The Hennessy mob’s contempt for the law was never more on display than at their first court appearance over a year ago.
Vile thug Dean Fitzsimons – now beginning an eight-and-a-half-year sentence—couldn’t contain himself as Judge Paula Murphy determined whether to grant him, his father Kenneth and his pals Jason, Devon and Brandon Hennessy bail during a late-night special court appearance last February.
Fitzsimons called the respected Judge a “slut” in an outrageous outburst, one of many as the five gangsters laughed and joked their way through what was actually the beginning of their downfall.
Jason ‘Jay’ Hennessy Jr, meanwhile, interrupted a prosecuting Garda who was giving evidence about his ownership of trucks during the bail hearing.
“They were my father’s trucks so watch what you’re f*cking saying. Don’t be saying they’re mine, you shite talking b*stard,” he shouted in court. He went on to accuse the Garda of “talking b*llocks,” showing further contempt for the process.
Pictured, left to right, Jason Hennessy Jr; Brandon Hennessy; Dean Fitzsimons and Kenneth Fitzsimons.
Jay Hennessy Jr, Jay Hennessy Sr, and Devon Hennessy
Their hatred for the legal system was on full display, but for the packed room of gardai that night, this was finally the nail in the coffin for a mob that had caused so much misery over the years.
The gang were unusually paraded for the cameras out the front door of the Criminal Courts of Justice by officers that night – as they again smirked and laughed their way through the process – despite facing serious charges that could have seen them jailed for life.
On February 12 last year Barry Moore, an associate of the gang, had been lured to the Hennessys’ headquarters at Sheephill Avenue in Dublin, as the increasingly paranoid drug gang believed he was an informant. Moore was tortured over several hours – with the word “rat” branded on his belly with a cattle iron – as he was also threatened with rape. But the gang didn’t count on Moore, who was severely injured, initially speaking to the gardai.
Moore, who had been left seriously injured from the horrific ordeal, ultimately refused to give evidence, and four of the men were ultimately able to plead to a lesser charge of assault causing harm, as opposed to false imprisonment and assault causing serious harm. Had that trial gone on and they were found guilty, four of the five criminals could have faced life in prison. Devon Hennessy, meanwhile, pleaded guilty at an earlier juncture, ultimately securing himself the lesser sentence of just three years.
Nonetheless the apprehension of the men for this gruesome and unimaginable attack has brought about an abrupt end for the mob, which had ruled the Corduff drugs scene with fear and force for several years.
Gang leader Jason Hennessy Jr (29), today received eight and a half years in prison for his role in the brutal attack on Moore. The large brute with an attitude, became well known after he made an infamous appearance on the Virgin Media documentary ‘Inside the K’—chronicling the activities of the brave gardaí policing the area. In it the thug was seen trying to square up to gardaí and calling them vile names. Gardai will be glad to finally have him off the streets.
What wasn’t said or wasn’t easily reported until today was that Hennessy led a drugs gang that was terrorising the Corduff area and was embroiled in several feuds – including at one point against Glen Ward – the infamous Finglas based mobster known as ‘Mr Flashy.’
Dean Fitzsimons (left) and Kenneth Fitzsimons (right)
Pictured Jay Hennessy (left) and Dean Fitzsimons (right)
The Hennessys had been at war with ‘Flashy’ and his associates for some time, and gardai were constantly monitoring threats made by both sides in an increasingly tense feud. In 2023 one such feud the Hennessys were caught up in came to boiling point when gunman Tristan Sherry barged his way into Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown and opened fire – on Christmas Eve.
Sherry managed to fire several shots at Jason Hennessy Sr, who was at the time enjoying a Christmas meal with family. The patriarch of the Hennessy family was gravely injured – and died days later in hospital. Several members of the Hennessy gang set upon Sherry during the incident – and violently kicked, stamped, stabbed and shot him to death.
Associates Michael Andrecut (23), Noah Musueni (18), and David Amah (19) were all ultimately convicted of Sherry’s murder. Three others, including Hennessy’s young son Brandon (22) – who has now received a consecutive six year sentence for the attack in Moore, were convicted of violent disorder in relation to the terrifying incident. Another associate, 19-year-old Juares Kumbu, was jailed for two years for removing the gun from the scene.
The incident revealed not only the level of violence both sides were willing to commit but also the size of the Hennessy mob, which was filled with very young associates. Jason Hennessy Jr commanded a gang of feared associates – many of whom were in their teens – but clearly, nonetheless, were willing to commit serious acts of violence.
In the aftermath of the shooting and double murders at Browne’s Steakhouse, gardai were conducting round the clock patrols in Corduff, fearing further retaliation.
Jason Hennessy Jr was himself no stranger to violence, and had been in and out of court over a series of incidents. Back in 2018 he managed to dodge jail with a suspended sentence for violent disorder – after a court heard how he launched an attack in Dublin’s D’Olier Street on May 23, 2015. One of the victims, Dylan Campbell, had been knocked to the ground by a large group of teenagers while walking down the road with his friend Lee Whelan.
The court heard Hennessy had returned to his car, retrieved a hammer and again attacked Dylan Campbell causing an injury to the tendons on his fingers and a 4cm head wound requiring stitches. He and his gang were known for making light of their crimes, often posting pictures and videos to social media in which they blatantly showed off the spoils of their criminality.
While gardai were hopeful that the more serious charges would stick, the conviction and jailing of the Hennessy mobsters is a massive victory that marks the culmination of a series of investigations. Armed units, drug units and local gardai had been dealing with the scourge of the Hennessy gang in various ways for the past decade – and often prevented further acts of violence from ever being committed. Those who bravely investigated the mob for so many years can now finally breathe a sigh of relief.
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