Sean McGovern, described as a senior lieutenant in the Kinahan gang, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to directing the activities of a criminal organisation
A man described as the Kinahan organised crime gang’s “senior lieutenant” has been jailed at a Special Criminal Court in Dublin after vowing on his “baby’s life” he would not stop gangland feud.
Sean McGovern, 40, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to directing the activities of a criminal organisation. He was extradited from the United Arab Emirates to face the charges.
McGovern 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 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. Other charges relate to the targeting and monitoring of James Gately with a view to having him shot dead, which did not take place.
Mr Justice Patrick McGrath went through the evidence against McGovern in court today (June 8).
The judge said that evidence shows McGovern oversaw planning and directed Noel Kirwan’s murder with a tracking device being planted. The court heard that Kirwan was not involved in criminality and was seen as being an “easy target”.
The Dubliner was once named by American officials as Daniel Kinahan’s closest confidant, reports the Irish Mirror.
McGovern, with a previous address at Kildare Road, Crumlin, Dublin, pleaded guilty in March to two organised crime offences linked to the Kinahan cartel’s war on the Hutch Organised Crime Group. The fued saw up to 18 men dead.
He admitted directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 20 and December 22, 2016, both dates inclusive, both within and outside the State, in relation to the murder of Christopher, aka Noel, Kirwan.
Kirwan, 62, was shot dead outside his home in Clondalkin in December 2016 after being targeted due to being seen with Gerry “the Monk” Hutch, 63, at the funeral of his brother Eddie Hutch, 58. Eddie Hutch was shot dead by the cartel in central Dublin on February 8, 2016.
McGovern also admitted directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 17, 2015 and April 6, 2017, both dates inclusive, both within and outside the State, in connection with the surveillance of Hutch associate James Gately in preparation for the commission of an indictable offence.
McGovern reportedly ordered for tracking devices to placed on Gately’s partner and sister, who were put under surveillance.
A sentencing hearing for McGovern in May heard that he wanted to apologise for the hurt as a consequence of his actions.
Following the murder of Irish criminal David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in February 2016, McGovern told other gang members “they targeted us, this is personal on my baby’s life I’m not stopping now.” McGovern was also shot during the incident that saw Byrne killed.
At the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday, the three-judge panel sentenced him to 24 years – backdated to his arrest in Dubai in October 2024.
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