A gang up to its neck in feuds, murder and drugs
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THE DUNDON-McCarthy gang are among the most feared criminal outfit in the country.
In recent years, they have taken control of the majority of Limerick's lucrative drugs trade but are still locked in a bloody feud with rival city gangs which has to date directly claimed the lives of nine people since 2000.
Several other people have suffered violent deaths as a result of criminal activity in the city.
The stronghold of the Dundon-McCarthy gang is in the Ballinacurra-Weston and Southill areas of Limerick, but in recent years they have extended their influence to Moyross on the city's northside.
The Dundon-McCarthy's have family roots in London and Limerick. They have strong links to Dublin criminals and one senior member of the gang was in the company of Paddy Doyle in Spain a fortnight ago just days before the Dublin criminal was shot dead. The 22-year-old has returned to Limerick since the murder on the Costa del Sol.
Last year, Dessie (23) and John (27) Dundon were acquitted of the murder of Limerick night-club security boss, Brian Fitzgerald. Mr Fitzgerald was shot dead outside his home in 2002.
Dessie is serving life for the 2003 murder of leading Limerick gangland figure Kieran Keane (36), who was abducted and shot dead in Drombanna, Co Limerick, in January 2003. Dessie played a key role in entrapping Keane and luring him to his death.
Four other members of the Dundon-McCarthy gang (James McCarthy, Anthony 'Noddy' McCarthy, David 'Frog Eye' Stanners and Christopher 'Smokey' Costelloe) were also convicted of the murder. An appeal last yearwas unsuccessful.
In 2005, John Dundon (27) was jailed for four-and-a-half years after he pleaded guilty to threatening to kill chief prosecution witness Owen Treacy (Kieran Keane's nephew) during the murder trial.
Yesterday, Wayne Dundon's 10-year conviction for threatening to kill a barman in December 2004 was reduced by the Court of Criminal Appeal to seven years. Dundon threatened to kill Ryan Lee (19) at Brannigan's bar in the city after he refused to allow Wayne's 14-year-old sister into the pub.
- Barry Duggan
