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BADDEST PUB IN IRELAND

Lawless Limerick lounge is headquarters for one of the country's most violent and ruthless gangs

IT looks, from the outside, like any other respectable city-centre bar. But this lawless pub is Ireland's answer to Tony Soprano's Bada Bing Club.

For the last 18 months, The Mucky Duck in Limerick has seen drugs seizures, violent brawls, a vicious stabbing and dozens of garda raids.

Gardai claim the pub is being controlled by the notorious Keane/Collopy gang and that there has been "a total breakdown of the law" in the bar.

Crimelord

This exclusive picture shows feared crimelord Brian Collopy pulling pints for his pals in the once-quiet city centre bar.

By day, feared mobster Collopy (37) is leader of one of Limerick's two feuding violent drug gangs.

The chubby gangster ruthlessly controls the Keane/Collopy crime family who are locked in a bloody 12 year war with their rivals, the McCarthy-Dundons. But by night, Collopy can be found doling out the drinks for his crew in the Mucky Duck - dubbed Ireland's dodgiest pub by locals.

Gardai claim senior members of the feuding mob can be found drinking after hours in the pub almost every night of the week.

A source said: "The Collopys name is not on the licence but they have a huge influence in how the pub is run.

"The door is locked some of the time and you have to ring a buzzer to get it.

"They are in there after hours getting pissed every night of the week, they don't even bother answering the door if there is a raid - God help any tourist who ends up in there by accident."

He added: "It is out of control, a guy had his throat slit in there last year and by the time gardai got there the floor had been bleached clean."

The pub is being investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) as profilers attempt to piece together a list of the assets acquired by the Collopy gang.

Gardai believe Collopy and his crew are controlling The Mucky Duck - just like Tony Soprano controlled Bada Bing Club in the smash-hit US Mafia series, The Sopranos.

Last week, gangster Brian Collopy was fined in Limerick District Court after he was caught serving drink at the Mucky Duck bar at 7 o'clock in the morning in April 2009.

At the same court sitting, Brian's brother, Jonathan, was also fined for shutting the door on gardai who called to inspect in the early hours of June 26th.

Contempt

In court, Inspector Seamus Gallagher said gardai were treated with contempt whenever they tried to inspect the Mucky Duck.

He said: "The gardai were made fools of."

Detective Sgt Ronan McDonagh also told how he was refused entry by Jonathan when he called to inspect the pub at 1.25am last June.

"Jonathan Collopy came to the door and opened it, saw that it was us and shut the door."

In another exclusive image, Brian's brother, Kieran, can be seen boozing with pals in the pub. In 2003, Kieran narrowly escaped with his life after members of the McCarthy/Dundon gang planned to murder him.

The feuding mobsters abducted Kieran Keane and his nephew Owen Treacy and tried to use them to lure brothers Kieran and Philip Collopy into a trap. But they refused and Keane was shot dead.

The photograph seems to have been taken inside The Mucky Duck on Christmas Day - despite the fact it is illegal to serve alcohol on that day.

Brian Collopy has headed up the Collopy/Keane faction since his pal godfather Kieran Keane was murdered in 2003.

In 2006, he narrowly survived an assasination attempt after he was shot twice in a drive-by shooting while walking in a laneway near the city centre. He has also been hit with a bill from CAB for over €500,000 for drug-dealing and the illegal sale of guns.

In 2005, CAB seized and sold a threebedroom home belonging to him - Ashby House, in Fedamore, Co Limerick, for €225,000.

The crime bureau was awarded possession of the property in the High Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act. But now, gardai claim Collopy has added bar-keeping to his "business" interests.

Licence

In January, former publican Michael Joyce (25) - who held the pub licence for the Mucky Duck - was fined €5,000 for breaching the licensing laws and for failing to allow gardai enter the pub.

Garda Patrick O'Hanlon told the court how he was refused access when he called to the pub on 3 March 2009. He said he could hear people shouting "gardai" inside the bar when he arrived at the scene but nobody answered the door.

"They could hear us," he told the court. "We clearly identified ourselves as gardai."

Solicitor Ted McCarthy said his client, Mr Joyce,was not in control of the pub - despite having his name on the licence.

"He bit off more than he could chew, from very early on, he had difficulty controlling the bar and the customers. He found it almost impossible."

The court heard that when it came to closing time, Mr Joyce would go home, leaving the Mucky Duck open. In September 2009, he closed the premises with another three months to go on his licence. Mr McCarthy his client was pleading guilty to the charges.

"He has no desire to ever get involved in the pub trade again.

"He just wasn't able to handle it."

The solicitor told the court that the Criminal Assets Bureau visited his client's home to see if he had profited from running the bar.

"They satisfied themselves that he had no money," Mr McCarthy said. In court, Judge O'Donnell asked if Mr Joyce allowed drinkers to take control of the pub after hours.

He said: "Am I to understand that this premises opened on a regular basis and if there was any trouble, staff left and clientele were left to run the premises?" he asked.

Summing up, the judge described the gang's influence over the pub as a case of the "lunatics taking over the asylum."

He said: "In the annals of licensing history at Limerick District Court I don't think I've come across a more outrageous set of circumstances."

The Collopy/Keane crime gang are a major target for CAB profilers. CAB chiefs believe the gang recently bought 32 acres of land in north Munster.

Pleaded

They were leasing the land from the owner, but it is suspected that they purchased the entire property in a hardcash deal believed to have been worth in the region of €300,000.

In another sitting in December, gardai pleaded with a judge not to grant a licence to the bar in Limerick District Court.

Sgt Donal Cronin claimed "nefarious interests" had a controlling influence at The Mucky Duck. He described how blood had been
removed from inside the bar when specialists from the Scenes of Crime Unit went to the pub to examine the scene after a man "had his throat slit by means of a knife".

In January 2009, the man had his throat slashed after a fight broke out as up to 100 people celebrated a Traveller marriage at the Mucky Duck. In court, Sgt Cronin said the injured man lost a lot of blood after he was "deposited" on Nicholas Street outside the bar.

The court was told that the barman, Lukaz Rudnik, who applied for the pub licence, declined to make a written statement to assist gardai in their investigation.

"I am extremely concerned about the bona fides of all the people in the premises at the time, including the applicant," Sgt Cronin said.

He said he did not think Mr Rudnik had the strength of character to deal with the "stronger personalities that have had influence" at the bar.

"I don't think he appreciates the need to comply with the law."

However, Judge Tom O'Donnell agreed to grant a temporary licence for the pub saying "it would be unfair to visit all the sins of the past licensee on the applicant",

He said: "It is a temporary transfer, which has to be confirmed, if the Gardai have concerns between now and then they can bring those concerns before the licensing court."

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