Crime boss may try to halt sale of equestrian centre

Crime boss John Gilligan may try to halt the sale of the sprawling Kildare equestrian centre once he is released from jail.

The Criminal Assets Bureau is preparing for yet more protracted court proceedings involving the 61-year-old when he walks free from Portlaoise Prison tomorrow. It is anticipating the notorious drug trafficker might take a case to halt the sale of the Jessbrook site in north Kildare.

The 90-acre site was the showpiece of the Gilligan drug empire, encompassing a massive equestrian centre, two sets of stables, a three-bed apartment and offices.

CAB seized the site in Nov 1996 following the murder, by members of the Gilligan gang, of journalist Veronica Guerin in June that year. For the following 16-plus years, CAB was engaged in a mammoth legal battle with Gilligan on the fate of the centre, until the Supreme Court finally ruled last November and directed the sale of Jessbrook.

Last month the entire site went on sale in lots, with auctioneers expecting it to fetch more than €500,000.

Sources told the Irish Examiner that around a dozen parties have inquired about the centre and five-to-six of them are considered “very keen” on it.

But the protracted process of disposing of the site could be further delayed if Gilligan, who has fought CAB and the State every step of the way, takes a case before the courts.

“He has a history of challenging every single step, so he could try and challenge the sale,” said one source.

It is understood that Gilligan has not signalled formally any intention to do so, but CAB is preparing itself for such a development.

“He could seek a High Court injunction to prevent the sale. It’s a pattern of his. If he chooses to do so, CAB will just have to respond.”

There is uncertainty regarding the release of the former crime boss, amid suggestions he will be freed sometime after midnight tonight. But one prison source was of the view this wouldn’t happen. He said that because it was a maximum security jail — the only one in the country — the gates are closed between 9pm and 7am and would only open for an ambulance between those times. This would suggest that Gilligan may not be released until after 7am, when he would be greeted by a massive media scrum.

It has also been suggested that prison bosses might transport him either today or later tomorrow to another jail and release him from there. It is not clear who, if anyone, will meet the Ballyfermot man to bring him away, or where he will go.

Despite speculation he has up €19m stashed away in drug profits, a number of Garda sources believe he has no such wealth.