- Who is in protective custody after allegedly providing information to the Irish police leading to the recovery of the sledgehammer used to break down the cottage door during the Real IRA murder of Denis Donaldson?
- Why was Liam McGinley released by UK authorities in 2002?
- Is he now in protective custody or is he serving a three year prison sentence for theft, convicted in February 2009 at Letterkenny District Court?
- Did McGinley lead Gardai to the sledgehammer used in the Donaldson murder, or did Declan Gallagher lead them to the sledgehammer?
- Is Declan Gallagher also in protective custody?
News Articles in Chronological order by date:
1997
* LIAM MCGINLEY
Liam Copeland McGinley was arrested at Bletchley rail station after allegedly robbing four youths at knifepoint. In between court appearances he went on the run and remained on the run for five years. He was also apparently wanted in connection with offenses in Rugby. Liam McGinley was also known at the time as "Liam Copeland".
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1997 - 2002
* LIAM MCGINLEY
Liam McGinley was on the run. He was apparently living in Ireland (Sligo) for at least part of the time.
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SEPTEMBER 25, 2002
* LIAM MCGINLEY
Liam McGinley aka Liam Copeland was arrested at Holyhead, North Wales, after arriving on a ferry from Ireland on Sept 23, 2002. McGinley had arrived from Sligo (Co. Donegal). Facing four robbery charges, he was delivered to Aylesbury police station in Buckinghamshire. McGinley was released by the custody sergeant at 11pm - Thames Valley Police freed him on bail.
"Judge Tyrer said: ' Copeland, otherwise known as Liam McGinley, was committed on four robbery charges in 1997 but he absconded and had not been since until yesterday. 'He was arrested and arrived at Aylesbury police station. At 11 pm, for reasons that I do not begin to understand, he was bailed. Where on earth the bailing officer thought Mr Copeland was going to live at 11 o'clock at night having come from Sligo is beyond even my comprehension.'
Judge Tyrer revealed the McGinley was also wanted in Rugby in connection with other offenses. He issued a new warrant. Thames Valley police blamed a 'gray area' in procedure.
SOURCES:
Captured fugitive is bailed and goes back on the run / Daily Mail (Article)
Man of the People - Liam Copeland / People (Comment)
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NOVEMBER 20, 2007
* LIAM MCGINLEY
On November 20, 2007, at around 2am, "Liam Copeland McGinley", aged 28, was shot and left for dead on a remote track at the edge of the Derryveagh Mountairs, near the village of Churchhill in Co Donegal. The location was described as being a remote spot between Milford and Ramelton, Co Donegal. He was seriously wounded by a shotgun blast to the abdomen.
McGinley managed to struggle more than a mile to a nearby house, owned by a man in his '70s, who said McGinley was pale, covered in blood, with dirty clothes, in shock and babbling. The man brought him to a taxi driver who drove McGinley to Letterkenny General Hospital (Conflicting reports, some say an ambulance was called.)
He was treated first at the Letterkenny hospital where he was treated for serious injuries to his liver and underwent surgery. He was transfered to Dublin's Mater Hospital later that afternoon.
It was initially thought that McGinley was abducted or may have been lured to the area by his attackers. Later reports stated that he had been abducted in Letterkenny.
Gardai were notified by medics at Letterkenny General Hospital at around 2:30am. It was understood that McGinley did not want to make a formal complaint to gardai about the shooting.
Gardai initiated a manhunt and the area was searched by police with a helicopter and sniffer dogs looking for clues to the gunman's identity. Irish police were said to be keeping an "open mind" over the motive for the shooting.
Initial reports cautiously blamed suspected drug dealers. McGinley had been living in Letterkenny for some time. He was originally from Falcarragh.
Sources:
Man lives through murder bid / Mirror
Man shot / Irish News
Man shot and left for dead by suspected drug dealers / Press Assoc
Probe after man shot in stomach (EXCERPT) / Irish Independent
Shot man left to die by gang / The Sun
Shotgun victim in mile trek for help / The Mirror
Shooting: Has 'gangland' arrived in Donegal? / Donegal News
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MARCH 27, 2008
* LIAM MCGINLEY
On March 27, 2008, four houses in the general Annagry and Gweedore areas (Co Donegal) were raided by the gardai. The raid was carried out by both uniformed and plain clothes gardai from Letterkenny, Glenties, Annagry and Dungloe. A man was detained at Milford Garda station.
The Garda Press Office provided little information, however it was understood that the operation was part of an ongoing investigation into the attempted murder of Liam McGinley in November 2007. McGinley was said to be a father of two, from Falcarragh.
