identities.

The Sunday World can reveal that a 39-year-old man from Dublin city has been charged with a string of offences following a joint Garda and social welfare probe.

He was arrested after state-of-the-art facial recognition software alerted social welfare staff to the fact that he had already claimed job seekers allowance using a different name.

Welfare’s special investigation unit launched a probe into the man and observed him over several months going into various offices and claiming the jobseeker’s allowance using seven separate identities.

They also sent through CCTV cameras and gathered evidence of previous fraudulent claims he had made.

Three of the names he used were people from the same family, while the others were from individuals who he did not know but whose identities he assumed.

It has been calculated that his alleged fraud cost the taxpayer close to half a million euro and when he was arrested and taken to Tallaght Garda station, he immediately admitted the offence.

He appeared before Dublin District Court, will be sent forward to the Circuit Court for trial and is facing a jail sentence if convicted.

When gardai carried out an investigation into his background, they determined he had been refused entry to Thailand in 2010 and that several pages of his passport were missing.

He has no criminal convictions and had not come to Garda attention prior to this investigation.

The facial recognition system was introduced last year in a bid to clamp down on welfare fraud which is costing hundreds of millions of euro a year.

Anyone claiming welfare has to stand in front of a camera and their image is recorded and printed onto the newly introduced public services card.

Every time a person goes in to claim payments, another picture is taken and cross referenced with the card to make sure the person is who they say they are.

There has been a massive clampdown on social welfare fraud in recent years with a special fraud tip-off line receiving nearly 25,000 calls last year from members of the public.

Last year, 674 cases were taken against individuals fraudulently making claims and more than one million payments were reviewed by the department.
An estimated €632m was clawed back in benefits payments following these various investigations.

The courts are also taking a tough stance on welfare fraud and people are now being jailed for offences.

Earlier this year, the Sunday World highlighted the case of 33-year-old Martin Maughan, who was jailed for three years for a series of welfare swindles. He was pulling in so much money from dodgy claims that he was enjoying a €100,000-a-year lifestyle.

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A former garda at the centre of an investigation for leaking information to dissident republicans has been charged with assault following a pub brawl, the Sunday World can reveal.

The garda resigned from the force when the PSNI contacted Gardai to say the officer had been caught by an MI5 phone monitor providing information to a well-known terrorist.

The ex-cop is accused of giving information about two dissident republicans who had been arrested and held at a Garda station near the border.

It is not believed that the officer had access to details about what the pair said while they were in custody but was able to give the names and addresses of the arrested men as well as how long they had been in custody.

The fact there is an allegation that there was a tipping off of dissident republicans about the arrests, regardless of the quality of information provided, caused considerable disquiet among senior gardai.

The garda was approached and is understood to have resigned from the force when the allegations were made. The officer was also investigated after an ugly pub row and has been charged with assault along with a female companion.

The suspect had under ten years’ service and had frequently come to the associating with certain people outside of work.

One of these associates was arrested in relation to the Omagh bomb in 1998 in which 29 people were murdered.

The former cop has also been linked to a Continuity IRA member who has served sentences for bomb making.

Justice minister Frances Fitzgerald has ordered a report into the incident.

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Paul McCarthy denied that Banners Broker was a pyramid scheme


THE website of suspected pyramid scheme Banners Broker was down yesterday as investigators received a court order to go after assets linked to the firm in Canada.

Around 12,000 Irish people invested in the scheme and collectively handed over millions of euro.

Cork man Paul McCarthy was the Irish face of Banners Broker and continuously denied it was a pyramid scheme when quizzed by the Sunday World – but the firm cut all ties with him last year.

The company, which claimed it could make people rich though online advertising, suffered a major blow earlier this year after liquidators were appointed to Banners Broker International Ltd (BBIL), which was based in the Isle of Man.

This week the liquidators obtained a court order to take control of anything owned by BBIL and to compel its Canadian based operators to reveal the whereabouts of the company’s assets.

Court papers reveal the growth of the company, how it moved its assets and the efforts by investors to recover their funds.

Affidavits filed with the court said: “An online cloud-based business, BBIL’s operations were international in scope and its physical presence in any one jurisdiction was negligible.”

Irish people were among the first to be duped by the scam. Banners Broker Ireland Ltd was set up in December 2011.

