‘The whole family is just destroyed’

THE heartbroken family of cousins killed in a hail of bullets at a filling station have made a plea for help in catching their killers on the second anniversary of the murders.

Cousins Mark Noonan and Glen Murphy were rarely apart in life and they died together when they were shot repeatedly on the November 23, 2010 by two hitmen after they stopped to buy cigarettes.

Geraldine Noonan told the RTÉ show CrimeCall her 23-year-old son Mark had been overjoyed to become a first-time father to baby Alexia just months before his death.

“The second the baby was born, he rang me. I will never forget the smile on his face. He was delighted to be a daddy.”

Gardaí believe that the double murder could have been a tragic case of mistaken identity. Mark and Glen, who were not known to have been involved in gangland crime, may have been mistaken for two others by the hitmen.

Mark’s mother Geraldine Noonan and Glen’s sister Danielle Murphy will make a TV plea tomorrow night for any information about the killers.

Geraldine spoke about their friendship and told how Mark insisted on including 20-year-old Glen in all family photographs at the christening a few weeks before their deaths.

“Any photograph Mark had done that day with the baby, Glen had to get the same one done.”

She said the family has been struggling to cope with their grief over the deaths of the cousins over the past two years.

“Life will never, ever be the same again for me or for my family. They took everything away from us. Just the whole family is just destroyed.

“Just the both of them, we just miss so much. Glen was always with Mark. Mark was like his little father figure, always watched out for Glen.”

The show retraces the steps of the close-knit cousins, who were both from the North Circular Road in Dublin, on the night of their deaths.

Mark and Glen drove into the shopping centre at Clearwater, Finglas, just after 11.30pm. There were a few late night shoppers around at the time.

Inside the supermarket, Mark asked for a packet of cigarettes, but they were out of his brand. The shop assistant suggested they try the garage around the corner and the cousins drove there.

Mark got out and went to the service hatch and Glen followed.

A dark-coloured BMW drove into the forecourt behind them and a gunman shot the cousins through the window. Both men died at the scene.

Glen’s sister, Danielle, said her brother loved life and especially music.

She said: “Every song was his favourite song, as he used to say. He only had to hear a song once and he loved it.”

She urged anyone with any information to think about what her family has endured over the past two years.

* Crimecall can be reached on 1800 405060.