Eamon Dunne – known as “The Don” – was a notorious criminal in north Dublin who orchestrated some of the most shocking and high-profile hits in the Irish capital
A bloodthirsty mob boss who is now “drinking with the devil” was linked to at least a dozen murders during his reign of terror – including his own friends.
Eamon Dunne – known as “The Don” – was a notorious criminal in north Dublin who led a gang which dealt in drug dealing, armed robbery, extortion and murder. Dunne’s murderous campaign included some of the most shocking and high-profile hits in the capital. In December 2006 , he helped arrange the assassination of his former mentor and crime boss, Martin “Marlo” Hyland , at the heart of his Finglas stronghold.
Two gunmen broke into the house – one went upstairs to where Hyland was sleeping, and the other held down Anthony Campbell, a 20-year-old apprentice plumber who had come to the house to do some work. Hyland was shot six times — twice in the head, four times in the back — while he slept. Campbell, completely unaffiliated with crime, was shot in the head while downstairs. The double murder caused public outrage, especially given Campbell had no links to organised crime.
Another of Dunne’s most infamous purported hits was in October 2007 , when John Daly – a notorious criminal who once phoned into RTE’s Liveline from prison – was executed shortly after his release. On air, Daly challenged journalist Paul Williams, criticising stories that claimed he was feuding with another gangster. This was a brazen act – using national radio to publicly distance himself from criminal overlords and present himself as independent.
Some sources suggest Dunne and others saw the call as a betrayal or a challenge, and that resentment built up quickly. Less than a week after his release from prison later that year, Daly was shot dead in Finglas in what was widely believed to be a revenge killing. He was also suspected of orchestrating the hit of John Paul Joyce, a drug dealer whose frozen body was found in a flooded ditch at the back of Dublin Airport in January 2010.
Horrified passersby spotted blood marks in the snow after his body was dumped in a cold, calculated act of terror. In the lead up to Dunne’s eventual murder in 2010, a police source told the Irish Independent that his bloodthirsty streak was greater than ever. They said: “This man is a psychopath and has grown out of control.
“He is ruling gangland by fear and the murders in the past week are further evidence that he and his associates should not be crossed. Not content with making profits from his own activities, he has now branched out by capitalising on the name he has built up with in the criminal underworld, and collecting the debts owed to others also allows him a closer look at the vulnerability of his would-be rivals.”
In April 2010, Dunne was attending a friend’s birthday party at the Faussagh House pub in the Irish capital. Two gunmen marched in and shouted “down, down, everybody down”, before firing a volley of shots at the 34-year-old – who was sat next to his 17-year-old daughter Amy.
Another gunman waited outside to prevent Dunne’s escape, while the getaway driver stayed in the car outside. The mob boss was shot twice in the back of his head and six bullets were recovered of his body. His bloodied corpse was left on the floor as his own gang members fled the scene. His daughter Amy was left stood over Dunne screaming “me da, me da”.
Two men were arrested in May 2010 in connection with helping plan the attack, and another person was questioned under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act. However, no convictions were made and the killing remains unsolved. Anthony Campbell’s mum said he is now “drinking with the devil”, while Irish reporters described him as a “vicious and nasty paranoid coke-fuelled mess” during his final days.
