Crime gang linked to killing of ‘informant’

KENNETH BYRNE was watching television with his sister when there was a knock on the door. His mother was upstairs sleeping.

The 30-year-old would have been wary of any late night visitors. He had enemies, some dating back to his days as a member of a gang of armed robbers who terrorised south Dublin in early to mid-1998, some from his days in prison, where he gained a reputation for being volatile.

Byrne called out "Who's there?" to the shadowy figure on the other side of the glass panelled door. The only answer was three shots fired in quick succession. He was hit twice, once in the chest and then, as he turned to escape, in the back of the head.

A chronic heroin addict, who just two weeks ago was released early from a 10-year sentence for a series of armed robberies, Byrne died in St James's Hospital 40 minutes after the fatal shooting around 11pm on Sunday evening.

It brought to an end a life of crime dating back nearly 20 years. He had 35 convictions, the first when he was just 12 years old.

On January 19, Byrne was released on licence after a review hearing before Dublin's Circuit Criminal Court.

Detectives yesterday launched a murder investigation following the fatal shooting.

One of the lines of enquiry is whether he was assassinated by former associates in the Umbrella Gang who may have suspected he was a garda informant.

The gang earned their sobriquet from their habit of using umbrellas to conceal their identities during bank and post office raids. They netted around €100,000 during a six-month spree in 1998.

Byrne was caught during the attempted robbery of a National Irish Bank. But at least three others escaped and have never been brought to justice. Only €2,000 was recovered.

The investigating team will also trawl through Byrne's history and his criminal contacts in order to establish a motive.

Certainly the prison authorities were aware of threats against Byrne. He spent most of his time in Mountjoy separated from the main body of prisoners. This was partly due to a detox programme he was on but also for his own protection, according to insiders.

He was recently transferred from the medical to the training unit in Mountjoy ahead of his review hearing.

Some prison officers were surprised he received a hearing as he had been sentenced to an extra three months for assaulting a prison officer 18 months ago. The career criminal was also fortunate to have two other sentences, six and three-year terms for armed robberies committed in the Midlands, reviewed and suspended in 2002.

After reviewing the files on the case, Judge Elizabeth Dunne, who handed down the original 10-year sentence in May 2000, ordered the balance of his sentence be suspended for two-and-a-half years, that he make himself available to the probation and welfare service, that he receive counselling and was bound over to keep the peace.

Detectives investigating the Byrne shooting received a vital early break and an unusual one in such clinical gangland type executions the murder weapon was discovered about half a mile away.

The gunman, after shooting Byrne, ran down two flights of stairs from the flat in St Teresa's Gardens complex in Dublin's south inner city, jumped on a stolen red Honda 250cc motorcycle recovered yesterday at a lock-up in the Vincent Street flats complex and drove out of the gardens and along Donore Avenue.

As the gunman drove along Clarence Mangan Road, investigators believe he lost control of the bike and dropped the murder weapon.

The handgun is unlikely to have been recklessly thrown away as it could reveal vital ballistics evidence and may also have a history. If it has been used before, the gun can be matched to bullets discharged in a previous shooting.