41-462: Martin Cahill (23 May 1949 – 18 August 1994) was an Irish crime boss from Dublin . He masterminded a series of burglaries and armed robberies. He was shot and killed while out on bail for kidnapping charges. The Provisional Irish Republican Army took responsibility for Cahill's murder but no one was ever arrested or formally charged. The media referred to him by the sobriquet "The General". The name
82-578: A .357 Magnum revolver, jumped on a motorbike, and disappeared from the scene. There are a number of theories about who killed Martin Cahill and why. Within hours of Cahill's death, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) claimed responsibility in a press release. The reasons cited were Cahill's alleged involvement with a Portadown unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The UVF unit in question had recently attempted
123-714: A biographical film titled The General , starring Brendan Gleeson as Cahill. The film won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival . It was based on a book by Irish crime journalist Paul Williams , who was also the crime editor of the Irish tabloid the Sunday World . Boorman himself once had his home burgled by Cahill, who stole the gold record which Boorman had won for the Deliverance soundtrack. This incident
164-734: A bomb attack on a south Dublin Irish pub which was hosting a Sinn Féin fund-raiser on 21 May 1994. The UVF operatives had been prevented from entering by pub doorman and Volunteer in the Provisional IRA's Dublin Brigade Martin Doherty , who they instead shot dead. The IRA further alleged that Cahill had been involved in selling the stolen Vermeer paintings from Russborough House to the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade led by Billy Wright , alias "King Rat". The Mid-Ulster Brigade then fenced
205-564: A degree of a possession of a higher intelligence of an individual. The term especially indicates the existence of involvement in what is known as big-time crime , which would include for example armed robbery , and the more organised aspects of careers within crime. A 1945 dictionary of criminal slang in the U.S. lists Big Brains as "a gang-leader", but not Mr Big . Garda National Surveillance Unit The National Surveillance Unit ( NSU ) ( Irish : Aonad Faireacháin Náisiúinta )
246-467: A four-year suspended prison sentence, fought through the courts to prevent his neighbourhood's destruction. Even after the tenements were demolished, he continued to live in a pitched tent on the site. Finally, Lord Mayor of Dublin Ben Briscoe paid a visit to Cahill's tent and persuaded him to move into a new house in a more upscale district of Rathmines . Cahill and his gang stole gold and diamonds with
287-542: A massive hashish trafficking ring while paying protection money to the IRA and INLA. When Cahill allegedly tried to also extort protection money from them, the Gardaí believe that Traynor and Gilligan approached the IRA and accused Cahill of importing heroin , a drug that the IRA despised and were trying to prevent from being sold in Dublin. Reputedly this, and Cahill's past dealings with
328-463: A more complex, structured organization with many ranks, and structure may vary with cultural background. Organized crime enterprises originating in Sicily differ in structure from those in mainland Italy. American groups may be structured differently from their European counterparts and Latino and African American gangs often have structures that vary from European gangs. The size of the criminal organization
369-444: A team of officers will break into a property upon possession of a warrant and plant bugs to gather intelligence or evidence against suspected serious criminals, terrorists or hostile spies without their knowledge, and without leaving a trace (hence the name "Ghost Team"). The existence of these teams came to public attention following the publishing of The Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009. The equipment and technology used by
410-490: A value of over IR£2 million (€2.55 million; €6.35 million in 2021, adjusted for inflation) from O'Connor's jewellers in Harolds Cross (1983); the jeweller was subsequently forced to close, with the loss of more than one hundred jobs. He was also involved in stealing some of the world's most valuable paintings from Russborough House (1986) and extorting restaurants and hot dog vendors in Dublin's nightclub district. Fearing
451-500: Is also important, as regional or national gangs have much more complex hierarchies. The boss in the Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia is the head of the crime family and the top decision maker. Only the boss can initiate an associate into the family, however, the boss can give permission to an underboss , consigliere or a captain , allowing them to become a made man . The boss can promote or demote family members at will, and has
