Gang lied to Geoghegan's killer about brother's death before hit
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THE gunman who carried out the botched gangland hit that killed the innocent Shane Geoghegan had been falsely told that the intended target was involved in the murder of his own brother, gardai believe.
And the Irish Independent has learnt that when killer Barry Doyle (26) was arrested by gardai he was living with James Dillon, who less than two months later murdered another innocent victim in Limerick, Roy Collins.
While Doyle confessed to gardai that he had killed Mr Geoghegan, he remained silent on his motives.
Before he was shot dead in Spain in February 2008, Paddy Doyle (27) was in the company of members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang.
The McCarthy-Dundon gang was involved in an ongoing feud with the Keane-Collopy gang.
After his brother's murder, Doyle left Spain for Limerick in June and joined with the McCarthy-Dundon outfit.
In October 2008, as part of an agreement on a phony truce, Doyle was introduced to Philip Collopy by a leading McCarthy-Dundon gang member.
He was introduced as 'Doyler', the man who would soon carry out the gun attack on John McNamara.
Collopy -- an enemy of the McCarthy-Dundons -- tipped McNamara off that an attack was imminent and equipped him with a bullet-proof vest.
On the night of the Geoghegan murder, McNamara and Collopy were drinking together in Limerick city as Doyle received his final orders to kill McNamara.
Doyle never gave gardai an explanation as to why he agreed to carry out a gun-attack on McNamara, but it is suspected that he was incorrectly informed that McNamara was connected to the gun attack on his brother. Some believe this was the final motivation needed for Doyle -- a man who had never held a gun before.
But he shot innocent rugby player Mr Geoghegan in a case of mistaken identity.
Prior to this, Doyle had minor convictions and had committed several traffic offences.
In the weeks before the fatal gun attack, he received a four-month jail term for driving with no insurance, pending appeal.
He fled for the continent after the murder, but returned to Limerick before Christmas. He was arrested in February 2009, when he was living with Dillon in a small terraced house on Hyde Road.
The pair were ordered by the same gang to carry out two gun attacks which led to the deaths of Mr Geoghegan and Mr Collins (35) on April 9, 2009.
Mr Collins was targeted because his family had stood up to the McCarthy-Dundon gang and his cousin Ryan Lee gave evidence against Wayne Dundon in court in 2005
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On February 24, 2009, gardai investigating the murder of Mr Geoghegan raided the house and found Doyle upstairs. His bedroom was empty apart from a bare mattress on the floor.
Dillon (23) was asleep downstairs. He had left his family home on the southside of the city months previously.
At that stage, Dillon had only minor convictions.
However, 44 days after his housemate's arrest, Dillon shot Mr Collins dead at the casino he worked in.
Dillon later pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison in 2010.
- Barry Duggan
Irish Independent