SOURCE:
Man arrested in Donegal after raids / Irish Times
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SEPTEMBER 25, 2008
* DECLAN GALLAGHER
On September 25, 2007, at around 9:20pm, masked Real IRA men shot Declan Gallagher, 26, as he drove up to his home in Transallagh, near the border village of St Johnston, Co Donegal. At least one shot was fired from a handgun through the windscreen of Gallagher's Audi car. His girlfriend was abducted and the couple's 3 month old St Bernard puppy was wounded and later died.
Gallagher was wounded in the neck but managed to drive to a neighbor's house in Manorcunningham where an ambulance was called. His girlfriend jumped from the car when the shooting began and tried to flee but was bundled into a large blue van. The masked men dumped her on the side of the road after driving for a few kilometres.
Gallagher underwent surgery at Letterkenny General Hospital. A local vet, Gerard Roarty, operated on the puppy for four hours. The puppy later died.
Gallagher was a taxi driver from the Creggan area of Derry. He had moved to Donegal in March 2008. Sources said he moved because he knew his life was in danger.
It was the second shooting in St Johnston within a year. Nine months previously, Michael McDaid was shot in his home in St Johnston by masked men claiming to be from the Republican Defence Army.
Gardai immediately suspected the involvement of the Real IRA and requested anyone with information call the Letterkenny Garda Station. The Real IRA later admitted responsibility for the attack and accused him of being in a loyalist backed drugs gang. Later news reports stated that it was understood the Real IRA was responsible for the shooting and the October pipe bomb. Still later reports claimed the attack had been the work of the INLA.(See below.)
SOURCES:
Gardai search for gun-attack gang / The Irish News
Hero puppy takes bullet / The Sun
Pup is shot in hit on owner / The Sun
10 families evacuated after bomb incident / Irish Times
Gun blast man flees firebomb / The Sun
Pipe - bomb target previously shot by RIRA / The Irish News
Fire attack on house / The Sun
Dissident Republican threat - Omagh bombing brought home new paramilitary threat / The Irish News
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OCTOBER 27, 2008
* DECLAN GALLAGHER
On October 27, 2008, Declan Gallagher's house in Transallagh, St Johnston, Co. Donegal was attacked with an explosives device. A telephone warning had been made to a priest in Derry and the full security alert was initiated. Gardaí discovered the partially exploded bomb shortly before 9.30pm. Gallagher escaped uninjured. Gallagher had been shot in the neck by the Real IRA on November 25, 2008 (see above).
A bomb disposal team from Athlone barracks arrived the following morning and dismantled the incendiary device (a pipe-bomb attached to a 5 gallon drug of petrol) after it partially exploded. The device had functioned properly but had not ignighted the petrol. The "all clear" was given at 9:55am. The remains of the device were handed to gardai for forensic examination.
11 properties / 10 families in the area were evacuated shortly before 10 pm and remained cordoned off the next day as officers carried out secondary searches of the vicinity. Neighbors returned to their homes around 4pm.
Security sources believe this second attack was also the work of the Real IRA. Later news reports stated that it was understood the Real IRA was responsible for the pipe bomb and the shooting.
SOURCES:
Shooting victim escapes firebomb attack / Press Assoc
10 families evacuated after bomb incident / Irish Times
Gun blast man flees firebomb / The Sun
Pipe - bomb target previously shot by RIRA / The Irish News
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DECEMBER 28, 2008
* DECLAN GALLAGHER
On December 28, 2008, Declan Gallagher's unoccupied house in St. Johnston was gutted by fire. The blaze was discovered by neighbors shortly before midnight. The house was destroyed. Noone had lived in the house since Gallagher was shot and wounded outside it the previous September. There had also been a pipe-bomb left at the house in October. The cause of the fire was said by garda to be under investigation. It was understood at the time that the Real IRA was responsible for the two previous attacks against Gallagher (the Sept. shooting and the October pipebomb.)
SOURCES:
Blaze guts home of gun attack victim / Irish Independent
Fire attack on house / The Sun
New attack on house / The Irish News
Shot man's home blaze / Mirror
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FEBRUARY 2009
An inquest into Mr Donaldson's killing was postponed for a year after Detective Superintendent Eugene McGovern revealed that gardai were investigating a definite new line of inquiry which had only recently come to light. Mr McGovern refused to reveal details at that time. McGovern told the inquest that the assistant commissioner had informed the Donaldson family about the new line of inquiry which, he indicated, would take gardai some time to pursue.