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#1733114895452492-496: Is depicted in the film. Ken Stott starred as Cahill in a 1999 BBC drama, Vicious Circle written by Kieran Prendiville The 2003 film Veronica Guerin implies that John Gilligan ordered Cahill's murder. In the film Gilligan and Traynor are not portrayed as Cahill's subordinates. Instead, Gilligan appears as a rival mob boss and Traynor as a lower-level associate. The film Ordinary Decent Criminal , starring Kevin Spacey ,
533-464: Is generally put into place to act ostensibly as the boss while drawing police attention away from the actual official boss operating behind the scenes. A "street boss" is often informally appointed or regarded by the official boss or by subordinates as the "hands-on", street-level, actively engaged proxy or stand-in for the official boss, usually coordinating, controlling, and managing street operations on behalf of an official boss who prefers to stay behind
574-673: Is headed by a Detective Chief Superintendent , who is under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Crime and Security Branch. It is understood to have a strength of about 100 plainclothes officers, mainly detectives, who all carry firearms (standard issue is the concealable Walther P99c 9mm semi-automatic pistol). The unit is headquartered in the Phoenix Park, but carries out many operations from Harcourt Street. The NSU has personnel nationwide, and works closely with
615-586: Is loosely based on Cahill's life. In 2004, a book written by Matthew Hart was released entitled The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art , which depicted the story of the Russborough House heist in 1986 and Cahill's involvement. Cahill's eldest daughter, Frances Cahill, released a book in 2008 entitled Martin Cahill, My Father . Crime boss A crime boss , also known as a crime lord , mafia don , gang lord , gang boss , mob boss , kingpin , godfather , crime mentor , or criminal mastermind
656-467: Is the leader of a criminal organization . A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is often greatly feared or respected for their cunning, strategy, and/or ruthlessness and willingness to take lives to exert their influence and profits from the criminal endeavors in which the organization engages. Some groups may only have as little as two ranks (a crime boss and their soldiers). Other groups have
697-825: Is the principal clandestine intelligence gathering and surveillance operations unit of the Garda Síochána , the national police force of Ireland. The unit operates under the Crime & Security Branch ( CSB ), based at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park , Dublin, and also works from Harcourt Street , Dublin. Members of the unit are specially trained and selected Detective Gardaí who are tasked to remain covert whilst on and off duty, tracking suspected criminals, terrorists and hostile, foreign spies operating in Ireland. The unit's detectives are routinely armed. The National Surveillance Unit
738-528: Is understood to possess a manpower of approximately 100 officers, and is considered to be the most secretive arm of the force. The Garda National Surveillance Unit was formed in the mid-1990s, when the "Crime Special Surveillance Unit" and the "Crime Ordinary Surveillance Unit" were merged. It is the operational wing of the Security & Intelligence Section (S&I) of the Crime & Security Branch (CSB). The unit
779-453: Is usually as follows: A boss will typically put up layers of insulation between himself and his men to hinder police efforts to connect his orders to him. Whenever he issues orders, he does so either to his underboss, consigliere or capos. The orders are then passed down the line to the soldiers. This makes it difficult under most circumstances for the police to directly implicate a boss in a crime, since he almost never directly gives orders to
820-547: The Dáil the revelations that Cahill owned such expensive property in Cowper Downs , despite having never worked, remarking that Cahill must have needed the extra wall space to "hang his artwork by the Dutch masters." As a result, the Gardaí set up a Special Surveillance Unit (SSU), nicknamed "Tango Squad", to specifically target and monitor Cahill's gang on a permanent, 24/7 basis. Cahill
861-565: The Royal Navy , but was rejected, allegedly after offering to break into houses for them and because he had a criminal record. At age 16, he was convicted of two burglaries and sentenced to an industrial school run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate at Daingean , County Offaly . After his release, he met and married Frances Lawless, a girl from Rathmines , where his family was living. With his brothers, he continued to commit multiple burglaries in
