JOHN Gilligan claims the attempted hit on his life was planned by associates of murdered gangster Martin Cahill.
The pint-sized thug is frantically putting the word out that he had nothing to do with Cahill’s death as he’s terrified he’ll be whacked in a revenge attack.
A gunman walked into the Halfway House pub in north Dublin last week looking for Gilligan (61), but he was actually in the Hole in the Wall pub nearby.
Gardai investigated the theory that the hit attempt may have been carried out by associates of John Cunningham and Christy Kinahan. But Gilligan has told pals he believes associates of Cahill were behind it.
A source said: “He’s desperate to get the word out there that he had nothing to do with Cahill’s death.”
Notorious criminal Martin Cahill was shot dead in August 1994. The Provisional IRA claimed responsibility.
However, another theory was put forward that Gilligan had organised the killing or assisted the IRA in the murder because he owed Cahill money and didn’t want to pay.
The drug baron denies this and also denies he owed Cahill money.
The source said: “Gilligan claims that he didn’t owe Cahill any money and that Cahill ‘hadn’t a pot to piss in’. He described Cahill as an ‘amateur hour’ criminal.”
It isn’t clear if there is any credibility to Gilligan’s theory that associates of Cahill were behind the hit attempt or if he is deliberately trying to cause confusion.
Gardai are also investigating whether associates of John ‘the Colonel’ Cunningham ordered the hit attempt on Gilligan.
Investigators believe Gilligan had been demanding money from Cunningham, which he claims he has been owed since the 1990s.
Cunningham is closely linked to Spanish-based mobster Christy Kinahan, who is suspected of being the leader of a major international crime syndicate.
While this theory is a major line of inquiry for gardai, Gilligan denies Cunningham was behind the plot.
“He said he doesn’t have any problem with Cunningham and claims he doesn’t know why people are linking him to the murder plot,” our source said
He added that there was one man in particular who blames him for Cahill’s death and he is behind the assassination attempt.
The main theory around the Cahill hit was that he was killed by the IRA because he assisted the UVF, who carried out a 1991 attack in which an IRA man was shot dead at the Widow Scanlon pub in Dublin. Cahill was shot just days before
the IRA ceasefire in 1994, in what was describe as “unfinished business.”
Security sources do not believe Cahill was involved in assisting the UVF in the attack.
However, there have been claims in the underworld that Gilligan told the IRA that Cahill was involved in the attack.
Gilligan said: “Martin Cahill was never an enemy of mine. He had fantastic bottle. He had good principles up to a point, but he had no money... I gave him some money. This thing about Cahill giving me 800 grand is nonsense.
“They are trying to throw mud at me and if enough is thrown, some of it is surely going to stick, right? There is nobody who’d give you that type of money.
What criminal would give another criminal that type of money? Cahill never even seen 800 grand in his life, or anything near it.”
Gilligan has now become more security conscious and a source said: “Gilligan has been trying to put on a brave face, but he’s obviously worried now. He’s told everybody that he’s not going to leave Ireland and that he’s not scared of anyone, but the longer he stays here the more chance he’ll be killed.”
Gardai officially warned Gilligan of an active threat on his life last week and issued him with security advice.
Since his release from prison he has been demanding money he claims he is owed from people dating back to the 1990s, as first revealed by the Sunday World.
“He’s stepping on a lot of toes and has the mistaken impression he’s still the main man, but a lot has changed since the 1990s and he is on thin ice at the moment,” said our source.
And gardai fear the gang who tried to have him whacked will attempt to get him again.
“There’s definitely unfinished business here. It’s unlikely they’re going to give up after one failed attempt,” added our source.
