John Gilligan (born 28 March 1952) is a convicted Irish gangster. He was given a 28-year prison sentence for the trafficking of commercial quantities of

cannabis resin Hashish ( ar, حشيش, ()), also known as hash, "dry herb, hay" is a drug made by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant, typically focusing on flowering buds (female flowers) containing the most trichomes. European Monitorin ...

.Gilligan begins 28-year drugs sentence
RTÉ News, 15 March 2001 On appeal, this sentence was reduced to 20 years, and in October 2013, he was released after serving 17 years.

Acquittal for the murder of Veronica Guerin

In 2002, Gilligan was tried and acquitted of the murder of the investigative journalist

Veronica Guerin Veronica Guerin (5 July 1958 – 26 June 1996) was an Irish crime reporter who was murdered by drug lords. Born in Dublin, she was an athlete in school and later played on the Irish national teams for both football and basketball. After stud ...

, who was reportedly working on a tip-off from an Irish politician who was also prominent in equestrian circles. She was investigating Gilligan's involvement in the illegal

hashish Hashish ( ar, حشيش, ()), also known as hash, "dry herb, hay" is a drug made by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant, typically focusing on flowering buds (female flowers) containing the most trichomes. European Monitorin ...

and

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

trade in Ireland. After her murder, the Gardaí had more than 100 officers working on the case at one point, leading to 214 arrests, 39 convictions, and 100 confiscations of guns, £5,000,000 worth of drugs and £6,500,000 worth of property. Gilligan's assets remained frozen by the

Criminal Assets Bureau The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) ( ga, An Biúró um Shócmhainní Coiriúla) is a law enforcement agency in Ireland. The CAB was established with powers to focus on the illegally acquired assets of criminals involved in serious crime. The aims ...

(CAB). On 30 January 2006, the High Court cleared the way for the CAB to proceed with an application to have the equestrian centre and other property that belonged to the Gilligan family handed over to the state. In January 2008, making a court appearance in an attempt to stop the state from selling off his assets, Gilligan accused John Traynor of having ordered the murder of Veronica Guerin. After accusing the presiding judge of an attempt to silence him, Gilligan continued to blame a botched Gardaí investigation and alleged that the Gardaí had planted evidence to secure his conviction, leading to his current term of imprisonment. On 19 December 2008, Gilligan lost an appeal for a second hearing by the High Court. Because of the decision, the CAB applied to the High Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act to dispose of Gilligan's properties. In November 2012, the courts cleared the final barriers allowing the CAB to sell off the equestrian centre and Gilligan's house at Weston Green, Lucan. In July 2014, after a lengthy challenge, a Supreme Court ruling brought the CAB one step closer to selling off the house adjoining the equestrian centre, retained by Gilligan's wife, as well as additional properties in

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...

and

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

Assassination attempt

On 1 March 2014 at 7.00pm, two gunmen came to the home of Gilligan's brother and went into the house while Gilligan was using the toilet. Paramedics from the

Dublin Fire Brigade The Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB; ga, Briogáid Dóiteáin Átha Cliath) is the local authority fire service, fire and rescue service and ambulance service for Dublin, Dublin City and the majority of the Greater Dublin Area. It is a branch of Dub ...

and Advanced Paramedics from the

National Ambulance Service The National Ambulance Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Náisiúnta Otharchairr) is the statutory public ambulance service in Ireland. The service is operated by the National Hospitals Office of the Health Service Executive, the Irish national heal ...

arrived at the scene five minutes later with at least four confirmed hits: in his face, chest, hip and leg. He was rushed to

James Connolly Memorial Hospital The Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown ( ga, Ospidéal Uí Chonghaile Baile Bhlainséir) is a teaching hospital in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland. It is managed by RCSI Hospitals. History The hospital, which was initially established as a tu ...

, where he was in a

critical Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine *Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. *Critical Software, a company specializing in ...

state. He was given the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...

as he arrived at James Connolly Memorial Hospital, in Blanchardstown, but he survived the shooting. It was reported on 14 March that the ammunition that was used to shoot him matched ammunition that had been stolen from German police a decade earlier. His bodyguard, Stephen Douglas 'Dougie' Moran, was shot dead on 15 March 2014 in

. After the shooting of Moran, Gilligan was discharged from hospital and then left the country.

Civil forfeiture

As part of attempts to repress organised crime, including Gilligan's drug trafficking activities, Ireland introduced new civil forfeiture legislation in the wake of the murder of Guerin, the Proceeds of Crime Act, 1996. Gilligan repeatedly challenged its constitutionality in the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

and elsewhere.

2018 arrest for money laundering

On 23 August 2018, Gilligan was arrested as he tried to board a flight from Belfast International Airport to Spain with more than €22,000 in a suitcase. He was formally charged with attempting to remove criminal property from Northern Ireland by Antrim Magistrates' Court the following day. Following the hearing he was remanded in custody after his lawyer's application for bail was refused.

2020 arrest for drug trafficking

On 23 October 2020, Gilligan and two other men, one believed to be his son, were arrested in Spain. Spanish police seized quantities of drugs and weapons. He was released on bail in December 2020.

References

External links

CAB and the sale of Gilligan's horse ranch

Gilligan wins court battle

High Court clears the way for CAB to dispose of Gilligan's assets
( Evening Echo, 30 January 2006)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilligan, John 1952 births Living people Criminals from Dublin (city) Irish drug traffickers Irish crime bosses People acquitted of murder