Under an agreement the Irish operation was entitled to 5 per cent of all sales here and 7 per cent if it hit a turnover of more than $100,000 a month. The rest went to BBIL.

The majority of Irish people who lost money in the scheme may never get any of it back.

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Maxine Wilson has been charged with drunkenness and threatening behaviour

THE sister of gun criminal Alan Wilson has been charged with public drunkenness and threatening and abusive behaviour.

Thug Alan (35) was cleared of the murder of teenager Marioara Rostas on July 31 in the Central Criminal Court.

During his trial, the court heard evidence about how bullets were recovered from the wall of the home of Wilson’s sister, Maxine.

Maxine’s partner, convicted criminal Fergus O’Hanlon, turned State witness and gave evidence in court claiming that Alan murdered the Romanian teen.

But this week, it was Maxine’s turn to come before the judge after she was charged with public order offences.

It is claimed the alleged offences took place at Camden Street, Dublin 2, on August 10 last.

Defence solicitor Matthew de Courcy told Dublin District Court that he was looking for the disclosure of the evidence against Ms Wilson, of New Street Gardens in Dublin 8, as well as any CCTV footage if it is available.

The court heard that Ms Wilson is unemployed and on social welfare.

She has not yet indicated to the court how she will be pleading to the charges but she is expected to enter a plea at the next sitting.

In July, Maxine’s previous home on Brabazon Street in Dublin’s inner city was the centre of a day of crucial evidence given during her brother’s murder trial.



The court heard how she shared the house with her partner, Fergus O’Hanlon, who was a close associate of Alan (pictured above) at the time.

The house had been set on fire weeks after Marioara went missing but two rounds of ammunition and a number of bullet holes were still found in a wall there.

Both Wilson and O’Hanlon were arrested in October 2008 and questioned about the murder, but no more progress was made in the investigation until late 2011.

Then, while being questioned about threats to Sunday World reporter Mick McCaffrey, O’Hanlon offered gardai information on the case and in January 2012 led them to

Kippure, a mountainous area on the Wicklow border. Gardai found the teenager’s body in the shallow grave.

O’Hanlon was then admitted into the witness protection programme, was later granted immunity from prosecution and became the State’s main witness in the trial.

He testified that on January 8, 2008, Alan Wilson showed him a dead girl. O’Hanlon said that they drove up the mountains to Kippure, and the two of them then dug the shallow grave and buried her.

However, O’Hanlon’s evidence regarding Ms Rostas was not accepted in court and on July 31 Alan Wilson was found not guilty of murder.

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Covered: Graffiti read 'Alan Ryan rot in hell' (Facebook)

A message scrawled on church walls in north Dublin which read 'Alan Ryan rot in hell' has been covered over.

The hateful message - sprayed in red ink - was spotted on the walls of the Holy Trinity Church in Donaghmede yesterday.

The church wall was defaced with a message that will undoubtedly raise tensions in a gang war that has already seen a number of people murdered on our streets.



Alan Ryan himself was gunned down in Donaghmede in September 2012 amid a major dispute with Dublin drug gangs.

His right-hand man Deccy Smith was shot in the face in March moments after he dropped off his son off to a creche in the north Dublin suburb.

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Raonaid Murray

Gardai have today issued a fresh appeal for anybody with information about the murder of Dublin schoolgirl Raonaid Murray to come forward on the 15th anniversary of her death.

Gardai are seeking help from anybody who knows who was responsible for the savage murder of the 17 year-old in Glenageary on 4 September 1999.

The schoolgirl was returning home from a night out when she was stabbed to death at Silchester Crescent just yards from her home.

Investigators said today that they have not given up hope on solving the case and have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

A spokesman said: "Extensive lines of enquiries have been and continue to be pursued by the investigation team. Gardai are again renewing their appeal for any information which may assist in their continued investigation. If any person has any information which could assist in identifying a motive for the murder of Raonaid and or if any person has any doubts about the veracity of an alibi provided, we would appeal for your immediate assistance"

Gardai had several suspects in the case but were never able to bring charges. They suspect that several people may have given false alibis to protect the killer and hope that they will come forward and admit their statements were false.

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Gardaí found heroin with a street vale of €150k. Library image

Gardaí have arrested a woman after heroin with a street value of €150,000 was seized in west Dublin.

