As Brian and Kieran Collopy are jailed for eight years for drugs offences, Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds looks at one of Limerick's most notorious gangs.
Brian and Kieran Collopy are senior figures in the Keane/Collopy organised crime group, one of Limerick's two family-based feuding criminal gangs.
The Keane/Collopy gang are deadly rivals of the McCarthy/Dundons and while many members are serving long sentences in prison they have to be separated while in custody.
The gangs have been involved in an ongoing feud for the past 16 years.
The feud began in 2000 when Eddie Ryan was shot dead in the Moose Bar in Limerick - two suspects for that shooting were Kieran Keane, who was shot dead in 2003, and Philip Collopy, Brian and Kieran's brother, who later accidentally shot himself in the head as he was showing a group of teenagers how to use a gun.
The murder of Eddie Ryan in 2000 marked the start of a series of inter-gang tit-for-tat shootings and murders in Limerick, which led to more than a dozen people being shot dead - including innocent people such as Roy Collins and Shane Geoghegan.
The Shane Geoghegan murder was a case of mistaken identity where the Dundons brought in a hitman from Dublin, Barry Doyle, to shoot a Collopy associate - John 'Pitchfork' McNamara - but instead he shot dead the innocent rugby player.
However, it was the murders of Shane Geoghegan and Roy Collins and the State's response, which essentially brought down the McCarthy/Dundon gang with its leaders Wayne and John Dundon, as well as brother Dessie and Nathan Killeen, all serving life in prison for murder.
The jailing today of Brian and Kieran Collopy also represents a significant success in the battle against organised crime in Limerick.
Who are main players in the Keane/ Collopy criminal gang?
Brian Collopy previously served a sentence of six years for intimidating a State witness - Willie Moran.
He was also a target of the Criminal Assets Bureau. His former home, Ashby House, located at Fedamore, Co Limerick, as part of a €470,000 settlement.
In 2011, his brothers Kieran and Damian were both also jailed for five years for threatening to kill Willie Moran.
Their other brother, Vincent, was extradited from Bulgaria also served time in prison and was also involved in threatening Mr Moran.
The late Philip Collopy was a major figure in the gang.
And another Collopy - Kenneth - is serving life in prison for the murder of Daniel Fitzgerald in Limerick in 2009 and lost his appeal last month.
Convicted drug dealer Christy Keane was released from prison after serving a ten-year sentence. An attempt was made on his life last year when he was shot and seriously injured in the grounds of the University of Limerick .
How significant is today's conviction?
The raison d'etre for organised crime is the drugs business and the Collopys were a criminal gang founded on drug trafficking, intimidation and violence.
Brian Collopy survived a number of attempts on his life. He was shot twice in 2006 and often ran into the nearest garda station to get away from the gunmen.
The gangs had geographical, territorial areas within Limerick city. While the McCarthy/Dundons were based in Ballinacurra Weston/Southill , the Keane/Collopys operated in the St Mary's Park area.
Like the McCarthy Dundons, the Collopys threatened, intimidated and effectively forced many decent families and law abiding citizens out of their homes - with people leaving in the middle of the night - they took control of properties and put gang associates and criminals into them.
They then broke down the walls between adjoining houses, as they did in this case, 34-36 St Ita's Street in St Mary's Park, merging the two houses into one to thwart garda search warrants and provide a number of escape routes.
Brian and Kieran Collopy were only recently released from prison when they were caught again by the garda drugs unit. Gardaí say the gang has always been involved in major drug trafficking in Limerick.
The Collopy brothers might only have been caught and convicted in relation to €37,000 worth of heroin but gardaí believe they may have managed to get rid of a lot more before they got to them because when officers from the drug squad entered the house they heard footsteps going up the stairs, there was a trail of heroin, the toilet was flushing and Kieran Collopy was coming out of the bathroom and there was heroin traces on his hoodie and shoes.
The Collopys were caught with amounts of heroin for wholesale dealers that they were cutting up for street sale.
Det Sgt Alan Cullen testified that the Collopys' operation was at the top of the pyramid and in the 11 months since he got out of jail Brian Collopy visited Spain and other European countries 11 times - staying for about a week every month.
His only known income was a disability pension and while his defence claimed the trips were to try to get cheaper medicine abroad for his heart condition, gardaí believe he was organising his drugs business.
Today's conviction was welcomed by community groups and public representatives in Limerick.
Independent Councillor John Gilligan said today he has no sympathy for drug dealers like the Collopys who have destroyed lives and communities and he praised the work of gardaí.
The officer in charge of Limerick, Chief Supt Dave Sheehan, thanked the community for their support in tackling one of the city's most dangerous drug dealing gangs.
By Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds
