photo share. Divided they fall - how former Dundon cohorts turned on Murder Inc mobsters in court

Wayne Dundon's empire has crumbled

Nathan Killeen and sister Ciara have been loyal to the Dundons

Roy Collins was innocent victim

John Dundon is in jail

Ger Dundon has been released from prison

Dessie Dundon was convicted of the murder of drug boss Kieran Keane

Christopher McCarthy gave evidence

They were a band of ‘brothers’, their force and terrifying reputation as much cemented by their fists as by the unbreakable loyalty they held for one another.

They believed their bond would survive the test of time and anything that crossed their path, but this week, in the Special Criminal Court, the vicious drugs mob known as Murder Inc. lay exposed in all its divided glory.

Gone are the loyalties, the blood ties that once held the gang together like glue, and even the mortal sin of gangland, co-operating with the gardai, is being openly flouted.

The cast of characters in the courtroom veer from a viper’s nest of former allies, to the innocent civilians caught up in their dirty world.

In the dock are Nathan Killeen and Wayne Dundon, denying the murder of barman Roy Collins.

As witnesses take the stand, they snigger and glare, intimidate with their whispers and try to look as mean as they can.

Christopher McCarthy, Gareth Collins and his sister Lisa, once loyal Dundon cohorts, have already given evidence against their former masters.

April Collins, and the convicted killer Anthony ‘Noddy’ McCarthy, the brother of Christopher, have yet to take the stand.

In the court sits Steve Collins and his family, the man who was the alleged intended target of the April 2009 hit.

Tanned from their new life in the U.S., where they were forced to move after years of intimidation in their native Limerick, they sit tall and dignified.

Wayne Dundon once headed up the traveller gang – the McCarthy-Dundons – which ruled with an iron fist from their hub at Ballinacurra Weston.

The Dundons and McCarthys are cousins, while the Collins family were tight associates. They had relationships with and provided muscle for the mob.

Wayne is the eldest of the Dundon family and is currently in jail for threatening to kill members of the Collins family.

Two of his brothers are serving life sentences – Dessie for the murder of rival drug boss Kieran Keane and John for the murder of rugby player Shane Geoghegan.

Younger brother Ger, who has just been released from prison after serving a five-year sentence for violent disorder, was once the partner of April Collins, a key prosecution witness and sister of Gareth.

Kenny jnr, who has no criminal convictions, lives in the U.K. and is in close contact with sister Annabel, who is at large and wanted on a European Arrest Warrant for threatening to kill.

And that’s just the Dundons

The McCarthys were already a recognised crime family in the city, and had gone to war with drug dealer Kieran Keane and his mob, before the arrival of their cousins from England.

Anthony ‘Noddy’ McCarthy got the back-up needed when Wayne and Co. moved back from London.

Within a short period of time Eddie Ryan, the enforcer for drug boss Christy Keane and his brother Kieran, was gunned down in the city’s Moose Bar. His death would kick-start a decade of violence that would claim the lives of almost 20 people, including innocent Roy Collins.

Nathan Killeen became a loyal servant of the group as his sister Ciara married John Dundon. Both Ciara and Ann Casey, Wayne’s wife, have been present every day during the trial. It’s the last bastion of loyalty they have left.

The first three witnesses have give evidence that points to the State case that Wayne Dundon ordered the murder and Killeen was there when it was carried out.

First into the witness stand this week was Gareth Collins. He says he was offered €20k to take part in killing publican Steve. He claims that on the day of the killing, Nathan Killeen and James Dillon called to his sister’s house, but he told Killeen he was not getting involved.

His sister Lisa told the court that Gareth was saying: “No, no I don’t want to do it.”

Mr McCarthy said that on April 9, 2009, he was at home with Lisa and Gareth Collins when Nathan Killeen and James Dillon called to the house in the morning.

He said Nathan Killeen “didn’t look happy”. The pair, he said, made a phonecall and were upset afterwards.

Dundon and Killeen’s defence teams accused McCarthy of being part of a conspiracy to stitch them up. The non-jury trial continues.