Veronica Guerin took on Ireland's booming gangland criminals in 1994, who were flooding the country with cannabis and other illegal substances and engaging in an all out war with their competitors. When she approached John Gilligan, the man in charge, at his home, she set in motion a series of events that would lead to her death, and to the downfall of the criminal set she had set her eyes on.

The events of 1994 changed the landscape of organised crime in Ireland forever, as well how the authorities would attempt to curb their enjoyment of their assets. But would they be held responsible for Veronica's death?



Podcast Promo this week is from Tara and Barney over at Bloody Murder! a bloody good podcast, discussing lesser-known cases from Australia and abroad, with a good smattering of dark humour. Go give them a try!



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Theme Music:
Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/


Sources:
Paul Williams, Evil Empire: John Gilligan, his gang and the execution of Veronica Guerin (Merlin: Dublin, 2001). Purchase here

Emily O'Reilly, Veronica Guerin: The life and death of a Crime Reporter (Vintage Press: London, 1998) Purchase here

Trevor Quinn, “Brian Meehan to spend rest of life in prison over Veronica Guerin murder” in DublinLive.ie https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/brian-meehan-spend-rest-life-12643963 22 February 2017



Emma McMenamy, “Veronica Guerin's killer Brian Meehan caught with drugs in prison” in DublinLive.ie https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/veronica-guerins-killer-brian-meehan-11727788 10 August 2016



Independent NewsDesk, “Veronica Guerin's killer Brian Meehan caught with drugs behind bars” in The Independent https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/veronica-guerins-killer-brian-meehan-caught-with-drugs-behind-bars-34954772.html 10 August 2016



“Brian Meehan loses appeal against Veronica Guerin murder conviction” in The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/brian-meehan-loses-appeal-against-veronica-guerin-murder-conviction-1.2614660 18 April 2016



Cathal McMahon, “Gardai quizzed killer Brian Meehan over shooting of former mob boss John Gilligan” in The Irish Mirror https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/gardai-quizzed-killer-brian-meehan-3529498 12 May 2014



Ronan Duffy, “Veronica Guerin's killer has application against his conviction rejected” in thejournal.ie http://www.thejournal.ie/veronica-guerin-murder-appeal-2721091-Apr2016/ 18 April 2016



Christina Finn, “Defence team look for Veronica Guerin's killer says court must look at 'flaw' in original trial”, in thejournal.ie http://www.thejournal.ie/brian-meehan-appeal-veronica-guerin-2456723-Nov2015/ 20 November 2015



Christina Finn, “Veronica Guerin's killer is appealing his conviction for her murder” in thejournal.ie http://www.thejournal.ie/brian-meehan-veronica-guerin-appeal-court-2454499-Nov2015/ 19 November 2015



Ruaidhri Giblin, “Two decades after Veronica Guerin's murder, her killer is appealing his conviction” in thejournal.ie http://www.thejournal.ie/veronica-guerin-murder-conviction-appeal-2171827-Jun2015/ 19 June 2015



Emma McMenamy, “Gangster John Gilligan back socialising in Clondalkin, Dublin – despite failed murder attempt in 2014” in The Irish Mirror https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/gangster-john-gilligan-back-socialising-12753289 21 June 2018



David Coleman, “Scumbag gangster John Gilligan pictured ' sleeping like a baby' on Spain bound flight from Belfast” in The Irish Mirror https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/scumbag-gangster-john-gilligan-pictured-12960529 22 July 2018



Nicola Tallant and Allison Bray, “Criminal John Gilligan travelling between Spain and England with ne