A man described as a “senior lieutenant” in the Kinahan organised crime gang has been jailed for 24 years at the Special Criminal Court.
Sean McGovern (40) pleaded guilty to two charges of directing the activities of a criminal organisation relating to the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud in which he was shot.
The charge of directing a criminal organisation carried a potential sanction of up to life imprisonment.
With a previous address at Kildare Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12, McGovern pleaded guilty in March to directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 20th and December 22nd, 2016, in relation to the murder of Noel Kirwan, a 62-year-old grandfather who was regarded as a “soft target”.
He also admitted directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 17th, 2015, and April 6th, 2017, in connection with the surveillance of Hutch family associate James “Mago” Gately in preparation for the commission of an indictable offence.
McGovern appeared in the dock of the packed courtroom wearing a white shirt with navy cardigan and flanked by prison officers. He had a small group of supporters in court.
Judge Patrick McGrath described McGovern as “a senior trusted lieutenant of the [Kinahan] organisation in Ireland”, adding he “was a significant figure in his own right”.
The Kinahan crime group was a “particularly large, well organised, sinister and dangerous organisation”, the judge said.
McGovern had directed others to kill Kirwan and to try to kill Gately in the context of a feud with the Hutch crime group.
Gately had carried the coffin of Gary Hutch – after his murder by the Kinahan cartel in Spain in 2015 – “and was therefore considered to be part of that group”.
Preparations to shoot dead Gately were “minutely and carefully planned in advance”, the judge said. This was exposed by “an extensive investigation” by the Garda, which included securing records – secret texts – of conversations between suspects.
As he went about his crimes, the court said it was clear McGovern was “receiving instructions from persons further up the organisational structure” in the Kinahan group.
McGrath noted Noel Kirwan had no involvement in crime and therefore had no security arrangements in place. The judge said he was a friend of the Hutch family and was a “soft target” or an “easy target” for the Kinahan crime group.
McGovern, who used the handle “Knife” in a secret messaging group, had taken on a senior and direct role in the murder of Kirwan, known affectionately as Duck Egg.
He had also suggested on a secret messaging chain with other Kinahan gang members that a gunman referred to as “Teeth” should be assigned to kill Kirwan to boost his morale.
“I reckon putting the Teeth on the Duck to get his confidence back,” McGovern wrote.
Referring to this, the judge said: “In other words, a member of the Kinahan organised crime group was to be assigned to kill Mr Kirwan, an easy victim, in order to get his confidence back.”
Though McGovern was taking orders from more senior figures in the Kinahan group and was not the author of the plans to kill Kirwan or Gately, he was much more involved in the Kirwan plan, which resulted in the 62-year-old being shot five times outside his home in December 2016.
It was clear from Garda evidence, McGrath said, that McGovern “planned, oversaw and directed the murder” of Kirwan. He was aware the killing of Kirwan was going ahead “on a particular day at a particular place”.
The judge said McGovern had received information relating to Kirwan’s “precise whereabouts” in real time from a tracking device on his car. This information was passed on “to those lying in wait” to shoot Kirwan outside his home.
Because he had such a direct role, the headline sentence, before mitigation, was 20 years as it was on the upper end of the scale for directing organised crime.
The headline sentence for the Gately plot, before mitigation, was 16 years.
However, the court ruled the sentences should run consecutively. When the headline sentences were reduced to take account of McGovern’s early guilty plea, the sentence for directing Kirwan’s murder was 14 years and the sentence for directing the failed effort to murder Gately was 10 years.
When combined, to run consecutively, the total sentence imposed on McGovern was 24 years.
The court backdated the sentence to October 2024, as McGovern has been in custody since then, having been arrested in Dubai before his extradition to Ireland in May, 2025.
The sentencing of McGovern is a “lesson to those who glorify organised crime and promote it as a way of life”, a senior investigator has said.
Det Supt Dave Gallagher said: “The sentencing today of Sean McGovern is significant in holding to account a key person who was engaged in directing the activities of a violent criminal organisation engaged in a campaign of ruthless murder and violence which impacted so negatively on our communities and Ireland’s national reputation.
“I wish to pay tribute to the Kirwan family whose innocent father, Noel, was brutally murdered, for no other reason except to portray power in the criminal underworld, by Sean McGovern, working with and directing others, who believed they were untouchable.”
Gallagher, of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, added: “Let the conviction and sentence of Mr McGovern today be a lesson to those who glorify organised crime and promote it as a way of life.
“There are no untouchables and law enforcement is committed to the pursuit and prosecution of those who are the leaders, the decision makers and the facilitators.
“Our investigations are continuing and I appeal to anybody with information on these crimes, please contact us in confidence on the Garda confidential line (1800 666 111) or at any Garda station.”
