A senior CAB officer stated in his evidence that Operation Erebus was set up to specifically target the activities of this gang
Patrick ‘Rubber Beag’ O’Reilly is the latest target in a series of cases against Ireland’s infamous house-breaking gangs.
Patrick O’Reilly’s father, Rubber Óg O’Reilly, is a notorious criminal with a history of involvement in burglaries and feud-related violence.
A senior CAB officer stated in his evidence that Operation Erebus was set up to specifically target the activities of this gang.
Kathleen and Christopher Stokes were linked to a jewellery robbery
“His mother, Anne Marie O’Donoghue and Patrick ‘Rubber Óg’ O’Reilly, his father, are leading members of a criminal organisation called the Rubber Reillys.
“This organisation operates throughout Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. They are mainly involved in thefts and burglaries,” the evidence stated.
Rubber Beag didn’t challenge CAB in the High Court, which has now been allowed to take the cash from the sale of a car taken from him.
Vulnerable
In an affidavit, the chief officer of the Bureau also stated that Rubber Beag and both his parents are involved in serious organised crime.
The criminality includes “aggravated burglaries, residential burglaries targeting the vulnerable elderly, the theft of expensive caravans for sale and profit, incidents of extreme violence as part of feuds including the use of firearms to intimidate and threats to kill and cause damage,” the affidavit read.
Rubber Beag O’Reilly is taken from court
The recent High Court hearing brings an end to the case in which an Audi A3, valued at €25,000, was declared the proceeds of crime in 2018.
The car was originally seized in 2016 by the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, which handed the investigation into the ownership of the car to CAB.
In May 2016, Rubber Beag told the Sunday World they were “getting hassle from the guards” a few days after moving into Enniscorthy in Co Wexford.
“There’s plenty of ways to make money more than robbing. There’s plenty of people working and not paying their taxes… maybe that’s the reason why,” he said.
“There are people not paying their taxes and they’re not going to be branded as robbers and criminals.”
His father Rubber Óg said that he had “paid his debt to society.”
“I’ve done more good things in Ireland than I’ve done bad things,” he said.
In January, Rubber Óg was seen in a video clip posted on social media as he celebrated his release from prison in the UK joking: “Crime doesn’t pay.”
He was given a hero’s welcome as he emerged from Polmont prison in Scotland where he was greeted by a group of young men.
In 2024 he was jailed at Dundee Sheriff’s court after admitting to conning a man out of a £14,000 Rolex watch.
The father-of-nine, who has 75 previous convictions, has been a central figure in the vicious feuding among members of Traveller clans in Waterford and Cork.
Between 2007 and 2011 there were dozens of violent incidents, including gun and machete attacks in which several people, some of them young teenagers, were injured.
Rubber Óg got a hero’s welcome on his release from prison
Houses, cars and caravans were subjected to arson attacks and there were sickening incidents of horses being mutilated in tit-for-tat attacks.
The most high-profile incident happened at the Smithfield Horse Fair in 2011 for which Rubber Óg O’Reilly received a four-year sentence for violent disorder.
Two men were blasted with a shotgun and another suffered a gaping wound in his arm that was caught on camera.
Rubber Óg and his son Rubber Beag are not the only people connected to the clan-based criminal gang to have been the focus of a CAB investigation.
Kathleen Stokes is another member of the gang, according to CAB, and previously settled a case against her and her husband Christy Stokes.
The unassuming couple were linked to a million-euro jewellery heist and an infamous tiger kidnap robbery.
Chief Officer Michael Gubbins stated that it was “noteworthy” that Stokes didn’t have any legitimate income, including social welfare, and that vehicles were bought with cash.
Between them, the couple have 98 convictions for serious crimes, including aggravated burglary and high-value thefts.
Their son, Michael Stokes, also didn’t take it well when he lost his BMW to CAB last year muttering ‘w****r’ as he left the court room.
Michael Stokes had “extremely high levels” of criminal associations and his 15 previous convictions don’t reflect his true involvement in crime, it was stated.
As well as his convictions that include theft, burglary and handling stolen goods, he has been involved in several criminal incidents that didn’t result in a conviction.
Gardai also linked him to a machete and petrol bomb attack and said he was “the main instigator” in the feuding.
Rubber Beag O’Reilly didn’t challenge the case in the High Court
News in 90 Seconds – August 25th 2025