The woman was arrested after officers investigating the sale and supply of drugs searched a house in Ballyfermot, on Wednesday evening and seized the drugs.

The woman, who is in her 50s, was arrested at the scene and is currently being held at Clondalkin Garda Station.

She can be detained for up to seven days.

According to gardaí, the operation used "advanced analytical and intelligence methods" to disrupt criminal drug networks.

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Children's Court


A 15-year-old boy has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a school principal when it is alleged she tried to protect one of her pupils from a suspected knife attack.

It is claimed the incident took place after the then 14-year-old defendant, from south Dublin, stole his own father's high powered car.

Defence solicitor Aonghus McCarthy told Judge John O'Connor at the Dublin Children's Court that his client was pleading not guilty. The teenager is charged with assaulting the school principal, attempted burglary with intent to attack another boy with a knife, criminal damage as well as car theft and related motoring offences.

Judge O'Connor remanded the boy, who was accompanied to court by a parent, on continuing bail pending his trial which will take place at the juvenile court later this month.

The court also heard that social services are trying to assist the teenager and are addressing educational issues.

Earlier Garda Shirley McCabe had said it would be alleged that at about 9.10am on a date in January this year, the accused teen entered “by breaking a window on a side door of a classroom”.

“He entered the classroom to get into a communal hall,” Gda McCabe had told the court. She had said it was alleged the school's principal “tried to stop him” and a “physical altercation” broke out between her and the young boy.

It was alleged the boy had gone to the school looking for another pupil he had a falling out with previously. He then used abusive language to members of staff and exited via the window he had earlier broken to gain entry.

Members of staff had to hide the youngster that the defendant “was going after” and brought him to a kitchen in the school. However, its alleged the accused then “ran to the front of the school” and made his way to the kitchen window “so he could see in”.

“It is alleged he broke a window of the kitchen and its alleged he waved an implement possibly a knife through the window,” Gda McCabe said, adding that it was also alleged the accused was shouting at the slightly younger boy.

It is also alleged the then 14-year-old had stolen his father's high-powered car and he drove it to the school on the morning of the attack. Afterwards, he allegedly crashed it into another car before he drove home.

As a condition of bail the boy must obey a curfew, has been barred from certain districts. Dublin and he has been warned that he would be held in custody if he broke these terms.

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Chilling graffiti threats to Alan Ryan's brother


Gardai believe the same thugs who murdered Real IRA terror chief Alan Ryan arranged for sinister graffiti to be daubed on the roof of his local church on the second anniversary of his murder.

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The Holy Trinity Church in Donaghmede was defaced with two slogans which threatened Alan's younger brother Vinny (24) while blood red graffiti which read 'Alan Ryan rot in hell' was sprayed on a wall within the church grounds.

The vandalism incidents are understood to have been carried out in the early hours of yesterday morning as tensions increase in north Dublin ahead of a planned commemoration for Ryan which is due to take place in Balgriffin graveyard on Saturday afternoon.

Bouquets

Yesterday afternoon, a group of around 20 of Ryan's family members - including Vinny-and friends went to his grave in that cemetery and laid three fresh bouquets at his grave along with a card.

Alan Ryan was shot dead by the drugs gang led by "Mr Big" on the afternoon of September 3, 2012, after a massive cash row between the two mobs which had been ongoing for over a year.

He was shot dead as he walked with friends at Grange Lodge Avenue in Clongriffin.

There have been a number of arrests in the case including a north Dublin woman based in northern Ireland who is aged in her late 20s.

The woman was picked up by detectives last month on suspicion of withholding information about Ryan's murder and a separate double killing carried out by the same gang who killed the RIRA terror chief.

Yesterday morning's vandalism is just the latest incident organised by the gangsters who had Ryan murdered.

They are suspected of destroying a car owned by his innocent brother Eoin outside the family's home in Donaghmede in April as well as desecrating Alan's grave last September ahead of a memorial march and ceremony to mark the first anniversary of his death.

Threat

And many of Alan Ryan's closest pals have been warned by gardai that their lives are under threat from the mob and one of Ryan's closest pals was even directly threatened with a handgun by 'Mr Big' in a bizarre incident in the south inner city earlier this year.

His brother Vinny Ryan is now understood to be living in Co Kildare. He was cleared last October at the Special Criminal Court of charges of charges of possession of an assault rifle and a handgun in September, 2011.