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#1733114895452902-758: The Special Detective Unit (SDU) as well as Garda analysts or "techies" in other Garda regions, although often local Gardaí are unaware of the presence of the NSU operating in their area. Increasingly, the NSU is using technical and electronic espionage rather than physical and human intelligence , working with the SDU and Directorate of Military Intelligence (G2) of the Irish Defence Forces , mainly to counter terror, militant and subversive groups in Ireland, as well as serious crime (particularly drug trafficking) and
943-567: The Ulster loyalists , gave the Provisional IRA reason to order his assassination. A further incentive was provided by Gilligan and Traynor, from whom the Provisionals allegedly demanded and received a considerable sum in exchange for Cahill's assassination. Even though Frances Cahill's memoir, Martin Cahill, My Father , alleges the General detested and steered clear of drug trafficking , his brother Peter
984-569: The CAB seized and subsequently sold the property. Cahill was a diabetic. Cahill was married to Frances Lawless with whom he fathered five children. However, it is also believed that Cahill had, with Frances' approval, a mistress in his wife's younger sister Tina Lawless, with whom Cahill is believed to have fathered a further four children. This polygamous arrangement was depicted in the 1998 biopic of Cahill's life, The General . In 1998 John Boorman (who had lived in Ireland for nearly 20 years) directed
1025-464: The Gardaí began investigating. They quickly found that Kavanagh had claimed child allowance during his two-week "capture", and so arrested him. Cahill then planned with Kavanagh to "raid" Kavanagh's home, and show intent to kill the Lacey family by shooting Kavanagh in the leg. Kavanagh was then to call the Irish newspapers from his hospital bed, and claim he was a victim of the Lacey kidnapping gang. However,
1066-572: The activities of hostile foreign governments on Irish soil ( counterintelligence ). The Garda NSU is considered the most covert unit of the force, and according to the Department of Justice: "It is the policy of An Garda Síochána not to comment on any matters relating to the operation of the National Surveillance Unit." The Garda NSU operates a small number of "Ghost Teams" or "Ghost Units", which conduct " Black bag operations ", whereby
1107-741: The affluent neighbourhoods nearby, at one point even robbing the Garda Síochána depot for confiscated firearms. The Cahill brothers soon turned to armed robbery, and by the early 1970s Gardaí at the Dublin Central Detective Unit (CDU) had identified the Cahill brothers as major criminals, when they teamed up with the notorious Dunne gang in Crumlin to rob security vans conveying cash from banks. In 1978, Dublin Corporation began preparing to demolish Hollyfield Buildings . Cahill, then serving
1148-494: The building. The plan was to abduct NIB CEO Jim Lacey, his wife and four children and take them to an isolated hiding place. There, they would be held with fellow gang member Jo Jo Kavanagh , acting as a "hostage", who would frighten Lacey into handing over every penny stored in the bank's vaults. On 1 November 1993, Cahill's gang seized Lacey and his wife outside his home in Blackrock . Whilst they were held at Lacey's home, Kavanagh
1189-491: The increasing role that forensic science could play in detecting his robberies, in May 1982 Cahill had a bomb placed under the car of chief forensic scientist, James O'Donovan , partly disabling him. In February 1988, a Today Tonight report identified Cahill as the man behind the O'Donovan bomb plot, the 1986 Russborough House robbery and the robbery of O'Connors jewellery depot. As a result, PD leader Dessie O'Malley raised in
1230-568: The night of 26 February 1988 (including 90 belonging to his neighbours in Cowper Downs). Cahill returned home to find his own Mercedes-Benz smashed. In early 1993, John "The Coach" Traynor , met his boss Cahill, to provide him with inside information about the inner workings of the National Irish Bank (NIB) head office and branch at College Green , Dublin. Traynor told Cahill that the bank regularly held more than IR£10 million in cash in
1271-619: The paintings for money, which they used to fund arms trafficking from South Africa under apartheid . This act allegedly sealed Cahill's fate, and put him at the top of an IRA hit list. In a later statement, the IRA said that it was Cahill's "involvement with and assistance to pro-British death squads which forced us to act". Another theory surfaced after the publication of Paul Williams ' The General , which claims to have insights from Garda cold case investigators who were still looking into Cahill's murder. Reputedly, two of Cahill's underlings, John Gilligan and John Traynor , had put together
