I’ve got nothing to hide, says drug baron Gilligan

Drug baron John Gilligan has claimed he has nothing to hide after walking free from jail.

The one-time chief suspect in the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin was released from the high-security Portlaoise prison yesterday morning after spending 17 years behind bars.

The notorious crime lord had claimed he would not speak to the media, even if all the newspapers and broadcasters paid him €1m each.

But within minutes of arriving at his brother’s Dublin home, he spoke out to deny any involvement in the crime reporter’s murder in 1996 — or a vicious assault on her months earlier or threatening to rape her son.

“I’m after being on trial and they proved nothing,” he told reporters.

“I’m after being decent enough and respectful enough, I didn’t duck or dive. I could have come out of prison and hid. I won’t be hiding from nobody, right? I’ve no problem with anybody.”

Dressed in a light-grey shirt and black trousers, Gilligan held his head high as he emerged through the gates of the prison.

Carrying a black suit jacket, paper bags, and newly pressed shirt wrapped in a dry cleaning bag, the 61-year-old walked the short distance to a waiting car where two men — including his brother Thomas — waited for him.

Armed officers patrolled the rooftop above the prison entrance, barely visible through fog, while a small group of locals watched nearby, eager to catch a glimpse of one of the country’s most infamous prisoners.

The crime boss chatted on a mobile phone and smiled at photographers from the back passenger seat as the Ford Mondeo sped off and took him to Clondalkin in west Dublin.

Caught in legal battles with the State, Gilligan lost his latest court case on Monday which challenged the courts’ legality to sentence him to consecutive jail terms for offences committed in prison.

As flagged in the Irish Examiner on Monday, Gilligan is reported to have fresh legal proceedings on Tuesday to try and prevent the sale of Jessbrook Equestrian Centre from going ahead.

Along with his wife Geraldine and children Darren and Treacy, he is applying in the High Court for a certificate of “lis pendens” — effectively a notice on the property’s land records to warn buyers there are legal proceedings pending.

The Irish Examiner reported on Monday that the Criminal Assets Bureau was prepared for such action, given the Ballyfermot man’s long record of challenging the agency’s work in the courts.

The sprawling centre has already attracted inquiries from around 12 parties with some five to six considered to be “very keen” prospective buyers.

Speaking just after Gilligan’s release, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said the question of whether Gilligan would be monitored by gardaí was an “operational matter”.

He said: “That’s something I wouldn’t wish to comment on. Generally speaking, we are very much involved dealing with the criminal fraternity on a daily basis and it would be inappropriate to go beyond at this time.”

Separately, the Garda boss described the reckless shooting of a crime boss and three innocent women outside a Dublin pub last Sunday as a “particularly callous crime”.

He said: “This was a very cowardly act committed by someone who had no regard for human life. My officers will be working very hard to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice and his accomplices because there are accomplices in all these things.”

He added: “It is a particularly difficult crime to bring to a successful conclusion. My officers will do all in their power to do that.”