When contacted by The Herald last night, a parish worker told us that no priest was available to comment on the vandalism incident which occurred where Ryan's highly controversial paramilitary funeral took place almost two years ago.

This is the second time that gangland criminals have defaced a church in recent years. A similar incident happened ahead of the funeral of crime figure Pierce Reid at Clondalkin in August 2009.

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Have we come to simply accept these gangland gun attacks?


Last Saturday night two men wearing balaclavas burst through the doors of Oil Can Harrys pub on Dublin's Lower Mount Street.

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Have we come to simply accept these gangland gun attacks?
Anyone for the first of the election promises?

The bar was packed with customers, including many American visitors who had attended a major college football game earlier in Croke Park.

There was also a Christening party in full swing in a private room there.

In a case of mistaken identity one of the men, armed with a handgun, shot two innocent young men.

Mercifully the two victims, Niall Augusta (19) and Lee Ryan (20) escaped with their lives.

But this takes nothing away from what was a terrifying and utterly reckless attack.

It was a miracle that nobody was killed.

The shooting must also have been a shocking experience for the many American visitors enjoying the after-match celebrations.

They could never have imagined that they would witness such a terrifying and distressing scenario in the literary city of Joyce and Wilde.

reckless

Of course, it was also another example of the threat that reckless and psychopathic gangsters pose to our society.

Despite the best efforts of the gardai, gun crime and gangland murders have unfortunately become endemic in Dublin, a city whose criminal culture is now dominated by organised crime.

Over the last decade we have seen an inexorable rise in such killings as gangs battle for drug turf.

There have, of course, already been innocent victims of gangland gunmen.

Who can forget the murder of innocent young plumber Anthony Campbell?

And who was not shocked by the shooting, last June, of Sean Scully, an innocent schoolboy shot in the neck outside his home in Ballyfermot?

Little Sean suffered catastrophic injuries in the attack.

As organised gangland violence and drug related killings continue to spiral out of control it seems, sadly, that we have as a society almost subconsciously resigned ourselves to accepting this grim situation.

menace

During that Troubles, Margaret infamously said that there could be an "acceptable level" of IRA violence. Are we now accepting a similar sentiment when it comes to gangland violence in Dublin?

The attitude of successive Governments over the past ten years to gangland violence would seem to reflect that view.

How many more innocent people, like Niall Augusta and Lee Ryan, will be shot before the Government faces up this menace?

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Noel Dempsey, father-in-law of Freddie Thomson
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The father-in-law of gangster 'Fat' Freddie Thompson was left with extremely serious head injuries after a thug attacked him with a scooter.


The shocking incident unfolded in the capital's south inner city on Sunday night when a 33-year-old criminal from Cabra attacked Noel 'Jack' Dempsey (58) shortly after 10.30pm.

Sources told the Herald that gardai are investigating whether the incident is connected to a personal dispute between the suspect and 'Jack' who is the father of Freddie Thompson's wife Vicky Dempsey.

argument

It is understood that the Cabra man picked up the scooter and threw it at 'Jack' in the Robert Emmet Walk area of the city after an argument got out of hand.

Mr Dempsey managed to flee the scene and it is believed that he collapsed on a footpath in Cork Street, near the Coombe Hospital, before emergency services were notified at around 12.20am yesterday.

The grandfather was later rushed to St James' Hospital by ambulance where he remained last night in a stable condition.

'Jack', who is from Stanaway Road in Crumlin, south Dublin, had bleeding on his brain when he was first admitted to the hospital which is located close to where he was attacked.

His condition was first classified as critical.

Gardai have interviewed but not arrested the younger Cabra man who is alleged to have carried out the brutal assault and are not looking for anyone else in relation to the attack.

The scooter used in the attack has been seized by gardai and has been forensically examined by garda specialists.

A source explained: "It is highly unusual for someone to use a scooter to inflict serious head injuries on another person - it is almost unprecedented but that is what happened here."

Residents on Robert Emmet Walk reported hearing screaming and shouting on Sunday night as well as bottles being smashed.

"There was an assault. All I know is that there was some person assaulted. There were sirens and that," a woman told the Herald.

"It was about half 11 last night. I heard screaming," she added.

