David Byrne (1981/1982 - 5 February 2016) was an Irish criminal associated with the

Kinahan Organised Crime Group The Kinahan Organised Crime Group (KOCG), also known as the Kinahan Cartel, is a major Irish transnational organised crime syndicate alleged to be the most powerful in Ireland and one of the largest organised crime groups in the world. It is ...

run by Christy Kinahan. His parents were

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and Sadie Byrne (née Roe). He was from Raleigh Square in Crumlin. He was a first cousin of Freddie Thompson. His brother

Liam Liam is a short form of the Germanic name William, or its Irish variant Uilliam. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these ...

is also involved in crime. Both Byrne and associate Graham "the wig" Whelan were questioned over the murder of Gary Bryan in 2006, but no charges were brought. He was the father of one daughter and two sons.

Criminal history

He had been investigated by every Garda specialist unit since he was a teenager. In June 2002 he was the target of a gun attack in south inner-city

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, but he escaped without injury. He was present at the fatal stabbing of Declan Gavin in August 2001 in

Crumlin, Dublin Crumlin () is a Southside (Dublin), Southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Formerly a rural area, it became heavily built up from the early 20th century onwards. Crumlin is the site of Ireland's largest children's hospital, Ou ...

. He was called as a witness in the trial of Brian Rattigan for the killing but said he had seen nothing. David Byrne had been arrested many times and was a suspect in the murder of Gary Bryan in

Walkinstown Walkinstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland, six kilometres southwest of the city centre. It is surrounded by Drimnagh to the north, Crumlin, Dublin, Crumlin to the east, Greenhills, Dublin, Greenhills to the south, and Ballymount, Bluebel ...

in 2006. In January 2016, Gardaí had a special policing plan put in place for the following month when two boxing events would be attended by members of a criminal gang associated with Christy Kinahan. The Kinahan gang have a long association with boxing both in Dublin and

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

Death

He was shot dead in an armed attack at a weigh-in for a boxing event at the Regency Hotel in Dublin. His brother Liam was one of the

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

s at the funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, David 21st-century Irish criminals 2016 deaths Criminals from Dublin (city) Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland Irish gangsters Irish male criminals Murdered Irish gangsters Murder victims from Dublin (city) Kinahan Organised Crime Group People murdered by organized crime 1980s births