SOURCES:
Ex-RIRA man gives Donaldson evidence / Irish News
Donaldson informant kept hidden Belfast Telegraph
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FEBRUARY 9, 2009
* DECLAN GALLAGHER
Derry drug dealer Jim McConnell was gunned down in his Woodland Avenue home in the Waterside area of the city on February 9, 2009. The INLA were believed to have carried out the attack and the attempted murder of his close associate Declan Gallagher (see above).
SOURCE:
Dissident Republican threat - Omagh bombing brought home new paramilitary threat / The Irish News
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APRIL 13, 2009
At the 32 County Sovereignty Movement Easter Rising commemoration in Derry City cemetery on April 13, 2009, the Real IRA claimed it had carried out the murder of Denis Donaldson, adding the chilling warning that “no traitor will escape justice regardless of time, rank or past actions.”
SOURCE:
Donaldson informant kept hidden / Belfast Telegraph
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APRIL 14, 2009
* DECLAN GALLAGHER
On April 14, 2009, the Irish News reported that a former dissident republican was understood to be in police protective custody after providing the Garda with vital forensic evidence which could identify the Real IRA killers of Denis Donaldson. The Real IRA had announced the previous weekend that it was responsible for the murder of former Sinn Fein leader, Denis Donaldson, in April 2006 at a remote cottage near Glenties, Co. Donegal. Donaldson had admitted to spying for the British military intelligence for over 20 years and his murder had intially been blamed on the Provisional IRA. The Real IRA made the announcement during its annual Easter statement.
The Real IRA claimed that it had used a sledgehammer to break down the door of the cottage, chased Donaldson to a back bedroom and then blasted him with a shotgun. Donaldson was shot four times in the chest, face, arm and hand.
On April 13, 2009, security sources claimed that the Real IRA had been forced into admitting the murder after it emerged that one of its former members had passed information about the killing onto gardai and was now in protective custody in the Republic of Ireland..
The article then outlines the details (as above) of Declan Gallagher's shooting in September 2008, as well as the pipe bomb that partially exploded outside his home October 2008. The article does not however name him.
Police would not comment.
SOURCE:
Ex-RIRA man gives Donaldson evidence / Irish News
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APRIL 17, 2009
* DECLAN GALLAGHER
On April 17, 2009, the Irish News reported that a leading dissident republican, Gary 'Donzo' Donnelly responded to their article of April 14, 2009 regarding Gallagher (see above). Donnelly denied that Gallagher been a member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement or the Real IRA. As above, the article revealed that Gallagher (not named, known by the details provided), led gardai to a sledgehammer believed to have been used in the attack on Donaldson.
Also on April 17th, the Belfast Telegraph reported that "a man" was in Garda protective custody after providing crucial information that could lead to the capture of Denis Donaldson's killers. While also not naming Gallagher, details were given of the previous attacks on him. The article stated that the protective custody claims were made by Republican sources and that Gallagher (not named) had led investigators to the hiding place of the sledgehammer used to break down Donaldson's door. It was hoped that Gardai might be able to recover forensic evidence from the sledgehammer.
The Londonderry Sentinel on April 17, 2009, also reported the protective custody claims and other information as above, also not naming Gallagher, but referring to the attacks more specifically as having taken place in Transallagh, St Johnston, and that "the man" had moved from St Johnston after the attacks.
The Irish Independent also covered the story on this date, reporting the same general information above, as did the Derry Journal in an article dated April 22, 2009.
SOURCES:
Dissident denies 'key witness' RIRA link / The Irish News
Donaldson informant kept hidden / Belfast Telegraph
Londonderry informer in protective custody claim /Londonderry Sentinel
Man in protective custody over spy murder claim / Irish Independent
Dissidents reject protective custody claims / Derry Journal
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JUNE 21, 2009
* LIAM MCGINLEY
On June 21, 2009, the Sunday Times reported that a "republican", Liam McGinley, from Letterkenny, was set to give evidence after identifying the killers of Denis Donaldson. The article stated that a man who was abducted and shot by dissident republicans had made an offer to testify in court against Real IRA members in the northwest. McGinley was said to have been under garda protection although it was unclear as to whether he had been formally admitted into the witness protection program. Files were being studied by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The article details the November 2007 abduction and shooting of McGinley (see above). McGinley was not accused of being a member of the Real IRA but had extensive contacts with the group's members in Donegal and Letterkenny, including senior terrorists suspected of organising attacks on British security forces. Garda sources were confident of pressing charges against three suspects involved in the Donaldson murder. McGinley, along with identifying the killers had allegedly disclosed certain information regarding what happened to the weapon used in the killing.
