Revamped bar the place gangsters have been gunned down in horror Spanish taking pictures
This Irish sports bar looks, on the surface, like any other venue of its kind on the busy “Brits abroad” Fuengirola strip. There’s giant umbrellas out front and velour chairs inside.
A small number of punters are sat sipping pints and tucking into chips in an unassuming Costa del Sol boozer. But just a year ago, the same chairs and empty tables lay strewn and blood-spattered behind the cordon of a double gangland assassination, report the Daily Record.
Notorious Lyons hood Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, and his trusted lieutenant Ross Monaghan, 43, were shot dead at the pub – then known as Monaghan’s -on May 31 last year while a turf war was escalating back home in Scotland.
Shocking footage at the time captured the violent deaths of the two Glasgow hoods on the night of the Champions League final. Their alleged killer Michael Riley is currently languishing in a prison near Malaga awaiting trial over their murders.
Eddie Lyons jnr and Ross Monaghan(Image: Daily Record)
The watering hole has since been rebranded as the Irish Rover in the hopes of shedding links to it’s former owner Monaghan. New photographs supplied to the Record shows how the pub has transformed one year on from the shooting.
Huge white parasols shielded holidaymakers from the scorching Spanish sun as they sat at tables grazing and drinking. The sound of 80s anthem The Power of Love by Huey Lewis could be heard blasting from inside.
Large laminated menus displaying photographs of food favoured by British expats adorned each table. And a new shiny sign for “The Irish Rover” is flanked by four-leaf clovers for the bar. Despite the new name, little has changed.
Two men were killed at the scene outside Monaghans in Fuengirola(Image: X)
The distinctive green tiled pillars remain from the day of the shooting, while the green velour chairs which the gunman was seen running past on CCTV appear to still be in use.
Even the branded umbrellas set up outside don’t appear to have been replaced at the “Cash is King” sports bar.
Flags from around the world, including a Saltire, have been strung up inside to welcome all football fans inside to catch a game.
An insider told the Record: “The pub is pretty empty most of the day – especially compared to the others on the strip. There’s no sign of the violence that occurred last year. Punters are still choosing to go for a drink elsewhere. The lack of customers shows people haven’t forgotten what happened.”
The pillars and chairs appear to be the same(Image: Supplied)
The pub reopened under its new Irish Rover name in June 2025, under the management of local landlord Clive. It advertises Friday night quizzes, Sunday game days, Karaoke nights and even drag shows. The shootings last May came just hours after the Champions League final when PSG thrashed Inter.
Expats and holidaymakers were gathered around big screens at 11.30pm on the Saturday night when Lyons, who had been on a golfing holiday with pals, was shot outside on the terrace.
Harrowing images from the scene showed Lyons Jr lying lifeless on his back in shorts and a T-shirt by a drinks and meal blackboard. A video later emerged showing a woman desperately trying to administer CPR on the gangster.
The pub reopened last year under a new name(Image: Supplied)
Police and paramedics were later seen surrounding his body after he was covered under a blanket. A masked gunman dressed in black then stormed the pub and shot Monaghan at point black range.
CCTV of the shooting was broadcast on Spanish TV. It showed Monaghan dropping to the floor as the gunman shot at him a number of times. As the stricken gangster crawled across the floor, he appeared to turn around and look into his killer’s eyes.
He is later seen sitting upright against a wall covered in blood.
Two innocent bystanders, thought to include a waitress and a punter, could be seen fleeing for their lives in the footage. The Record later reported a British nurse held Monaghan’s hand as he lay dying.
She said: “I got to the first person who was lying on his back on the terrace who I later discovered was Eddie Lyons Jnr. He was clearly dead and had what appeared to be a bullet wound in his chest and one in his abdomen. A bar lady told me there was another one in the bar.
The Irish Rover was the scene(Image: Supplied)
“The other man, Ross, had one shot in his chest, just on the right side. He was lying on the floor and was still alive but his breathing was laboured. He was wearing a white T-shirt and shorts and trainers and he looked younger than 43.
“There was blood everywhere, on the floor and around the service hatch to the kitchen. There was nothing I could do, he wasn’t bleeding from his mouth so I just held his hand, stroked his hair and waited for the emergency services.”.
A joint funeral was held for the two men at Bishopbriggs Crematorium two months later.
Michael Riley, 45, was arrested following an international manhunt and extradited to Spain.
The shooting led Spanish police launched Operation Armorum – in a bid to dismantle the Lyons gang. Mob boss Steven Lyons was arrested in Bali in March of this year and extradited to Spain to face organised crime charges.
Mob boss Steven Lyons(Image: Ngurah Rai Immigration Office)
His wife Amanda, 38, was held at Dubai’s airport in April at the request of Spanish police who remain confident she will also end up in custody on the Costa del Sol after being extradited along with her husband.
In May Spanish police raided several properties thought to be linked to the gang.
The seafront pub, The Irish Rover, was one of the 18 properties raided and documentation was taken away.
A police source added: “The suspicion is that this pub is one of the businesses the Lyons gang used to launder money.”
A food and drinks firm based in Mijas near Fuengirola and a rental car company were among the other premises searched along with an apartment in Malaga owned by Steven Lyons and used as a “meeting point” by gang members.
Monaghan had spent decades in the Lyons organisation after rising through the ranks of Glasgow’s feared Club Boys gang alongside Lyons Jnr. He survived an assassination attempt outside a Glasgow primary school in 2017 and fled to the Costa del Sol with his girlfriend, where he opened the pub and ran a business selling Scottish produce to expats.
Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll(Image: Daily Record)
Lyons Jnr had also survived previous attempts on his life, including being shot by Daniels enforcer Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll in 2006 and blasted in the stomach outside his Cumbernauld home six years later.
Carroll would end up being shot dead in the back seat of an Audi at at Asda car park in Robroyston in 2010. Monaghan was accused of being the gunman but was ultimately cleared due to insufficient evidence in June 2012.
The deaths of Lyons Jnr and Monaghan took place after warfare exploded in Scotland. The feud was sparked when cronies of Edinburgh cocaine kingpin Mark Richardson ripped off Dubai-based Ross McGill, a former Rangers “ultras” leader, in a £500k drug deal.
The Daniel clan in Glasgow were targeted due to their association with Richardson. Lyons boss Steven Lyons, who had been at war with the Daniel clan for over 25 years, then began helping McGill with information.
The pub formally known as Monaghan’s(Image: Facebook)
Firebombings and machete attacks followed. Despite claims from police the feud had ended, violence erupted again this week.
Just two days ago, cars were torched at a garage in Tollcross in what police are treating as a wilful attack. Other incidents have included firebombs and machete attacks on businesses and a home being rammed by a car.
Gangland sources claiming revenge attacks were ordered following the Costa del Sol killings.
Operation Portaledge, which was launched by Police Scotland in response to the gang warfare, has attended 84 separate incidents and resulted in 64 arrests.
