N7 crash victim Dean Maguire named in court as burglary gang members sentenced

Dean Maguire, who died in a head-on collision with a lorry as he evaded gardai in Dublin in 2021, was one of four men originally arrested over the break-ins in 2019.

One of his accomplices was last week jailed for 20 months for targeting the homes in Mayo, while two others were handed suspended prison sentences.

They had been described as “a highly sophisticated, organised crime gang” at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.

At the time of their arrest in September 2019, a court heard Maguire was refused bail after it was heard he had 24 convictions, six of which were committed while previously on bail.

He was charged along with Shane Byrne from Jobstown, Tallaght, Daniel Lawlor, Kiltalown Road, Jobstown, and Gerry Wall from Fortunestown Crescent, Dublin 24.

A garda superintendent objected on the grounds of the seriousness of the offences and the fact that the accused may commit further offences.

He said that €30,000 in cash stolen from a house at Bohola, Co Mayo, had not been recovered and there was a fear that if the men were released, the stolen cash may be disposed of.

A list of other potential burglary targets had been found in a vehicle seized by gardai, which they believe had been used by the men.

Two other garda witnesses gave evidence that a house was entered and €1,000 cash, €500 in coins, a €500 cheque and a €243 Revenue cheque were stolen.

In a garda search of a house the Revenue cheque that was stolen was found and a car at the scene matched the description of the vehicle used in two other burglaries.

Byrne it emerged had 33 previous convictions, Lawlor had 45 convictions while at the time 19-year-old Gerry Wall had no previous record.

The case against the four men was recently finalised at Castlebar Circuit Court where it was heard the men pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property.

Evidence in the case was heard last year and it was adjourned for probation reports with the men appearing before the court again last week, as first reported by the Mayo News.

It was heard that Lawlor now works as a roofer while Byrne works with a tile shop and all three had made a charitable donation of €3,000.

Judge Eoin Garavan jailed Wall, who now has six convictions, for 20 months, adding that “a message needs to be sent out.”

Noting Lawlor and Byrne’s employment and clean drug tests, the judge handed down suspended sentences of 20 months each, the Mayo News reported.

The case against Maguire had been dropped since his death in a horrific crash on the N7 in July 2021 alongside two other men Graham Taylor and Carl Freeman.

The dead men had 200 criminal conviction between them and were known as members of a burglary gang.

At the time Maguire was also wanted by British police after he went on the run from Hollesley Bay open prison outside Suffolk, England while serving a three year and nine-month sentence for burglary.

The subsequent funerals of the three dead men created huge controversy as their criminal talents were celebrated.

A screwdriver and a torch, tools of a burglar, were carried to the altar at St Mary’s Priory Catholic church in Tallaght during Maguire’s funeral.

Mourners said Maguire would not be forgotten and one woman from the altar said: “Sorry for the language, Father – rest in peace, you f****ng legend.”

A poster at the church read: “RIP Dean. You know the score, get on the floor, don’t be funny, give me the money.”

Another social media post included a photo of Maguire with two screwdrivers and a pair of gloves captioned: “No better man to put them to youse [use].”