The notorious family of Lilly-Ella Gerrard’s boyfriend is in mourning after the death of convicted criminal James Byrne Snr.
Steven Gerrard’s daughter is in a relationship with Lee Byrne and while he is not involved in crime, his dad is Irish mobster Liam Byrne who was reported to be the head of drug cartel operations in Britain and Ireland.
Liam Byrne is currently in jail in the UK ahead of a trial for firearm charges but his father (Lee’s grandad), James Byrne Snr, 77, a convicted fraudster also known as ‘Jaws’, died in hospital at the weekend.
Below, we take a closer look inside the life of Lilly-Ella who is dating the son of one of the most infamous gangsters in Ireland.
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(Image: WireImage)
Who is Lilly-Ella?
Lilly-Ella is a social media influencer with 206,000 followers on Instagram and 75,200 followers on TikTok.
One video showed her dancing to Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream and back in February she turned 20.
Paying tribute to his daughter at the time, Gerrard, who is now manager of Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, wished her a happy birthday before adding: “I hope your day is special like you are to me.”
The young woman enjoys sharing her lavish lifestyle online and in recent months has shared glimpses of her glamorous life from Dubai, Bahrain and Ibiza.
(Image: Instagram)
And in one video she told her fans that she is “such an old woman” and enjoys sitting on the sofa in the mornings watching Lorraine.
Boyfriend
It was revealed in October 2022 that Lilly, then just 18, was dating Lee Byrne, then 23, having attended a holiday together in Ibiza the previous summer.
Lee himself has no links to crime, but the same cannot be said for his own infamous dad.
That’s because Dubliner Liam Byrne, 43, was named in court as the leader of the ‘Byrne Organised Crime Group’. In February 2016 his brother, David Byrne, was shot dead in one of the most notorious gangland murders in Irish history.
(Image: Instagram)
This happened inside the Regency Hotel and was the most defining moment in the bloody Hutch-Kinahan mob feud that resulted in 18 murders.
Gerrard has also been seen interacting with the alleged associate of Daniel Kinahan – with footage in 2022 showing him speaking to his daughter’s boyfriend’s dad. In the video, a smiling Byrne sits beside Gerrard who is on a video call offering to take a Liverpool fan to ‘see the Reds’.
Convicted armed robber Byrne was arrested in June last year by Spanish police after a UK extradition warrant was issued and the UK’s National Crime Agency named him as a suspected member in the Kinahan cartel.
Earlier this year, the villain was arrested via video link from HMP Belmarsh, facing charges over a weapons plot.
He, alongside brother-in-law Thomas Kavanagh, pleaded not guilty to firearms and conspiracy charges. The trial will take place in September.
(Image: Irish Mirror)
His son Lee meanwhile appeared to fall head over heels for Lilly-Ella, previously describing her as “the best person he’s ever met”.
The pair are still going strong two years after the relationship was confirmed and in January she shared a picture with Lee alongside the words: “Best friend. Happy new year.”
In response, one person said: “Now I realise that there are more beautiful things in life than Gerrard’s goals.”
Another added: “What a gorgeous photo of a beautiful couple.”
Lee also appears to have won favour with Gerrard who last year wrote on Instagram: “Happy birthday mate, have a boss day.”