Notorious gang boss linked to dead drug mule 

THIS is the notorious crime boss who was today linked to the drugs mule who died after a cocaine stash burst in his stomach.
Martin ‘Butch’ Beirne died when the drugs he had swallowed in condoms ruptured while he was in a South American hotel room.
Gardai believe he was in Venezuela to collect cocaine on behalf of a major Sligo based drugs gang, led by 30-year-old Patrick Irwin, who control drug dealing in the north west. Irwin, of St Joseph's Terrace, Sligo, was jailed for seven years last year after being caught with €67,000 worth of cocaine.
Irwin's mob, which includes his brothers Hughie and Thomas, are closely linked to major criminal gangs in Dublin and Limerick.
Two other Irish nationals travelling with Beirne were arrested and are being held in jail in the Venezuelan capital Caracas where they are due to face drugs trafficking charges.

The Irwins were business associates of murdered crime boss Eamon Dunne and the feared Limerick crime faction, the Keane/Collopys.
Associates of Hughie and Patrick Irwin are believed to have carried out the murders of Traveller criminal Hughie McGinley in 2005 and armed robber David Lynch in 2008.
During the week, in a completely unrelated case, Lynch's thug brother John Lynch (33), of Church View in Boyle, Roscommon, pleaded guilty to starting the blaze that killed schoolgirl Mari Connolly last year.
island
Meanwhile, in March 2008, gardai launched Operation Golf to target the Irwin gang -- considered to be the biggest drugs gang in Connacht as well as Co Donegal.
Over a three-day period in 2008, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), which was backed up by local gardai, the Organised Crime Unit, Emergency Response Unit, Air Support Unit and other specialist squads, searched 19 addresses including an island.
They also seized three houses, an ice-cream van, a boat and a number of cars in what was described as one of the biggest operations ever carried out by the CAB.
Last December, Hughie Irwin (34) was ordered to hand over a boat, an ice-cream van and almost €90,000 in cash to the State after a High Court hearing.
handgun
When his younger brother Patrick was busted in October 2006, he was caught with €55,000 in cash and almost a kilo of cocaine.
In January of last year, Patrick's former girlfriend Deirdre Moran (26) who has a child with him, was jailed for five years after being found guilty of transporting a handgun.
Speaking at Moran's trial, her lawyer Alan Toal said his client had severed her links with the gangster.
He told the court: "The horrible part of this is that the people who should be here in court are not and she is and this greatly troubles me."

The frenzy started from the day I was elected ... developers asked me out for tea and turned up outside my home -- Joan

MINISTER Joan Burton said developers and lobbyists bombarded her with offers the moment she was first elected as a councillor.
The Minister for Social Protection revealed in a frank interview with the Herald that the system of developers specifically targeting politicians on the cusp of the building boom was akin to a "frenzy".
Ms Burton said she recalled seeing lobbyist Frank Dunlop "ticking off" the votes cast by councillors in relation to the development plan in Dublin.
The Labour minister was recognised by the Mahon Report for her role in preventing some of the excessive development in the Dublin region -- she consistently opposed rezoning at Quarryvale, now Liffey Valley.

And the west Dublin TD, who first raised concerns over a cash-for-votes scandal as far back as the 1990s, said that the planning system was not fully flawless.
"I became councillor to the old Dublin City Council in 1990. Almost on the day I was elected, the election count was hardly over and there were people approaching me about this and that development, to look at this map, inviting me out to breakfast or tea," she said. "Then I found people going to my home, writing me letters.
"There was an incredible array of people lobbying, telling me what they wanted to do. I wasn't even clear if they were the owners of the land or who they were."
Ms Burton described the time as an "innocent era" which morphed into something that was "hot and heavy" once the development plan got under way.
Floodgates
"When the development plan meetings were on, the developers and owners of land would crowd into the hallway leading into the (council) offices," she said.
"You had people pulling at your coat asking if they can have a word with you about some land. People were stuffed into the public galleries.
"I remember clearly seeing a man with a clipboard, looking very official in the public gallery, he was standing on his tip-toes and he had an assistant with him and he was ticking things off.
"I found later that this was Frank Dunlop -- he was ticking off the votes. There was a lot of pressure at that time."
The floodgates were open for development in Dublin city and surrounding areas and everyone wanted a piece of the pie.
And Ms Burton said the basic rules of planning were contravened due to the corruption which permeated the various levels of the process.
Commun-ities were not at the heart of the plans.
She said: "The plan was to have three plus one satellite towns -- this was Tallaght, Clondalkin, Blanchardstown and Swords -- the idea was to concentrate the development around the new towns.
"But if you think about it, Carrickmines was a long way from that. The developers wanted the prime choices. They were making a big killing."
The TD admits that the Labour Party didn't succeed in preventing the planning disaster.
"Were we able to do enough? No, we were not able to do enough," she said. "And we know the reason now. Money is the biggest persuader."

