Retirement of Michael Murray: Testing times left no room for panic

Two stainless steel doors separate his office from the reception area.

Over the years criminal gangs have targeted both him and his office as he is seen as ‘the enemy’ by highly dangerous and volatile individuals.

Rigorous security measures had to be put in place for him, his office and his home.

In his role as State solicitor, he has played a central part in putting many dangerous members of Limerick’s notorious feuding gangs behind bars, where they are serving long sentences.

As he prepares to retire on Friday, Mr Murray warns of a handful of dangerous people who have been involved in the feud and have managed to keep themselves one remove from the law.

An undercurrent still remains, he says, and it would only take a spark to re-ignite the whole nightmare.

Michael Murray, who turns 70 next month, was appointed State Solicitor for Limerick City in 1980.

Since then, every garda file on major investigations in the city which require directions from the DPP has been sent to his office first for final inspection before being sent on to Dublin.

He and his office have been the targets of some of the most dangerous criminals in the country.

The first attack involved the firebombing of his office.

“That was in 1994 and the damage was so bad, I had to relocate to another office for 12 months while the repairs were carried out.”

Two years later, another fire bomb attack was contained due to new security measures put in place after the earlier incident.

Moving around the streets of a city where he is well known, meant he was an easy target.

“I have been assaulted on the street twice,” he said.

“Once I was punched in the stomach and another time, a person set on me in a very nasty way. My car was vandalised on numerous occasions.

"I had to alter my social life as there were some places I could not go at night, places I used to frequent to meet rugby friends.

“One area I used to go regularly just became too problematic. Verbal attacks have been directed at me too many times to remember.”

In the late 1990s when the feud began to escalate, he recalls the edgy tensions in the city which began to impact on his life.

“At that time due to security concerns, special arrangements with regard my residence were put in place and I would have been visited up to four times each night by garda patrol cars which would drive by and check that everything was ok.

“Special security arrangements were also put in place at my office. The big window behind me is bullet proof and the two doors leading into my office are made of steel. Essentially my office is a ‘panic room’.

“If somebody came with the intention of attacking me, they would not be able to get in. I had to change routines and I was basically subject to a security regime for a number years. I had to be security conscious.”

Recalling the spiralling of the feud following the murder of Eddie Ryan in the Moose Bar in November 2000, Mr Murray said: “The situation became extremely serious. The level of savagery was hard to fathom. As well as what was being done by the gangs, it impacted on the image of the city.

"In the late 1990s, there was a change in the character of the violence that was used and it became a lot more vicious and there was a greater willingness to take life.

“With each atrocity, it was followed by something that was more outrageous. There was no limit and there seemed to be no depths these gangs would not be prepared to go to maim, disfigure and kill.”

There are still five or six very dangerous figures, he warns, some who were deeply involved in the feud, who are still involved in major crime at a national and international level.

“They have the ability to still conduct their business so they are one remove from the action, and very hard to catch. Some were central figures in the feud,” he said.

In the courts, he said a big turning point was the change in the law which allowed statements given to gardaí to be allowed in evidence.

This move by the government came when notorious gang criminal, Liam Keane walked free from the Central Criminal Court giving a ‘V’ sign to photographers after his trial for the murder of a young man collapsed.

A number of State witnesses who gave statements to gardaí refused to back these up when they went into the witness box. It led to the trial judge Mr Justice Paul Carney referring to their ‘collective amnesia’ and sparked public outrage.

Mr Murray said: “At the time, I was a bit sceptical about how effective this legislation would be, but I was proved wrong and it has proved to be a very useful tool, particularly where there has been corroborative evidence.”

While relative peace has returned to Limerick, he warns ‘an undercurrent’ still exists.

“It wouldn’t take much of a spark to kick it off again. There is an absolute necessity for the gardaí to have the resources and for vigilance. The gardaí in Limerick have proved that given the resources they are well able to combat whatever is out there and that will continue to be the case.”

Mr Murray said great credit must go to the gardaí of the Limerick division in making sure they kept pace and kept on top of major very challenging investigations, which resulted in successful prosecutions and long sentences.

“Between the gardaí, the State Solicitors office, the State prosecutors, we managed to get all the ducks in a row ensuring people were brought to trial in an expedient manner. But there can be no room for complacency and the minister for justice is fully aware of that.”

His job was greatly helped by the meticulous way garda investigations in Limerick are carried out and the thorough files handed to him for evaluation.

“Files of a very high standard. Remarkably, we never have had a complaint about garda misbehaviour through all of these very difficult times.

“The performance by gardaí in major investigations has been first class and this has been recognised within the garda force. A stint in Limerick is viewed as a very positive inclusion in a CV when it comes to promotion.”

He said the State prosecutors in Limerick have also been a key part of the fight against serious crime in the city.

They include his brother, John who later went on to become chief justice, Gerry Tynan, Michael McMahon, the late Brendan Nix and the current prosecutor, John O’Sullivan.

Mr Murray said: “It has been a great team.”

Looking back on his years as the highest profile, most threatened State solicitor in the land, he remarked: “I did not sign up for what I got. But it has been interesting to say the least.

"I would like to think that I, along with many others, have played a part in the peaceful prosperity we now see today in my native city.”

Mr Murray will continue in private practice.