The Gilligan Tapes Ireland’s Most Notorious Crime Boss In His Own Words

‘I DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD, BUT I KNOW I’M GOING TO HELL.’ In this remarkable book – the first of its kind – journalist Jason O’Toole distils hours of sensational face-to-face, no-holds-barred interviews with the feared criminal John Gilligan into a fast-paced and jaw-dropping account of the Irish gangland scene. Starting out as a petty thief in Dublin, Gilligan rapidly rose to the status of crime lord, mixing with serious criminals such as Martin ‘The General’ Cahill, Christy ‘The Dapper Don’ Kinahan, Patrick ‘Dutchy’ Holland and John ‘The Coach’ Traynor. He was deeply involved with money laundering, miraculously survived an assassination attempt, and it is said he has millions stashed away at a secret location. O’Toole demands answers to all the hard questions; some of Gilligan’s responses will make readers shiver. Gilligan knew that laying all his cards on the table could mean signing his own death warrant. But he has done it here. And with a cast of all the country’s deadliest underworld figures, this exposé is nothing short of explosive.

Born in Dublin, Jason O’ Toole has worked as a journalist, columnist, editor and publisher. He was Senior Editor of Hot Press for six years, and his journalism has also appeared in the Irish Daily Mail, The Sunday Times, Irish Independent, La Repubblica, Playboy and Empire. O’ Toole is the author of nine books, including The Path to Power: Brian Cowen (2008), Memory Man (with Jimmy Magee, 2012) and the bestselling Crime Ink (2009), an anthology of his in-depth interviews with Ireland’ s most notorious criminals.

CONTENTS Introduction Tape One: The Rise of the Street Urchin Tape Two: The Apprenticeship of Factory John Tape Three: A Portrait of a Gangster as a Family Man Tape Four: The General and his Consigliere Tape Five: Gilligan’ s Drugs Empire Tape Six: Veronica Guerin Tape Seven: The Killing of a Brave Journalist Tape Eight: Belmarsh Prison Tape Nine: A Shock Judgment Tape Ten: Jailbird Years Tape Eleven: The Cat Burglar with Nine Lives Tape Twelve: Gilligan’ s Belfast Blues Tape Thirteen: An Ex-Con in Exile Acknowledgements