Murder of Noel Kirwan

Christopher "Noel" Kirwan was shot dead on 22 December 2016.[1][2][3] A lifelong friend of Gerry "the Monk" Hutch, Kirwan was uninvolved in crime and considered a "soft target". He was killed on the orders of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group by a cartel hitman.[1][2][4] In June 2026, Sean McGovern was found guilty of organising the murder and sentenced to 24 years in prison.[5]

Background

Kirwan lived in Jude's Gardens off Railway Street in Dublin, then lived in Summerhill, Dublin.[1] He was friends with Gerry Hutch and other members of the Hutch family, and he drove Hutch to the funeral of his brother Eddie in 2016.[1] His father worked in the docks and he inherited his nickname, "Duck Egg".[1]

In the 1990s he was involved in the anti-drugs movement. He was charged with possession of a firearm or imitation firearm for intimidation in Ballybough Road in 1996, but people in north inner city Dublin said he had not been involved in crime in some time. He had moved to Kilbarrack some years before being killed and later to Clondalkin with his partner.[1]

Kirwan had been formally notified that his life was in danger shortly after the funeral.[1]

Shooting

It was revealed during the 2026 trial that a Kinahan hitman nicknamed "Teeth", revealed by an Irish Times report to be Glen Clarke, had been chosen to be the hitman. Clarke had previously shot two innocent men, Martin O'Rourke and Trevor O'Neill, in cases of mistaken identity. Clarke was found dead in a stolen car in 2016, having reportedly shot himself in the head by accident; he survived five hours after shooting himself, struggling to breathe before dying of his injuries in hospital several hours later. With Clarke dead, the Kinahan cartel chose another gunman, believed to be a well-known gangland criminal from west Dublin.[4]

Kirwan and his partner had just had lunch with her daughter in Crumlin, and were sitting in the car outside their home in Clondalkin when he was shot six times with a Makarov handgun.[2]

Aftermath

Trial of Jason Keating

Jason Keating was put on trial for murdering Kirwan, but the murder charge was dropped when he admitted participating in the activities of a criminal gang and helping them to murder Kirwan.[6]

A tracker device had been fitted to the underside of Kirwan's car and Keating took part in retrieving it and transferring it to his new car two days before he was killed.[6] Keating was in the getaway car, talking to the person following the tracker on a laptop and passing on the information to the gunman.[6] He brought the gunman to and from the crime scene and was involved via CCTV footage and the purchase of a "burner" phone.[6] Keating was sentenced to ten years in prison.[6] Gardaí told the special criminal court that the only motive they could find for his killing was his association with the Monk.[6]

2022 trials

On 14 April 2022 Declan Brady and Martin Aylmer were charged with involvement in the murder, contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act.[7] Brady is a senior member of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.[7] Michael Crotty was charged with involvement on 12 April 2022.[7] In July 2022 Martin Aylmer was sentenced to eight years and four months for assisting with Kirwan's murder and the attempted murder of James 'Mago' Gately in 2017.[8]

In May 2024 Michael Crotty was sentenced to two years for buying top-up credit for a phone used in Kirwan's murder.[9] In June 2024, Declan Brady was sentenced to ten years in jail with the final year suspended for his involvement with the murder.[10] Brady, who claimed that he is no longer affiliated with the Kinahan gang, was already serving sentences for money laundering and firearms offences. The final year of his sentence was suspended on condition that Brady continued disassociating from the gang.[11]

2026 conviction of Sean McGovern

On 29 May 2025, Kinahan Cartel lieutenant Sean McGovern was extradited from the UAE to Ireland where he was placed under arrest and subsequently charged with the murder.[12] On 16 March 2026, he pleaded guilty to directing a criminal gang.[13] In June 2026, he was sentenced to 24 years in prison for directing activities of a criminal gang, including his involvement in the murder of Kirwan and another attempted murder of Hutch gang member James "Mago" Gately.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Feehan, Conor (23 December 2016). "Profile: Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan - what we know about latest victim in Kinahan-Hutch feud". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 O'Riordan, Alison (4 October 2018). "Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan died of multiple gunshot wounds, court hears". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "Former Kinahan cartel gangster 'Mr Nobody' further jailed for nine years for role in murder of Noel Kirwan". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  4. 1 2 Lally, Conor (8 June 2026). "'Give him Duck': How the Kinahan cartel planned to restore the confidence of its bungling hitman". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  5. ↑ Weaver, Matthew (8 June 2026). "'Senior lieutenant' in Kinahan criminal cartel jailed for 24 years by Dublin court". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Man jailed for ten years for role in murder of Noel Kirwan in Dublin". RTÉ News. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Doyle, Peter (14 April 2022). "Senior Kinahan cartel lieutenant 'Mr Nobody' charged with helping gang murder Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  8. ↑ "Kinahan gang member jailed for role in feud related crimes". RTÉ News. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  9. ↑ Reynolds, Paul (15 May 2024). "Man who helped Kinahan organised crime group jailed for two years". RTÉ News. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  10. ↑ Cummins, Barry (26 June 2024). "'Mr Nobody': How a trucker turned Kinahan gang leader was caught". RTÉ News. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Reynolds, Paul (24 June 2024). "Man jailed for nine years for role in Noel Kirwan murder". RTÉ News. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  12. ↑ Burnhill, Eleanor; Reynolds, Paul (30 May 2025). "McGovern charged with murder after extradition from UAE". RTÉ News. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  13. ↑ Burnhill, Eleanor; Reynolds, Paul (16 March 2026). "McGovern pleads guilty to directing a criminal gang". RTÉ News. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  14. ↑ Weaver, Matthew (8 June 2026). "'Senior lieutenant' in Kinahan criminal cartel jailed for 24 years by Dublin court". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
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