Ryan pal Kinsella under murder threat in prison

Nathan Kinsella

By Ken Foy, Crime Correspondent

April 04 2014 01:47 PM

A CRIMINAL who has said he is a member of the IRA is being kept in a separate prison wing to the terrorists amid fears he will be murdered in jail.

Nathan Kinsella (33) is under an active death threat from dissident republicans in Portlaoise prison.

Kinsella was originally arrested after a garda investigation into paramilitary activity at the funeral of slain terror boss Alan Ryan and yesterday pleaded guilty to IRA membership.

Kinsella admitted membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army on September 13, 2012 at the Special Criminal Court. The north inner city hood had been on the run from gardai for a number of months before he was arrested by armed detectives at a north Dublin gym in February on a bench warrant.

The criminal has been in custody since then at Portloaise Prison.

However, the Herald can reveal that Kinsella has been shunned by dissident republican inmates who have refused to let them on their landing – the notorious E Wing.

Instead Kinsella has been housed with other inmates also under threat and those on disciplinary regimes on the secure A wing in the jail,

He is on lockdown for over 20 hours each day and is continually monitored by prison officers.

Kinsella was previously knee-capped in a punishment shooting in Ballyfermot in November, 2012, as part of an internal IRA purge which happened in the months after Alan Ryan was shot dead.

He was accused of taking money belonging to the organisation which had been extorted from drug dealers and was shot twice in the legs.

INJURIES

He spent a number of days in hospital recovering from his injuries and after his release he did not made a formal complaint to gardai who have been working on the theory that he was targeted by his former Real IRA associates.

Last September, the family home of his ex-girlfriend was shot-up in the East Wall area of the capital in a daylight gun attack which sources believe was linked to her relationship with Kinsella.

He was also closely linked with notorious hood 'Fat' Deccy Smith who died last Friday after he was shot outside a crèche in Donaghmede two weeks ago.

Smith was also shot in the legs two months after Kinsella was targeted in 2012.

The terror group which now calls itself simply as the IRA has expelled dozens of members and stood down certain active service units in a an effort to combat against suspected informers.

KFOY@HERALD.IE

Herald