Originally from Scotland, McGinley grew up in Falcarragh but was not known to gardai as a serious criminal or a republican sympathiser. He was known in Letterkenny as a troublemaker who often appeared in court charged with public-order offences. In one incident, he was accused of threatening an undercover member of the garda drugs squad after being stopped and searched in Letterkenny.
On June 23, 2009 the Derry Journal published an article giving the same information - that McGinley had informed the gardai as to the identities of Denis Donaldson's murderers and his offer to testify against the Real IRA.
SOURCES:
RIRA victim reveals who murdered spy; Republican set to give evidence after identifying killers of Denis Donaldson / The Sunday Times
Letterkenny man reveals Donaldson killers to gardaí / Derry Journal
Man may testify against Real IRA /Derry Journal
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FEBRUARY 3, 2010
* LIAM MCGINLEY
Liam McGinley was sentenced at Letterkenny District Court to three years in prison over the theft on November 5, 2007 of more than £4,500 worth of jewellery and £2,000 cash from Joe McCullagh, with whom McGinley had spent the day drinking. Garda Conor Drury had been called to go to the Ramada Hotel in Letterkenny where Joe McCullagh alleged he had been robbed by two men. Joe McCullagh was from 30 Gortnamaddy Park, Ballycastle, County Antrim. He had been drinking all day with McGinley and two others. Early in the evening he had been refused a drink at the bar and asked to leave. He and the three men left through the back door. McCullagh returned a short while later saying he had been pushed down a fire escape onto the ground where his gold chains,valued at £3,500, were ripped from his neck and two rings valued at £500 each were also removed. Between 1,500 and 2,000 sterling, from the recent sale of his house, was also removed from his wallet along with his driver's licence and credit card. He had received several blows to the back of the head and back. The jewellery was never recovered.
SOURCE:
Three-year sentence for robbing man of cash and jewellery / Donegal News
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FEBRUARY 4 / 5, 2010
* LIAM MCGINLEY / * DECLAN GALLAGHER
A fourth postponement to the inquest into the death of Denis Donaldson was granted on February 4. The inquiry was adjourned for six months.
In November 2007, a preliminary hearing was adjourned after gardai told the coroner that they were considering criminal proceedings. Donaldson's family lodged official complaints against gardai over concerns that Donaldson had not been properly warned that his life was under threat,and over the investigation team's refusal to state whether his cottage had been under electronic surveillance at the time of his murder.
The inquest was postponed for a second time in May 2008.
It was adjourned for a third time in February 2009 after it was revealed that gardai were following a "new line of inquiry". At that time a solicitor for the Donaldson family said they would not object to the adjournment but warned that unless the case had progressed by the next hearing they would seek a date for completion.
It later emerged that Letterkenny man Liam McGinley had been taken into protective custody after having given gardai information about the murder. McGinley is understood to have identified the killers to detectives. He is also understood to have passed on information which led to the recovery of a sledgehammer which the killers had used to break down the door of the cottage during the attack.
The Donaldson family expressed concerns that no one had been arrested for the murder despite McGinley having been in protective custody for over two years.
The Irish News (February 5, 2010) stated: "It is believed the evidence relates to a witness who was placed in protective custody after allegedly revealing the hiding place of a sledgehammer used in the shooting." The article does not give any specific details regarding the individual referred to as the witness. Based on the sources above, it could be referring to Declan Gallagher, or it could be referring to Liam McGinley.
SOURCES:
New delay to spy's inquest expected / The Irish News
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MARCH 25, 2010
* LIAM MCGINLEY
Martin Kelly was charged the previous week with unlawful possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life in February 2008. The charges were linked to the murder of Andrew Burns who was killed by Oglaigh Na hEireann in Co Donegal in 2008. Reports were that Kelly had agreed to cooperate with gardai following his arrest. He was one of three men arrested by the PSNI days after Andrew Burns was abducted and shot dead in Donnyloop.
In February, 2010, Kelly was among six men arrested in Co Donegal in connection with dissident activity. Kelly and two others were freed. Three others were charged with Oglaigh Na hEireann membership.
"In November 2007 Letterkenny man Liam McGinley was taken into protective custody after passing on information to gardai about the Real IRA murder of Denis Donaldson. McGinley is reported to have identified the killers to gardai and to have passed on information which led to the recovery of a sledgehammer the Real IRA gang had used to break down the door of Donaldson's cottage in Co Donegal in April 2006 before killing him. McGinley is understood to have agreed to cooperate after having been abducted and shot by the Real IRA in November 2007. "
SOURCE:
'Dissidents in turmoil' claim Irish News
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