A young woman said her little brother was walking to school yesterday morning and saw forensic gardai carrying out an examination of the scene.

"I heard screaming but I don't know what went on," she added, saying she also heard "bottles being smashed. It kept stopping and starting again," she said.

Her brother said it happened on the stairs leading to another apartment and "there was lots of blood".

It is not believed that the savage assault is linked to any gangland criminality.

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Gardai are investigating if gangsters based in Bray, Co Wicklow, were involved in the attempted murder of two young men in a packed Dublin pub at the weekend.



Innocent victims Niall Augusta (19), from Lombard Court, and Lee Ryan (20), from the Townsend Street area, are expected to make a full recovery after they were targeted in Oil Can Harry's pub in Lower Mount Street on Saturday night.

Gardai believe the two pals were the victims of mistaken identity and that the target was a man, known to them, who had been drinking in the pub earlier in the evening.

punishment

Sources say that this drug dealer who is considered a "heavy" is now based in Bray and may have had some involvement in a punishment shooting that happened in the seaside town last Thursday.

The intended target also has strong links to Dublin gangs including those linked to notorious criminals 'Fat' Freddie Thompson and Mark 'Guinea Pig' Desmond.

Sources say detectives are examining if he was involved in a feud with a veteran Clondalkin-based gangster who is palling around with a young man whose late father was a henchman in Martin 'The General' Cahill's mob.

A source said: "The criminal activities of the intended target in Bray are being looked at very strongly in this investigation.

"However, he has built up a number of serious criminal enemies, particularly in the Crumlin/Drimnagh area."

Neither Mr Augusta nor Mr Ryan have any involvement in these kinds of activities and neither of the young men has any previous convictions.

However, they could well have been murdered in the city centre gun attack had their would-be assassins not been so "amateurish" in the botched hit that was witnessed by American tourists.

Two men wearing balaclavas and tracksuits burst through the doors, one armed with an automatic pistol.

They ran around the pub causing mayhem as people dived for cover.

One of the pair shot the two innocent young men who had been attending the christening party.

The gunmen then made their escape in a dark-coloured hatchback car which was driven by a third person in the direction of Ballsbridge.

Mr Ryan was hit in the abdomen with a shot from the handgun, while Mr Augusta was hit in his side. Both are still being treated in hospital for non life-threatening injuries.

It is believed a low-velocity handgun was used in the double shooting, and if the weapon had been of a higher grade both men could have been killed.

robbery

The highly-respected Oil Can Harry's is currently shortlisted for Pub of the Year in two categories.

Its owner Tim O'Connor said he first feared he was going to be the target of a robbery.

"I was sure they were coming for us, but they went running around the bar looking for somebody," he said. "They didn't seem to know where they were going. It felt like it went on for two hours, but they were actually there for two minutes."

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Savage thugs who shot and badly injured a six-year-old boy are the chief suspects for shooting his uncle's horse dead.


The Herald can reveal that the sickening incident unfolded shortly after midnight yesterday at the family home of Keith Lyons in Croftwood Gardens, Ballyfermot, Dublin.

Two thugs jumped a wall and used a shotgun to kill the 38-year-old's beloved horse, Annie.

Mr Lyons is the uncle of little Sean Scully (6) who was lucky to survive after he was the victim of a reckless gun attack while playing with friends on a green near his house in Ballyfermot on June 13.

stables

Sources say that gardai are now working on the theory that the criminals who shot the boy were also involved in yesterday morning's shocking incident.

The horse was fatally shot in the chest when the criminals broke into stables at the back of the Croftwood Gardens property.

The incident unfolded as Keith's brother Glen was sleeping in the house and was awoken by a loud bang at around 12.10am.

He jumped up and ran to the back of the property and saw two men, who were wearing grey hoodies, jump over the back wall.

The two men are both described as being around five foot 10 tall. They fled the scene on foot.

Gardai were then notified after Glen saw that the horse had suffered catastrophic injuries and officers rushed to the scene.

It is understood that the carcass of Annie was still at the scene yesterday.

No arrests have been made but sources say that gardai are investigating if the horse killers are the same gangsters who almost murdered little Sean earlier this year in a botched gun attack.

Sources say Keith Lyons was "very angry and emotional" over the killing of his horse because he raised her from a foal.

