Tension mounts as gang leader Keane released from jail

THE leader of one of Limerick’s notorious criminal gangs will walk free from prison this morning, a move likely to raise tensions among the feuding criminal factions in the city.

Christy Keane, who was jailed for 10 years in 2001 after he was caught with a sizeable amount of cannabis in the St Mary’s Park area, will be released from the Midlands Prison, just weeks after his son, Liam, received a 10-year prison sentence for weapons offences.

It is understood news of his imminent release has already prompted some residents in Lynwood Park, Singland in Limerick, to move out of the area, while local councillors have appealed for calm.

There have been a number of gang-related incidents in the city in advance of his release from prison, including the burning-out of four vehicles allegedly belonging to the Keane family in different parts of the city three weeks ago. Gardaí fear the return to the city of 48-year-old Keane will do little to quell the feud between the Keane Collopys and the McCarthy Dundons.

There have also been appeals for the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to investigate whether Christy Keane’s house in Singland was bought with the proceeds of crime.

Fine Gael councillor Kevin Kiely, chairman of the Joint Policing Committee in Limerick, appealed to both sides in the feud to “just walk away” and get on with their lives and said Keane needed to live the life of an ordinary citizen.

“He has served his time, he has paid his debt to society and he should just get on with his life,” said Mr Kiely. “The people that are involved in these feuding factions, they should do the same.”

Mr Kiely said there had been many victims who had suffered in the city through the drugs sold on the streets by gangs and claimed anyone behind the drugs trade “should get away with nothing”.

However, he asked for calm regarding the release of Keane. “I would appeal to both sides to just get on with their lives and do the day-to-day things that ordinary people do.”