Inside the Kinahan cartel\u2019s secret messages: \u2018What about doing [the Monk\u2019s] daughter?\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\nMcGovern appeared in the dock of the packed courtroom wearing a white shirt with navy cardigan and flanked by prison officers. He had a small group of supporters in court.<\/p>\n
Judge Patrick McGrath described McGovern as \u201ca senior trusted lieutenant of the [Kinahan] organisation in Ireland\u201d, adding he \u201cwas a significant figure in his own right\u201d. <\/p>\n
The Kinahan crime group was a \u201cparticularly large, well organised, sinister and dangerous organisation\u201d, the judge said. <\/p>\n
McGovern had directed others to kill Kirwan and to try to kill Gately in the context of a feud with the Hutch crime group.<\/p>\n
Gately had carried the coffin of Gary Hutch \u2013 after his murder by the Kinahan cartel in Spain in 2015 \u2013 \u201cand was therefore considered to be part of that group\u201d.<\/p>\n
Preparations to shoot dead Gately were \u201cminutely and carefully planned in advance\u201d, the judge said. This was exposed by \u201can extensive investigation\u201d by the Garda, which included securing records \u2013 secret texts \u2013 of conversations between suspects.<\/p>\n
As he went about his crimes, the court said it was clear McGovern was \u201creceiving instructions from persons further up the organisational structure\u201d in the Kinahan group.<\/p>\n
McGrath noted Noel Kirwan had no involvement in crime and therefore had no security arrangements in place. The judge said he was a friend of the Hutch family and was a \u201csoft target\u201d or an \u201ceasy target\u201d for the Kinahan crime group.<\/p>\n
McGovern, who used the handle \u201cKnife\u201d in a secret messaging group, had taken on a senior and direct role in the murder of Kirwan, known affectionately as Duck Egg. <\/p>\n
He had also suggested on a secret messaging chain with other Kinahan gang members that a gunman referred to as \u201cTeeth\u201d should be assigned to kill Kirwan to boost his morale.<\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon putting the Teeth on the Duck to get his confidence back,\u201d McGovern wrote. <\/p>\n
Referring to this, the judge said: \u201cIn other words, a member of the Kinahan organised crime group was to be assigned to kill Mr Kirwan, an easy victim, in order to get his confidence back.” <\/p>\n
Though McGovern was taking orders from more senior figures in the Kinahan group and was not the author of the plans to kill Kirwan or Gately, he was much more involved in the Kirwan plan, which resulted in the 62-year-old being shot five times outside his home in December 2016.<\/p>\n
It was clear from Garda evidence, McGrath said, that McGovern \u201cplanned, oversaw and directed the murder\u201d of Kirwan. He was aware the killing of Kirwan was going ahead \u201con a particular day at a particular place\u201d.<\/p>\n
The judge said McGovern had received information relating to Kirwan\u2019s \u201cprecise whereabouts\u201d in real time from a tracking device on his car. This information was passed on \u201cto those lying in wait\u201d to shoot Kirwan outside his home.<\/p>\n
Because he had such a direct role, the headline sentence, before mitigation, was 20 years as it was on the upper end of the scale for directing organised crime. <\/p>\n
The headline sentence for the Gately plot, before mitigation, was 16 years.<\/p>\n
However, the court ruled the sentences should run consecutively. When the headline sentences were reduced to take account of McGovern\u2019s early guilty plea, the sentence for directing Kirwan\u2019s murder was 14 years and the sentence for directing the failed effort to murder Gately was 10 years.<\/p>\n
When combined, to run consecutively, the total sentence imposed on McGovern was 24 years. <\/p>\n
The court backdated the sentence to October 2024, as McGovern has been in custody since then, having been arrested in Dubai before his extradition to Ireland in May, 2025.<\/p>\n
The sentencing of McGovern is a \u201clesson to those who glorify organised crime and promote it as a way of life\u201d, a senior investigator has said.<\/p>\n
Det Supt Dave Gallagher said: \u201cThe sentencing today of Sean McGovern is significant in holding to account a key person who was engaged in directing the activities of a violent criminal organisation engaged in a campaign of ruthless murder and violence which impacted so negatively on our communities and Ireland\u2019s national reputation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish to pay tribute to the Kirwan family whose innocent father, Noel, was brutally murdered, for no other reason except to portray power in the criminal underworld, by Sean McGovern, working with and directing others, who believed they were untouchable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gallagher, of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, added: \u201cLet the conviction and sentence of Mr McGovern today be a lesson to those who glorify organised crime and promote it as a way of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no untouchables and law enforcement is committed to the pursuit and prosecution of those who are the leaders, the decision makers and the facilitators.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur investigations are continuing and I appeal to anybody with information on these crimes, please contact us in confidence on the Garda confidential line (1800 666 111) or at any Garda station.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man described as a \u201csenior lieutenant\u201d in the Kinahan organised crime gang has been jailed for 24…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,27006,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-489041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-kinahan-cartel","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}