Kinahan lieutenant a ‘caring, generous father’, court told

By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association

A sentencing hearing for a “senior lieutenant” in the Kinahan organised crime gang has heard he is a “committed father to two young girls”.

Sean McGovern, 40, has pleaded guilty to two charges of directing the activities of a criminal organisation relating to the deadly Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud in Ireland in which he himself was shot.

The charges relate to his involvement in the lead-up to the murder of Noel Kirwan, a grandfather who was shot dead in December 2016, and the targeting and monitoring of James Gately with a view to having him shot dead, which ultimately did not take place.

A sentencing hearing for McGovern heard that he wanted to apologise for all the hurt as a consequence of his actions.

The Special Criminal Court in Dublin previously heard there was no evidence Kirwan was involved in any criminality and had been targeted over a perceived connection to the Hutch organised crime group (OCG), as he had been photographed at a funeral of a Hutch family member.

Gardaí said McGovern had a role in the lead-up to the murder, linking him to activity through evidence relating to a tracker on Kirwan’s car and mobile phone calls around the time of the shooting.

It is our assertion Mr McGovern passed on the information to the hit team.

The court had also been told of McGovern’s involvement in the surveillance of Gately, with An Garda Síochána coming to the view that the Kinahan gang believed he was one of the gunmen of the 2016 Regency Hotel Shooting in which the defendant was shot and another man was killed.

The shooting of Gately did not happen after a hitman hired from Estonia was arrested after he arrived in Ireland.

The court was also told that McGovern was a “senior lieutenant” who was “three tiers” down in the Kinahan OCG.

A sentencing hearing in the non-jury three-judge court heard mitigating evidence on Friday.

Summarising character references for the court, McGovern’s barrister, Michael Bowman SC, said his client’s mother had described him as a “committed father to two young girls”.

Bowman said McGovern’s mother had highlighted how he was a “proficiently talented footballer” when he was younger, and also commented on the impact of the loss of his father, stating that the two were “very close”.

The father of the mother of McGovern’s daughters said he had always been present as a “caring, generous father”, according to Bowman.

The defence barrister said McGovern’s partner had also commented on the “turmoil” brought into their lives.

Bowman acknowledged that the Kirwan family were victims in the case but added that, in the background, there was a family and young children related to McGovern who had “done nothing wrong”.

McGovern, wearing a white shirt and jumper, was present but did not speak during the proceedings.

Det Sgt Dolan Daly told the court that it was the view of the investigation team that the defendant had “oversaw and directed the murder of Mr Kirwan”.

However, Bowman argued to the court that the evidence showed McGovern’s role was limited to passing on information about the surveillance of the victim and that there was no evidence he was involved in the planning of the murder or provision of firearms.

Det Sgt Daly said that, in the investigation into the murder of Kirwan, there was no evidence suggesting that McGovern was being directed by any other person on the day in question.

De said: “It is our assertion Mr McGovern passed on the information to the hit team.”

However, under questioning from Bowman, Det Sgt Daly said it was “fair” to say that there could have been other communications or devices used that were not detected.

He added that it could not be established that McGovern was the only one operating the tracking device or actually operating it at all, rather than passing on the information from a third party.

Bowman said the evidence in the case established proximity to a tracking device and the communication of surveillance but no other communication in terms of planning or the provision of weapons, vehicles or phones.

He said it seemed it was for someone else to identify logistical support and carry out the shooting, adding there was no evidence McGovern even knew who he was communicating with.

He said the cell structure of the gang meant information was passed down from the top on a need-to-know basis.

Mr Justice Patrick McGrath said the court may have to factor in the possibility of consecutive sentences, with each charge carrying a maximum of life imprisonment.

Bowman argued it may be more appropriate for a “global sentence” taking into account the offending behaviour overlapped.

He said there was a general 25% reduction for early pleas but was hoping the court “could go a little bit further”, as he said the plea reduced burden on court and garda resources.

He said he was looking for “maximum credit” for the early plea.

He also said a prison governor’s report had not identified any behavioural difficulties.

Bowman further asked the court to consider McGovern’s months in custody in the United Arab Emirates prior to extradition to Dublin, arguing he should be given additional credit for that time as the conditions were “more onerous” than in Ireland.

Mr Justice McGrath scheduled the next hearing for June 8th, when McGovern is expected to be sentenced.