Gangster Brian “Tosser” Meehan is boasting how he’ll soon walk free from cushy Shelton Abbey open prison.
The cocky 55-year-old, who is serving life for the murder of Veronica Guerin, is telling inmates he will soon be a free man.
He was transferred to Shelton Abbey in Co Wicklow from Wheatfield Prison last year in a move believed to be in preparation for release.
Meehan is allowed to walk the substantial grounds unaccompanied, cook his own food, play pitch and putt and take in deliveries.
Read More: Brother of Veronica Guerin 'disappointed' that killer Brian Meehan living cushy life in open prison
A source told the Irish Sunday Mirror that despite his dangerous reputation, he is deemed a model inmate.
They confirmed it’s likely he will be given temporary release soon to test the waters before being fully released in the near future.
The source said: “It’s likely that before he gets full temporary release that he will be given day release to attend a job placement outside first.
“At the moment there is nothing stopping him from walking out of the prison as it’s an open jail without high walls.
“But it is up to each inmate to take upon themselves to not leave.
“Meehan will have a lot of readjusting to do before being freed. The Ireland he remembers before being locked up looks a lot different now.”
Meehan, who was jailed in 1999 following a 31-day trial before the non-jury Special Criminal Court, is the only person ever to be convicted of killing Veronica in 1996.
He drove the bike with now deceased gunman Patrick “Dutchy” Holland, who shot the journalist dead while stopped in her car at traffic lights on June 26, 1996.
Meehan, from Crumlin, South Dublin, served most of his time in Portlaoise where he ran the C block.
While in prison, Meehan is understood to have become close to gangland killer Brian Rattigan.
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