Border Fox eulogises ‘martyr’ criminal Kelly at funeral
Speaking during the service, the former INLA leader described his close friend Kelly, who was nicknamed the Godfather, as a “martyr”.
He said the 65-year-old convicted drug dealer, who was a father of nine, had “a real sense of justice that was matched by his integrity to do something about that injustice”.
Kelly, from Furry Park Rd, Killester, was shot at least three times in the chest near his home on Dec 4.
He was pronounced dead in Beaumont Hospital a short time later. Just two years earlier, he had survived an attempt on his life, also outside his home, when the gunman’s weapon jammed.
Yesterday, hundreds of people packed into St Brigid’s Church in Killester for the funeral.
They heard Monsignor Alex Stenson describe Kelly as a family man devoted to his children and grandchildren.
The priest also criticised the media for its reporting in the aftermath of the killing, saying not everything that had been written about the dead man was true.
Kelly began his criminal career in the 1960s with burglary, but over time the seriousness of his crimes increased significantly, particularly when he became embroiled in the drugs trade.
In the 1980s he was sent to prison after he stabbed a man in a row outside a Dublin north inner city social club.
He was then sentenced to 14 years in jail in 1993 after being convicted of smuggling cocaine into Ireland from the US.
After his release, he assumed a role as a criminal consultant, advising younger criminals
A man from Bluebell in Dublin has been charged with his murder, as well as possession of a firearm and being a member of an illegal organisation styling itself as the IRA.
O’Hare was sentenced to 40 years in 1988 for kidnapping and mutilating Dublin dentist John O’Grady the previous year. The former leader of the INLA hacked off two of the dentist’s fingers with a hammer and chisel during the hostage-taking. He was released from prison in 2006.
After Kelly’s funeral Mass, O’Hare was one of the men who carried his coffin from the church.
Kelly was cremated in a private ceremony in Glasnevin Cemetery.
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