Multimedia project, part 3

Veronica Guerin – Ireland’s Anti-Drug Crusader

By Jake Thielen
12/3/09

Veronica Guerin only covered crime for three years, but in those three years she helped change the fortunes of an entire country.

Guerin was a reporter for Ireland’s Sunday Independent. As a reporter, Guerin saw first-hand how the people of Ireland were being affected by drugs. Her investigations into Dublin’s illegal drug trade led to government reforms, but ultimately she did not live to see them.

When Guerin began reporting crime for the Independent in 1994, the illegal drug trade had driven Dublin’s crime rates to the highest recorded level in Ireland’s history. As Guerin dug deeper and deeper into organized crime, her fame grew, but so did the danger that she faced.

She began to receive warnings from people that she was investigating. In 1994, someone fired shots through one of her windows after she published a story on murdered drug kingpin Martin “The General” Cahill. In 1995, she was shot in the leg while in her home by a masked man who had rung the doorbell.

In 1995, she began investigating John Gilligan. That September, Gilligan attacked her after she went to his house to ask him questions. Gilligan also later called Guerin’s home and threatened to harm her and her family if she wrote about him.

On June 26, 1996, Guerin was murdered by two masked men on a motorbike as she sat in her car, waiting at a traffic light near Dublin.

A witness claimed that Patrick “Dutchy” Holland was the shooter, but he was never convicted of the crime.

Gilligan was also charged with her murder, but he too was acquitted. Gilligan claimed that John Traynor, an informant that Guerin used for her stories, had actually ordered the murder. Traynor was never caught and Gilligan was sentenced to 28 years in prison for importing marijuana.

Brian Meehan, a Dublin drug dealer, was convicted of Guerin’s murder and sentenced to life in prison. Meehan was the getaway driver of the motorbike, but he is not believed to be the one who pulled the trigger.

After Guerin’s death, the Irish Government created the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), which used newly enacted tax laws to help seize control of the assets of suspected criminals. This, along with expanded anti-drug protests in the wake of Guerin’s death, helped Ireland gain more control over their crime problem.

In 2003, a film was made which chronicled the final years of Guerin’s life. The film, which was directed by Joel Schumacher and featured Cate Blanchett as Guerin, focused not only on the events that ultimately led to her death, but also on Guerin’s relationship with her family.

At the time of Guerin’s murder in 1996, she had a husband, Graham Turley, and a young son, Cathal.

In the film, Guerin was torn between investigating her stories and spending time with her family. Things were particularly tough after her assignments started to get dangerous. Graham, and other family members, pleaded with her to give up writing about crime in the interest of her own safety. Guerin was also shown as being frequently absent or late to family events, including her own son's birthday party.

The family aspect of the story is one that many journalists can relate to.

"Unpredictability is an issue, long hours as well," said Dr. Kristi Tanner-White, a journalism instructor at Oakland University.

"I would say long hours and the later work day make it hard on folks who would like to spend time with children," Tanner-White said.