Family of 'senior lieutenant' in Kinahan gang write letters to court

The family of a "senior lieutenant" in an Irish international crime gang has written testimonial letters to a court in Dublin.

Sean McGovern is before the non-jury Special Criminal Court and is due to be sentenced on 8 June.

He is suspected of being a senior figure in the Kinahan organised crime group, which has been sanctioned by the US.

McGovern has pleaded guilty to two charges.

These are directing the activities of a criminal organisation between 20 October 2016 and 20 December 2016 in connection with the murder of Noel Kirwan. And directing the activities of a criminal organisation between 17 October 2015 and 6 April 2017 in relation to the surveillance of rival Hutch gang member James Gately in preparation for a serious offence.

Because there was no trial as McGovern pleaded guilty, the state has been laying out its evidence in sentencing hearings which took place last Monday and on Friday.

Several testimonials from McGovern's family have been made available to the court, defence senior counsel Michael Bowman said.

McGovern's partner, her father, McGovern's mother and McGovern's uncle wrote letters.

His mother spoke about how McGovern was involved in soccer at underage level as well as his personal life and the loss of his father. She described her son as a "committed father".

The father of McGovern's partner, who is a grandfather to McGovern's two children, said he "always presented as a caring and generous father".

McGovern's partner set out the history of their relationship and wrote about the "turmoil" in their lives.

The letter from his uncle spoke about the "choices and decisions" McGovern has made and said how they do not reflect the "entirety" of the individual.

He wrote how rehabilitation is "always possible" and his hope for McGovern to be reintroduced back into the community as a father, partner and as a son.

The court was told that the family of Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan are the victims in this case.

The court also heard McGovern wanted to apologise for his actions.

McGovern spent time in a Dubai prison before being extradited back to Ireland and is currently being held at Portlaoise Prison.

A report from the prison's governor did not identify any difficulties with his behaviour and said he is engaging with services.

Bowman also asked judges to take into consideration the time spent in prison in Dubai when deciding on a sentence, saying conditions are "more onerous and difficult" than those in Irish prisons and that this is McGovern's experience.

The court heard how McGovern planned, oversaw and directed the murder of Kirwan.

McGovern's finger prints were found on a bag of chocolate Cadbury's Buttons, laptop and a tracker instruction document in an apartment used as a "safe house" by the Kinahan cartel.

The court heard how he passed on tracking information from a tracker on Kirwan's car.

McGovern is due to be sentenced on Monday, 8 June and has been remanded in custody until then.