We track down Ireland's biggest criminal ‘Nellie’ Walsh to Northern bolthole.
This is the man Ireland’s biggest crime syndicate have put top of their hit-list after they blamed him for three shootings.
Dublin criminal James ‘Nellie’ Walsh (27), went into hiding after the attempted murder of ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson’s associate Michael Frazier In March.
He is also a suspect in gun attacks on Greg Lynch and Jason Carroll, among other attacks.
Members of the Kinahan cartel put a €100,000 contract on Walsh’s head following the shootings and he has gone into hiding in fear of his life.
Associates of the cartel have been trying to find Walsh in recent weeks, but he has evaded them so far.
But the Sunday World tracked him down to an address in Northern Ireland where he is staying with his new girlfriend.
Despite his paranoia about being shot, Walsh, from Moorfield Close in Clondalkin, west Dublin, was completely oblivious that the Sunday World was watching him.
We are not revealing the location of where he is staying due to the threats against him.
Walsh, who has been repeatedly warned by Gardai that his life is in danger, walked out of the house with his girlfriend before getting into a car. He limped as he walked from the vehicle.
It is believed the gunman who shot Frazier accidentally shot himself in the leg during the botched hit. Gardai found two types of blood at the scene, one of which was Frazier’s and one which was believed to be the shooter’s.
Sources say the gunman did not receive proper medical attention for the wound, but he may have gone to a vet to get treated.
It is understood Walsh sometime stays in the house where we tracked him down to, but is also staying in other safe houses. The house in less than 1km from a PSNI station and is in a quiet, middle-class area.
Scene of Michael Frazier shooting
It is understood he regularly socialises in another part of Northern Ireland. He remains in constant contact with associates and regularly meets up with them in the south and in the North.
But sources say Walsh is paranoid about his safety at the moment and thinks members of his own gang could be touting on him.
One source said:
“He is very aware of the threats against him and is fearful of being in Dublin. He also doesn’t know who to trust.” It is understood the girl who he is going out with was not aware of Walsh’s activities when she first met him while out in the North. They have been going out for over a month.
As well as the attack on Frazier, Walsh is a suspect in the failed murder bid on Kinahan lieutenant Greg Lynch last October.
The Costa Cartel is believed to have ordered a hit on window cleaner John O’Regan, who was shot dead in Dublin, after they blamed him for sourcing the car used in the attack on Lynch.
Michael Devoy, who ordered the hit on Lynch and was present when he was shot, was himself assassinated by the gang in January.
Walsh was also put in the frame in the underworld for the murder of Jason Carroll last August. The 39-year-old was Daniel Kinahan’s best friend and Daniel was the godfather to one of Carroll’s children.
There was a previous attempt on Walsh’s life last August, but the gunman shot Dean Johnson (21), in a case of mistaken identity.
Carroll was shot a week after that murder and the gang suspect it may have been Walsh striking back because of the attempt on his life.
Walsh was also in the frame for the shooting of the similarly named Dean Johnston (20), in Neilstown in 2012.
Sources say Walsh has been linked to so many incidents that he is a dead man walking unless he leaves Ireland.
“He has stepped on a lot of toes and doesn’t seem to care. He has taken a very cavalier attitude and people who act like that don’t tend to last too long,” said one source.
Walsh was recently convicted of threats to kill. He sped through a red light and crashed his car in Dublin last July. When gardai arrived at the scene and asked if he was okay he told one garda: “Get the f**k away from me, you scumbag. You’ll get a bullet in the head, I swear it.”
He was sentenced to five months, but was released on bail after indicating he would appeal the conviction.
