A senior lieutenant of the Kinahan organised crime group has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in directing criminal activities, including a murder and a foiled assassination plot. Sean McGovern, 40, appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on June 8, where he was handed a combined sentence of 24 years for two offences related to his involvement with the Kinahan cartel and its violent feud with the Hutch Organised Crime Group (OCG).
Guilty plea and charges
McGovern pleaded guilty in March to two counts of directing the activities of a criminal organisation. The charges covered his involvement between October 20 and December 22, 2016, in the lead-up to the murder of Noel Kirwan, a grandfather shot dead in December 2016, and the targeting and monitoring of James Gately with the intent to kill him, which ultimately did not occur.
Details of the crimes
The court heard evidence that McGovern played a significant role in planning the murder of Noel Kirwan, who was targeted solely because of his personal links to the Hutch family. Kirwan was shot in his car outside his home after a family lunch on December 22, 2016. The getaway van was later set on fire. McGovern was involved in tracking Kirwan's movements from November 3, 2016, using a tracking device placed on his BMW, later moved to his Ford Mondeo after a trade-in.
Regarding James Gately, McGovern was part of a plot that included importing tracking devices to monitor Gately and his family. Communications showed McGovern formulating a plan to reach Gately, but the planned murder did not go ahead. The targeting of Gately began after the shooting of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2015, with Gately having carried the coffin of Gary Hutch, a senior Hutch OCG member.
Sentencing
Mr Justice Patrick McGrath stated that McGovern was a confidant of senior Kinahan figures and was trusted with high-level tasks. For the surveillance of Gately, he received 10 years, and for his involvement in the murder of Kirwan, an additional 14 years. The sentences are to run consecutively and are backdated to when McGovern was taken into custody in Dubai.
As McGovern was led out of the courtroom, he winked at those present, a gesture that drew attention from the media.
Reaction from law enforcement
Detective Superintendent Dave Gallagher of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) described the sentencing as significant in holding a key person accountable for directing a violent criminal organisation. He extended condolences to the Kirwan family and emphasised that the conviction demonstrates that no one is untouchable. He urged anyone with information to contact the Garda Confidential Line.
