Recently released murderer Shay Wildes has gotten married and appears to have built a completely new life for himself, we can reveal.
Our photos reveal infamous murderer Wildes — dubbed the ‘Merry Christmas Killer’ has found new love and got married in a public ceremony last month — almost a year on since his release from Shelton Abbey prison. We have also obtained photos of Wildes, who has dropped his notorious surname, living it up with bottles of prosecco, partying with friends, going to GAA matches and mingling amongst the public in Dublin’s Grafton Street in recent months.
Pictures also show Wildes in his new job as a truck driver — following his release from prison after 18 years for the brutal murder of Joe Cummins who he shot dead in an act of revenge outside The Dragon Inn pub in Tallaght, South Co Dublin in 2001. We can also reveal that Wildes — who was once videoed partying with crime boss John Gilligan behind bars — had a baby with his new wife during the summer. And we have also learned that he got married in an outdoor ceremony in the picturesque tourist hotspot of Glendalough, Co Wicklow on August 8.
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Pictures obtained by this paper show Wildes literally tying the knot with his partner and signing papers in front of friends and family, posing for dozens of photos on the grounds of the historic site. And in a recent public social media post, Wilde’s new wife, who we are not publicly naming, posted several photos of their wedding day and post-wedding celebrations writing: “The last four weeks have proven how short life can be. Enjoy each day as best you can for we just never know.
“Two weeks married today and loving every moment together.” She goes on to publicly tag Wildes, who has changed his name on social media, saying: “Love you.”
The pair posed for several photos together with a relative of Wildes even remarking on social media: “Congratulations to Shay and (name redacted) on their wedding day. Honoured to be part of it.”
Wildes is also seen in more photos living it up in a lavish Dublin hotel —dressed in a dressing gown and holding bottles of bubbly — as he and his new wife celebrated their wedding weeks later. Pictures also show the pair welcoming their new baby in June and his then soon-to-be wife wishing Wildes a happy first father’s day, praising him as a “natural” along with a photo of him and the child.
The photos of a beaming new dad and husband are a far-cry from the actions of a ruthless killer who served two concurrent life sentences for the murder of Mr Cummins. His 2003 trial heard how he wished his victim a “Merry Christmas” before shooting him in the head at close range by the Dragon Inn pub on St Stephen’s Day 2001.
As Cummins was falling, Wildes fired a second shot at him and a third as he lay fatally wounded on the ground. During a series of Garda interviews, Wildes admitted shooting Cummins, and said he did so because he wanted “revenge”.
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He claimed that 18 months earlier, Cummins had attempted to sexually assault his sister, Catherine Wildes, and hit her with a crowbar. However, the court heard that no such complaint had ever been made to gardai.
For those offences Wildes was handed down two life sentences — one for murder and one for possession of a .22 semi-automatic handgun — in September 2003. He was also jailed for 10 and five years respectively on two further counts of possession of ammunition.
After the guilty verdict the deceased’s partner Martina Murphy — a cousin of the guilty man — said: “I hope he rots.” She added that Wildes had left her with five babies”, the youngest of whom was just 11 months old when his father was murdered.
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Ms Murphy told reporters there was “no truth” in Wildes’ allegations that Mr Cummins had assaulted his sister. Wildes was also accused of the infamous murder of Declan Griffin (32) — who was shot in the head in the Horse and Jockey Pub in Inchicore in Dublin on Saturday, April 5, 2003.
In his 2005 trial, Wildes was found not guilty of Mr Griffin’s murder. The shooting took place around 6pm on Saturday April 5, 2003, moments after Mr Griffin was seen handing €5,000 to Shay Wildes.
The court heard this was one third of the fee charged by Wildes to protect Mr Griffin from a Tallaght family.
Wildes was also part of an infamous video that emerged of several high-profile prisoners partying in Portlaoise Prison — seen arm in arm with the likes of crime boss John Gilligan and recently released gangster Brian Rattigan.
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