It’s only when you trawl through the number of Limerick gangland heavyweights holed up in prisons that the scale of the Garda’s success reveals itself.

A defence laywer acting for one of five Limerick men accused of murdering Kieran Keane told the jury today that there is no “external evidence” linking his client to Mr Keane or any of the key scenes.

The chief prosecution witness in the trial of five Limerick men accused of murdering Kieran Keane refused the opportunity to enter the State Witness Protection Programme, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

A LIMERICK man who was stabbed 17 times after the murder of his uncle Kieran Keane has described it as “the worst night” of his life.

MORE THAN 60 armed detectives and uniformed gardaí were detailed for the biggest security operation ever mounted for a court case in Limerick, as four men appeared in connection with the murder of crime boss, Kieran Keane.