Martin Cahill - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-412: The plan failed, and the gang were arrested. With all gang members from the Lacey kidnapping released on bail, on 18 August 1994, Cahill left the house at which he had been staying at Swan Grove and began driving to a local shop. Upon reaching a road junction (where Oxford Road meets Charleston Road) he was repeatedly shot in the face and upper torso and died almost instantly. The gunman, who was armed with
1353-521: The scenes (either by choice or to avoid police scrutiny). "Street bosses" are often particularly influential or powerful caporegimes or underbosses , and the term is sometimes used interchangeably with "acting boss" or "front boss" depending on the circumstances. When a boss dies, the crime family members choose a new boss from inside the organization. The typical structure within the Mafia in Sicily and America
1394-431: The soldiers. The term Mr. Big is used within the underworld , and additionally during media reportings of persons associated with criminal activities, to refer to a leader of a body of persons functioning in the capacities of roles within organised crime. Sometimes bosses of the so-called gangland are referred to as being Mr Big , as for example when he could not be named for legal reasons. The term implicitly indicates
1435-439: The sole power to sanction murders inside and outside the family. If the boss is incarcerated or incapacitated, he usually retains the title of "boss" but may appoint an acting boss who is responsible for running the crime family in his stead or on a more daily basis. In addition to "boss" and "acting boss", some families have at times officially or unofficially utilized the positions of front boss and street boss . A "front boss"
1476-462: The time he was in school, Martin and his older brother John were stealing food to supplement the family's income. In 1960, the family was moved to Captain's Road, Crumlin , as part of the Dublin slum clearances . Martin was sent to a Christian Brothers School (CBS) on the same road where he lived but was soon playing truant and committing frequent burglaries with his brothers. At 15, he attempted to join
1517-468: Was also used by the media to discuss Cahill's activities while avoiding legal problems with libel. Cahill took particular care to hide his face from the media — he would spread the fingers of one hand and cover his face. He was born in a slum district in Grenville Street in Dublin 's north inner city, the second of twelve surviving children of Patrick Cahill, a lighthouse-keeper, and Agnes Sheehan. By
1558-457: Was brought in and tied up, telling the family that he had been abducted two weeks before. On 2 November, Kavanagh drove Lacey to College Green to collect the ransom money, with Lacey eventually withdrawing IR£300,000 from an accessible cash machine. After the cash had been handed over to the gang, Kavanagh told Gardaí that the pair had been kidnapped and forced to take part in a robbery. With a ransom note requesting payment of IR£10 million in cash,
1599-407: Was given the callsign Tango-1. The SSU also placed a direct presence on the estate at Cowper Downs, positioning a surveillance unit in the home of developer John Sisk, whose house backed onto Cahill's. Following the arrest of two of Cahill's associates in an attempted robbery, and resentful of the large Garda presence near his home, Cahill retaliated by ordering his men to slash the tyres of 197 cars on
1640-553: Was imprisoned for heroin trafficking. After a Roman Catholic requiem mass , Martin Cahill was buried in consecrated ground at Mount Jerome Cemetery . In 2001, his gravestone was vandalised and broken in two. Following the 1996 murder of journalist Veronica Guerin , the Dáil set up the Criminal Assets Bureau , to seize assets of those who were both convicted of crimes, and also seemingly had no obvious means of income. The CAB
1681-526: Was set up to focus mainly on high-profile drug dealers but had an open approach to all convicted criminals. Cahill denied that he was ever involved in drug dealing; however, his brother Peter was convicted of supplying heroin in the 1980s. In 1984, Cahill had bought his growing family a house on the Cowper Downs development, on the southside of Dublin, paying IR£80,000 cash despite having no paid formal employment since he left his first and only job in 1969. On 1 May 2005, under an agreement with his widow Frances,