A former top garda who led the Keane Mulready-Woods murder probe described the Drogheda feud as “one of the most difficult times in the history of the state”.
Retired Chief Supt Christy Mangan said the gruesome killing and dismemberment of the teen over three years ago was one of the worst crimes ever committed.
But he hailed the town’s residents, who he insists played a key role in getting brazen thugs like Paul Crosby off the streets following a “terrifying” number of years.
Read More : Chilling photo shows teen face to face with man who lured him to horrific death
Mangan’s comments come after Friday’s sentencing of crazed 27-year-old Crosby who was caged for 10 years.
His associate Gerard Cruise, 49, was locked up for seven years for assisting in the murder of 17-year-old Mulready-Woods.
The pair, who lured 17-year-old Keane to a house where he was tortured, killed and chopped up, were given a combined sentence equal to the young boy’s age.
The savagery of the boy’s death in January 2020 stunned the nation and was branded by Mr Justice Tony Hunt in the Special Criminal Court as “heinous” and “inhumane”.
Mulready Woods’ killing was the third of four in the feud, which began in 2018 when one faction split in two and started a drugs turf war.
It followed well over 100 incidents, including daylight shootings, attempted murders, firebombs, stabbings and targeting of innocent people.
Mangan, who led the fight against the two mobs before his retirement last March, explained the challenges policing such a volatile dispute with extremely dangerous and brazen criminals.
He told Irish Sunday Mirror: “It was probably one of the most difficult times in the history of the state.
“There was a constant barrage of intimidation, violence, unfortunately tragedy, people lost their lives.
“It was a very, extremely violent time. It was terrifying for the people of Drogheda and obviously in the surrounding area.
“It was such a tragedy that Keane lost his life with the decision of people who were having an enormous war over drugs.
“It was a shocking murder and shocking for the country.
“You only have to listen to Judge Tony Hunt’s comments about it and how grotesque it was.
“It was one of the worst crimes ever committed.”
The feud began when a group – led by two close associates and joined by Crosby – broke away from boss Owen Maguire and Cornelius Price to begin a rival drugs faction.
And in July 2018, they joined forces with feared hitman Robbie Lawlor to take out Maguire.
Despite gun-for-hire Lawlor plugging Maguire six times, the Drogheda man survived but was left paralysed.
After Maguire’s associates shot Keith Branigan and Richard Carberry dead in 2019, gardai believe Lawlor killed Mulready-Woods.
Crosby had been working closely with Lawlor and the two leading members of the rival faction. And below them they had Cruise and Ged McKenna at their disposal.
On Sunday January 12, 2020 – the day Keane went missing – Crosby met him and lured him to a car which was driven by co-accused Cruise.
From there, Mulready-Woods was driven to the murder site at Rathmullen Park in Drogheda to a property owned by McKenna.
It was there where gardai believe Lawlor murdered the boy, before chopping him into pieces with hand and power tools.
Days later, the community of Drogheda came out in their thousands to stand with gardai and senior politicians, including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, to demand a stop to the violence.
And it was the help from residents of Drogheda, along with the extra resources given, that was key to Mangan and his team hitting back.
He told the Mirror: “It took a lot of resolve from the people of Drogheda and the resources of the Gardai to put in place, to deal with it and take them down.
“To be fair to people, they stood on the Bridge of Peace in Drogheda with the guards and they showed their support for us with the politicians.
“To me, the people of Drogheda are the heroes.
“They are the people who stood with the guards and stood with others. We didn’t do this on our own. You have to commend everyone up there.
“They suffered and suffered badly.
“People did lose their lives in a dispute over drugs, that’s the tragedy.”
Lawlor himself was shot dead in Belfast less than three months later.
It is believed the psychopath was double crossed by the infamous McCarthy/Dundon mob who arranged his execution with associates of Maguire.
Along with Crosby and Cruise, McKenna is also serving time for his role in assisting in the murder.
But under Operation Stratus, set up by Mangan to target each member from top to bottom of each gang, around 500 people have been charged.
In terms of drugs, nearly €4million has been nabbed from the streets of Drogheda and the northeast.
In conjunction with the op, the Criminal Assets Bureau targeted Maguire and seized over €300,000 in cash, two properties and a number of vehicles.
Mangan hailed the team of gardai in Drogheda and the work of those under Detective Inspector Aidan McCabe who secured Friday’s convictions.
He told us: “There’s a lot of people who have gone to jail now as a result of Operation Stratus and a lot of people have lost a lot of money.
“Huge credit to the guards in Drogheda, all the young guards that were there, the detectives, they worked 24-7, night and day.
“It was absolutely one of the toughest times for the guards there, but they dealt with it admirably in the end.”
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