A car belonging to Mr Lyons was also vandalised outside his home last week. Tensions remain extremely high in the Cherry Orchard area of Ballyfermot.

Mr Lyons was previously arrested by gardai investigating the shooting of his nephew but is not a suspect in the case. It is understood that he was quizzed about withholding information.

Separately, earlier this month armed detectives arrested a suspect who they believe was actually involved in shooting Sean, but he was later released without charge.

Officers are still looking to arrest another suspect who they believe was "directly involved" in the reckless shooting.

That suspect is a Ballyfermot thug who is well known for involvement in serious crime.

Playing

Sean Scully was shot while playing with friends on a green near his house in Croftwood Gardens.

The gunman, who was attempting to shoot someone else in the vicinity, went on the run following the shooting.

The little boy's mother Gillian Scully has revealed how Sean suffered spinal injuries following the shooting, but was lucky that his spinal chord was only bruised by the bullet and not severed.

Previously, the senior garda leading the probe into the shooting made a plea for residents to break the wall of silence that hampers many investigations.

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ALLEGATIONS: Gardai were tipped off about the officer’s ‘disturbing’ behaviour by the PSNI


A ROGUE garda officer has resigned from the force after being accused of passing on key information to a senior IRA figure.

Garda bosses were alerted to the female officer’s activities by the North’s PSNI, which was tipped off by Britain’s MI5.

PSNI cops had been using the British intelligence agency to monitor calls and texts to and from the senior IRA man’s phone.

It was found that a rogue garda officer had texted the IRA figure details about two dissident Republican suspects who were being questioned by gardai.

It is understood that the information involved the names of the suspects and how long they were being questioned for by detectives.

Crimes

Garda headquarters were notified of the incident, prompting the resignation of the garda who is the subject of other investigations into separate crimes.

It has since emerged that the garda has close ties to a man arrested in relation to the 1998 Omagh bombing.

A source said: “This garda’s behaviour has caused a huge amount of shock to their colleagues.

“What was happening is highly unusual and is in no way any reflection on the people who were stationed with the gardai.”

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald last night described the case as “disturbing”.

A Department spokeswoman added: “The minister has asked the interim Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan for a full report on this matter.”

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Cute: Rising number of abandoned huskies being attributed to Game of Thrones


A leading animal charity has said the hit TV show Game of Thrones could be behind a sudden rise in the number of unwanted huskies it has to rehome.

The Blue Cross charity said it has seen a 700% increase in the number of husky-type dogs being given up or abandoned.

For the first time the breed and similar types of dog have made it onto the top 10 of their dogs that need rehoming.

The popular fantasy show Game of Thrones features beautiful, white dogs known as direwolves, which are brave and intelligent.

People might think the puppies look adorable, but huskies are working dogs and need plenty of mental and physical exercise.

A litter of huskies needs rehoming at the Blue Cross centre at Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

Its deputy manager Caroline Thompson said: "Huskies and other similar breeds are working dogs and they need lots of mental and physical stimulation.

"Ideally they need a good couple of hours exercise every day and experienced owners who have plenty of time to spend with them.

"Sadly, the reason we're now seeing so many of these breeds being given up is because so many people get them without doing enough research into the kind of care they need."

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Gardai seized cannabis plants
Three people have been arrested after separate operations targeting the sale and supply of drugs in two counties.

On Thursday cannabis with an estimated street value of €60,000 was seized when gardaí stopped and searched a car in Clondalkin, west Dublin.

A man in his 30s was arrested at the scene.

Then, in a follow-up search, officers uncovered €90,000 worth of the drug at a house in Baldoyle.

A woman in her 20s was arrested at the scene and both she and the man remain in garda custody.

Separately, in an operation in Portsalon, Donegal yesterday, a man was arrested in connection with the seizure of 321 cannabis plants.

The haul has an estimated street value of €128,000.

A 28-year-old is being detained at Letterkenny Garda Station.

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The family of tragic nine-year-old twin boys killed by their brother yesterday said they will never be forgotten.

The bodies of Patrick and Tommy O’Driscoll were found at their home in Charleville, Co Cork on Thursday evening.

The boys’ parents, Tom and Ellen, were shopping in nearby Kilmallock, Limerick, at the time.

It is believed that two other younger brothers, aged three and four, raised the alarm.

