Drogheda feud timeline: main events so far

Over 70 feud-related incidents have occurred in greater Drogheda area, according to gardaí

Taxi at the scene of shooting, Bridge of Peace, Drogheda. Photograph: Ciara Wilkinson
Taxi at the scene of shooting, Bridge of Peace, Drogheda. Photograph: Ciara Wilkinson

1. July 2018: Cement Road – A local man known to be involved in criminal activity is shot and wounded in Drogheda. He survives his injuries but is left paralysed after the attempted murder. The attack is regarded as attempted murder and effectively begins what becomes known as the 'Drogheda feud'. Tensions had been simmering for months between two rival factions based mainly in Drogheda but dealing drugs in the Louth and Meath regions

2. November 2018: Moneymore estate – Gardaí find young man stripped, beaten and stabbed in a bathroom. He had been abducted a short time earlier by members of a rival gang. The abduction followed an arson attack that destroyed a car 24 hours earlier. Following the rescue by gardaí, the fire brigade had to deal with a car that was set on fire with gas cylinders inside

3. December 2018: Laurence's Park, near Moneymore estate – Petrol bomb thrown through a window into the front room of a house. Further petrol-bomb attacks follow over the proceeding few days

4. February 2019: Drogheda retail park – Man shot in neck while sitting in a car in a retail park in the town. Victim survived but suffered life-changing injuries. He is a close associate of the man shot and paralysed in July 2018

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March 2019: A local councillor, Ruairí Ó Murchú tells the Drogheda Joint Policing Committee he is aware of a man who paid one of the gangs €40,000 to clear a debt they said was owed by his daughter. "People are afraid, they are embarrassed, they just want it to go away, so they pay," he said. Chief Supt Christy Mangan of the Louth Garda division warns families not to pay the gangs when money is demanded.

A burnt-out house in Drogheda’s Moneymore estate following a petrol-bombing incident.
A burnt-out house in Drogheda’s Moneymore estate following a petrol-bombing incident.

5. April 2019: Hardmans Gardens – Man wounded outside house a Hardmans Gardens; again suffering gunshot wounds. Up to nine shots were fired from a busy street at the man, with gardaí describing the attack as "indiscriminate". Further arson and petrol bomb attacks follow the incident

6. May 2019: Drogheda town centre – Local residents rally against the spate of violent incidents in the town.

June 2019: A man is shot and wounded as he drives his car in Drogheda in an attack that gardaí believe is feud-related. The victim is able to drive himself to hospital. A number of arson attacks on houses are carried out in the following hours.

7. August 27th, 2019: Aisling Caravan Park, Clogherhead – Keith Branigan (29), an associate of a leading criminal in one of the gangs, is working on decking on a newly installed mobile home when he is shot dead.

8. November 5th, 2019: Castlemartin Drive, Bettystown – 39-year-old Richard Carbery is shot dead in Bettystown, Co Meath in an incident gardaí suspect is linked to the ongoing feud.

9. January 13th, 2020: Bridge of Peace, Drogheda - An innocent taxi driver is injured in a shooting in Drogheda town centre during the Monday evening rush hour The driver, who was the unintended victim, described the experience as "terrifying". The target was his front seat passenger, who is believed to be a key figure in the feud.

10. January 15th, 2020 - Gardaí confirm that limbs discovered in a bag in Dublin are those of missing Co Louth teenager Keane Mulready-Woods. Senior Garda officers sau they are shocked by the brutality of the murder and the way the 17-year-old's body was dismembered.