So who says we don't have a prayer at Euros? 

THE Irish team will have God on their side at the Euro 2012 championships -- thanks to a new chapel in the stadium where they will take on World Cup winners Spain.
Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni, who is known for his strong Catholic faith, is expected to visit the chapel at the PGE Arena of Gdansk, in Poland, ahead of the crunch match.
The non-denominational room of Christian inspiration was opened this week in preparation for the competition, which kicks off in June.
Euro 2012 spokesperson Michal Brandt told the Herald that officials in Gdansk had been anxious to provide for the spiritual needs of the teams playing in the city.
"We know that Trapattoni is very religious so we would not be surprised if he and some of the Irish players come here for a visit before the match to make one last quick prayer.
"This is the only stadium in the area which offers this kind of facility."
The Herald went behind scenes at the arena to discover what awaits Irish fans.
Drinks
A new train line is being built to ensure supporters will be able to travel from the fan village to the stadium in record speed.
The trip should take no more than several minutes, as the two venues are only 3km apart.
The tracks have been laid but the platform will only be completed towards the end of April.
"We now know which infrastructures will be done in time for the championships and which won't.
"All the essential transport links will be finished, the only one we expect to still be in construction by the time of the Euros is a new road heading towards Warsaw and a bridge on the road to the airport which should not affect fans," Mr Brandt assured.
Fans looking to enjoy a few drinks before or after the match will have to do so in the fan village, or on the beach situated several kilometres away from the stadium.
While Poland passed a law this year allowing supporters to drink beer at games as long the alcohol content remains low (3.5pc), UEFA will not allow any alcohol on the premises of the matches for security reasons.
The three group matches and the quarter-final game at the PGE Arena are deemed low-risk.
Nevertheless, Mr Brandt explained that there would be a strong police presence at the Ireland v Spain match.

"There will be around 15 or so spotters from each country dressed in civilian clothing who will mix in with the fans," he said.
"They obviously know the behaviour of their citizens better than any other force so that is the logic behind it. They are already co-operating with Polish officers to ensure that everything goes well.
"There will also be close to a hundred Polish officers outside the stadium, including a mounted and anti-riot brigade which hopefully won't be required.
"We have four cells in the stadium in case of aggressive fans. Police officers will carry pepper spray as well as Tasers. Meanwhile Irish fans should feel at home at the PGE Arena -- the stadium's colour scheme is white and green for the local team of Gdansk.
Falcons
Over 200 staff members, along with a hawk and two falcons, will be working the previous day to ensure that the grounds are in perfect condition for the event.
"We bring the hawk and falcons to the stadium around three times a week to keep pigeons away."
More than 42,000 seats will be filled on the day of the match and Mr Brandt believes tickets should still be available for fans travelling over at the last minute.
"I'm quite sure fans will still be able to get tickets on the day of the match, if they try to buy them a few hours before, they will probably pay twice or three times as much as the usual, but we've found that 10 minutes before a game, you can usually get some at nominal price. "
While the Polish summer is usually warm and dry, there are sometimes thunderstorms,and to prevent any accidents, the arena has been equipped with three lightning conductors going across the roof of the stadium.