Limerick Shooting: From coal to drugs, Keane’s business empires

For decades Christy Keane’s family ran a sizeable coal delivery business from their base in St Mary’s Park, better known as the Island Field. He soon discovered his delivery business was an ideal cover to get into drugs.

It was far more lucrative than coal, and involved less harder and dirtier work.

One of his key enforcers in the 1990s was Eddie Ryan, who had built up a reputation of being a person not to be crossed. However, he and Christy Keane had a falling out over a schoolyard row involving a number of girls.