The murder of David Byrne sparked an all-out war (Image: SCREENGRAB)
daughter, Lilly-Ella Gerrard, is expecting her first child with the son of one of Ireland’s most infamous gangsters.
The-20-year-old influencer shared a picture of her baby scans with her 216,000 followers, to which her famous father responded: “We can’t wait. Great news and congratulations we love you.”
Lilly-Ella’s boyfriend, Lee Byrne, has had a tumultuous few years despite having no involvement in crime himself.
His father, Liam Byrne, is currently serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence in the UK for plotting to amass machine guns.
The Kinahan Cartel
Liam Byrne was previously identified in the High Court as a “trusted lieutenant of Daniel Kinahan and the Kinahan Organised Crime Group”.
Lilly-Ella Gerrard pictured with her boyfriend Lee Byrne who she is expecting her first child with (Image: Image: Instagram) )
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The notorious Kinahan cartel was established by convicted drug trafficker Christy ‘Dapper Don’ Kinahan. His son, Daniel Kinahan, now leads the gang and has a £12million bounty on his head.
Before being named as a most wanted man by authorities, he had a more public profile, working as a boxing manager with MGM (later rebranded to MTK), where he advised stars like Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He entered combat sports with his friend and former fighter Matthew Macklin – but drugs and arms-dealing were reportedly his main source of income.
Kinahan has also been linked to a Dubai ‘super cartel’.
David Byrne murder
His gang gained worldwide notoriety in February 2016 when the murder of Lee Byrne’s uncle, David Byrne, ignited a deadly feud that claimed 18 lives.
Christy Kinahan was once closely associated with the Hutch gang led by Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, but relationships eventually soured, leading to a series of shocking incidents, the most notable being Byrne’s murder.
Gangster Liam Byrne will be in prison for the birth of his grandchild (Image: Irish Mirror)
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The killing took place at the Regency Hotel in Dublin during a boxing weigh-in for some of Daniel Kinahan’s MTK fighters. As one boxer stepped onto the scales, four men, two disguised as police officers, stormed the hotel armed with AK-47s.
Children were present and their terrified screams were captured on camera as the killers reportedly targeted Daniel Kinahan, who managed to escape unscathed. However, his associate David was shot dead as horrified bystanders fled the building.
What happened next?
This public underworld assassination shocked the nation and sparked a full-blown war on Dublin’s streets. Three days later, Eddie, Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch’s brother, was murdered at his home in the capital in an apparent revenge attack.
The killings didn’t stop there – a total of 18 people were killed, including ten in 2016 alone. Three people were mistakenly identified and killed, while four members of the Hutch family also lost their lives.
The scene outside the Regency Hotel after David Byrne was killed (Image: -)
‘The Monk’ was arrested for the murder of Byrne in 2021, yet he walked free from court a cleared man.
On the other hand, the Kinahan clan, with their empire worth an alleged $1billion, fell into the crosshairs of the US government in 2022. They set a bounty for information leading to the capture or conviction of its top figures, aiming to haul them before the bar of justice for funnelling “deadly narcotics, including cocaine, to Europe”.
Matt Horne of the UK’s NCA declared: “They thought they were untouchable, but we will explore every opportunity to disrupt their criminal activities. We will not stop here.”
As of now, Kinahan remains at large.