Their brother Jonathan (22) was seen fleeing the house by locals before his body was found an hour later at a river bank in Buttevant, 15km away. It is believed he took his own life.

A HSE Air Corps air ambulance was dispatched to the family home to take the Patrick and Tommy to hospital, however it was quickly stood down when it became clear the twins were already dead.

Last night an aunt of the two boys said: “We want to say a very sad goodbye to two lovely little boys.

“We love them so much from the bottom of our hearts. They will never be forgotten.”

Local parish priest Fr Tom Naughton said last night: "I went down to the family and tried to comfort them as best I could.

"They're [the family] broken-hearted but they are people who have a deep faith and I reassured them that all the community there are with them to support them they are in prayers."

Post-mortem examinations are due to be carried out later today at Cork University on the bodies of the boys and their older brother.

Gardai confirmed in a statement last night: “Officers in Charleville, Co Cork are investigating all the circumstances following the discovery of the bodies of two young boys in a house in Deerpark, Charleville shortly before 5pm on September 4.

“They were pronounced dead at the scene. The bodies remain at the scene and the area has been sealed off for technical examination, diversions are in place.

“The office of the State Pathologist has been notified and post mortems are expected to be carried out.

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Caustic comic Joan Rivers has died aged 81. Here are 10 of her sharpest one-liners:

:: "I blame my mother for my poor sex life. All she told me was 'The man goes on top and the woman underneath'. For three years my husband and I slept in bunk beds."

:: "I don't exercise. If God had wanted me to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor."

:: "People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made."

:: "I've had so much plastic surgery, when I die, they will donate my body to Tupperware."

:: "I am definitely going to watch the Emmys this year! My make-up team is nominated for best special effects."'

:: "When a man has a birthday, he takes a day off. When a woman has a birthday, she takes at least three years off."

:: "You know why I feel older? I went to buy sexy underwear and they automatically gift wrapped it."

:: "At my age, an affair of the heart is a bypass."

:: "Boy George is all England needs - another queen who can't dress."

:: "My daughter and I are very close, we speak every single day and I call her every day and I say the same thing, 'Pick up, I know you're there'."

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Nicola Tallant investigates the unsolved murder of Raonaid Murray 15 years on

Unsolved: Raonaid Murray's murderer remains at large
On a Friday night in September of 1999, 17-year-old Raonaid Murray was stabbed to death at Silchester Crescent in Glenageary just yards from her home.

Fifteen years on from the schoolgirl's murder and the case remains unsolved.

Murray was returning home from a night out in Dublin when she was attacked. She received a number of stab wounds and was found dead a short time later by her sister.

Before her murder, the teen was heard arguing with somebody. She was heard telling somebody to "leave me alone" and "go away".

She was neither sexually assaulted nor were her possessions taken, which led investigators to the belief she knew her killer.

Not one person was convicted in relation to the killing, in what was to be one of the largest murder investigations the State has ever seen.

Investigators yesterday said that they have not given up hope on solving the case and have appealed for witnesses to come forward. This week they reiterated an appeal for anybody who may have information on the teen's murder to come forward.

A spokesman said: "Extensive lines of enquiries have been and continue to be pursued by the investigation team. Gardai are again renewing their appeal for any information which may assist in their continued investigation.

"If any person has any information which could assist in identifying a motive for the murder of Raonaid and or if any person has any doubts about the veracity of an alibi provided, we would appeal for your immediate assistance."

Gardai had several suspects in the case but were never able to bring charges. They suspect that several people may have given false alibis to protect the killer and hope that they will come forward and admit their statements were false.

This weekend read our cold case investigation by Nicola Tallant into the unsolved murder of Raonaid Murray.

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Orange is the new black depicts fictional life in a female prison

An inmate in Mountjoy women's prison

Warder checks for drugs inside Mountjoy women's prison

Warder checks on inmates inside Mountjoy women's prison

LIFE on the inside is better for many of Ireland's women prisoners that it is on the outside.

A lucky few even get to enjoy the luxurious surroundings of The Willows, a unit within The Dóchas Centre women's jail.

The comfy suites, TV and homely comforts are a far cry from the bare cells on the female wing in Limerick Prison where inmates can spend most of the day locked up.

A documentary Women on the Inside due to air Monday night on RTE gives a glimpse behind the bars.

One prisoner who knows the difference between the harsh realities of Limerick prison and the luxury of The Willows is convicted killer Una Geaney.

In candid interviews she admits that the work it took to get into the comfortable unit was worth it for the bed alone.

"If you mess up here you're straight back down to the small yard, you're back to square one," she said

"You wouldn't want to mess up here, it's lovely, proper bed. After two years I couldn't believe it, that was the main reason I wanted to come up here," she added.

She explained she had little news for family members when talking to them while serving time in Limerick, "smoking fags, drinking coffee and getting fat."

"Up here I have things to tell them that I'm doing. Being up in this prison makes me feel like I will get out. When you're down in Limerick you just give up, you are not going any where, ever," she said.

The Cork native and mother-of-four is serving time for the manslaughter of Gary Bull (37), an English man who was living in a west Cork hippy commune.

He was battered to death and dumped in a septic tank on her land.

The most infamous female prisoners, including Catherine Nevin and the Scissor Sisters, Charlotte and Linda Mulhall, don't feature in the documentary.

There are over 130 women in the jail designed for 105. Many are homeless addicts in a relentless cycle of re-offending, serving short sentences.

"I want my fucking methadone. I'm sick," shouted one prisoner, running through the prison yard.

The shocking reality is that for many women life in prison is better than their lives on the streets or in homeless hostels.

One 25-year-old admits on rainy day she's is better off behind bars

"I've often asked the judge to lock me up. If you have nothing out there you can have things in here - shower, the telly, your mates," said Christina.

Homeless since her teens and using drugs since she was 13-years-old, she is serving time for robbery.

At one point in the programme the troubled woman shows the deep self-inflicted cuts to her arms that needed 45 stitches.

"It relieves pain from in here. It puts it on the outside of my body," she explained.

Veteran jail bird Jenny (37) who is serving two years admits she has hundreds of convictions for petty offence. Homeless, with no family she is an alcoholic.

"Jail can be a comical place sometimes and then it can be a very sad and lonely place all in the one day. It sounds mad, a prison full of people and you still feel sad and lonely," she admitted.

The cameras followed her on her release from jail and within minutes she buys a bottle of whiskey which she drinks mixed with coffee.

"That was long waited for," she laughs.

"I'll be honest with you when I'm on temporary release now I shouldn't be drinking. But when you are locked up there for two, two and half years you are bound to do something. I don't drink pints, I like my Jameson whiskey, coffee, three sugars. I'm a posh alcoholic," she added.

In another prison unit, Phoenix House, prisoners with babies under one are allowed to nurse their infant children.

One woman is featured shortly after giving birth in The Rotunda being driven back to the mother and baby unit.

A mother of four other older children, she is wracked with guilt at the idea of bringing a new-born into a prison.

"He won't remember he's too small, but I'll remember," she admits.

"I feel so bad, I feel so sorry for him. I feel like the worst person in the world," she says.

The Midas Productions team spent almost a year building up the trust between themselves, the prisoners and jail staff.

"Initially you can feel as if you're in college residences but soon you notice the nets over the yards, the barbed wire and the reinforced doors, slowly but surely the prison air invades you and you know this is not a 'usual' place," said director Traolach Ó Buachalla.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/new...s-30567371.html

Robin O'Hood.

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A Garda at the scene of murder at Waterford psychiatric hospital
A man is expected to appear in court tomorrow in connection with the murder of a psychiatric patient who was stabbed to death on Friday night.

55 year-old Maria O'Brien was stabbed to death by a fellow patient at St. Otteran's Hospital in Waterford city at 7pm on Friday night.

It is understood there was a row and that the 35 year-old man returned with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabbed his victim.

She tried to run away and collapsed on the grounds of the hospital and died on the way to hospital.

A staff member desperately tried to intervene and suffered slash wounds to the face. He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

A second patient also tried to pull the man off Ms O’Brien and was stabbed. He is still in hospital. The incident started in a hallway and the knife is believed to have been taken from a kitchen area.

The suspect in the case is a long-term psychiatric patient who has resided at St. Otteran's for several years. He has an address in Waterford.

Maria O’Brien was from Waterford city and lived with her brother before being admitted to the hospital

A HSE spokesperson said: “The HSE wishes to offer its sincere condolences to the family of the deceased. We are offering support services to residents, their family members and staff of the unit.”