Career criminal and senior Kinahan cartel figure Liam Roe dies
Kinahan cartel associate Liam Roe has died in hospital. He was 45.
Roe, from Drimnagh, Dublin, was being treated at St James’s Hospital for a blood disorder and sepsis.
A number of family members were by his bedside when he died yesterday.
Despite keeping a low profile in recent years, Roe was considered one of the most senior members of the cartel in Ireland. He was involved in organised crime for most of his adult life.
A notice on RIP.ie said Roe died “peacefully surrounded by his loving family and very close friends in the wonderful care of the staff at St James’s Hospital”.
It described him as the “beloved son of Seamus and the late Ann”.
“Liam will be sadly missed by his loving dad, his heartbroken partner Niamh, adored stepchildren Mia and Ashton, aunts, uncles, cousins, relatives and a wide circle of friends, it added.
His funeral will take place in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Mourne Road, Drimnagh, on Friday morning, followed by burial in Bohernabreena Cemetery.
Bop, as he was known, was a target of the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) in its fight to seize €1.4m worth of assets from the Byrne crime organisation.
He was a constant companion of his cousin, Liam Byrne, before Byrne fled the country and was jailed in the UK, where he faces firearms charges.
Roe previously claimed in a Cab case that he was unemployed, relying on his father’s financial support and on friends for transport.
But he was once stopped at Dublin
Airport with €60,000 in his check-in bag. When challenged, he produced evidence that his bank account had a balance of €294,000.
His lavish lifestyle was laid bare in court, including a number of holidays to luxury destinations. He took six trips in one year to the UK, US and Spain, as well as attending Conor McGregor’s fight with Chad Mendes in Las Vegas in 2015.
As part of the Cab investigation, the bureau seized an Audi A5 car and a Kawasaki motorbike from Roe worth a total of €38,000.
He had also been targeted during the Hutch-Kinahan feud in late 2015. Roe was standing outside the Red Cow Hotel in Dublin when he was approached by a Hutch gang hitman. He survived when the gun jammed.
Roe was present during the Regency Hotel shooting in February 2016. He was pictured outside with associates after his cousin David Byrne was killed.
Last year, Roe was involved in a campaign of intimidation against innocent Dublin families after a woman was assaulted at a house party.