Hitman took out Real IRA boss Alan Ryan for free MICHAEL O'TOOLE APRIL 16, 2013 The gangster who gunned down Real IRA boss Alan Ryan did not receive a single cent for the hit, it has emerged.
Sources have told The Star that the thug who shot dead 32-year-old Ryan in north Dublin last September did not receive any payment for the killing — because he was not an outside gun for hire.
Gang bosses often use hitmen and pay them around €20,000 per murder, or more if the target is high-profile.
But The Star understands that in this case, the killing was carried out by a key lieutenant of two mobsters who wanted Ryan dead — and did it on their orders.
And that, underworld sources say, means the killer — who is from north Dublin and known to gardai — wasn’t paid for the hit.
“The decision was made to take Ryan out and they got one of their main men to carry out the killing,” a source said.
“He was one of their own. He was not brought in from the outside.
“They just told him to clip him and he did.
“He didn’t get a cent.”
Two mobsters from north Dublin are believed to have ordered the murder of Ryan, who was shot dead as he walked in the Clongriffin area on the outskirts of the capital on September 3 last year.
He was shot repeatedly in the body when he was attacked by the lone gunman just after 3pm.
The Star has established that the killer fled to the North after the murder and the getaway driver was a woman.
Sources say the two mobsters — themselves feared criminals — decided to kill Ryan because they feared he was going to target them for murder.
Ryan was extorting hundreds of thousands of euro from criminals all over Dublin — and had targeted these two men for cash.
But, unlike most gangsters, they refused to cough up — and were warned their lives were at risk.
Rather than paying up under the threat, the duo decided to order his assassination.
Now the RIRA has targeted them for murder in revenge, although the pair are currently outside the jurisdiction.
The Star revealed in our gangland special last month that the going rate for a gangland hit in Ireland is €20k.
There are at least five professional hitmen in Dublin at the moment — including two brothers.
