Martin ‘The General' Cahill gang thug Joseph Kavanagh, who carried out bank director abduction, dies suddenly at home
Brute Joseph 'Jo Jo' Kavanagh, a relative of fallen
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Joseph 'Jo Jo' Kavanagh was a one-time associate of criminal Martin Cahill
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
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Brute Joseph 'Jo Jo' Kavanagh died at his home this week
Credit: RIP.ie
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He is a relative of Kinahan thug Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh
Credit: PA:Press Association
The thug, understood to have been aged in his late 60s, previously served seven years of a 12-year sentence for abducting former National Irish Bank director Jim Lacey and members of his family at their
Kavanagh was convicted of robbery, possession of a handgun with intent to commit an offence and demanding cash with menaces with intention to steal.
The brazen
Although £300,000 was taken, it was much less than the millions the Cahill gang had planned to steal.
Read more in News
As part of this ploy, sources explained how Kavanagh allowed Cahill shoot him in the leg two months after the kidnapping.
Kavanagh, who had only suffered a flesh wound, told
But the concocted story and move was rejected by the Special Criminal
It was the Cahill gang's last big job before its leader was shot dead in 1994.
Most read in Irish News
Sources who dealt with Kavanagh say he was a "depraved" and "vile" character, who assaulted gardai while in custody multiple times.
He was part of Cahill's inner circle, alongside Martin 'The Viper' Foley, John 'The Coach' Traynor, and Martin Cunningham, from the 70s into the 90s.
'DANGEROUS CHARACTER'
One source told the Irish Sun: "Martin Cahill kept the likes of Kavanagh very close.
"Cahill had carried out a favour for Kavanagh previously. Cahill then held it over Kavanagh and used him.
"Kavanagh himself was a bad egg, a sleeveen and a highly dangerous character."
NEPHEWS KILLED
Kavanagh's nephews Gerard - nicknamed 'Hatchet' - and Paul worked for the Kinahan cartel.
But both were later whacked by the deadly mob in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Kavanagh is also related to 'Bomber', who was the second in command for the cartel before being locked up in the UK for two decades for drug trafficking.
Kavanagh's funeral notice says his funeral is "private for family and close friends."
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Dublin gangster Martin Foley was also a part of the gang
Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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'Guided by voices' 16 Police searching for the Ripper's first murder victim Wilma McCann in 1975 Credit: Alamy 16 Peter Sutcliffe leaving Isle of Wight Magistrates Court in 1983 after giving evidence against James Costello who was accused of attacking him at Parkhurst Prison Credit: Rex 16 Ripper survivor Tracy Browne was attacked near her home in Silsden Credit: Rex Features Sutcliffe claimed the voices even guided him on who to kill and who not to, stopping him from completing his attack on a schoolgirl. He had spotted Tracy Browne, then 14, as she was walking home after an evening with friends in Silsden, near Bingley, in August 1975. After engaging her in a brief conversation as they walked along a quiet country lane, Sutcliffe attacked her from behind, raining blows down on her head with a heavy stick. A car coming up the lane with its headlights saved Tracy, but in Sutcliffe's twisted mind it was the voices who called him off. He said: 'I thought she was a prostitute at first, walking slowly and that and looking round. I hit her on the head and it just didn't knock her out, it was only a stick. 'I threw her over a wall and said, 'You'll be okay I'm going,' cos I realised that she wasn't a prostitute, she was a… she seemed fairly young, but I didn't know how young she was. 'I heard the voice saying, 'No, no, it's a mistake. Stop-stop,' so I just said 'Oh you'll be alright I'm going now' and that was it.' I thought she was a prostitute at first, walking slowly and that and looking round. I hit her on the head and it just didn't knock her out, it was only a stick. I threw her over a wall and said, 'You'll be okay I'm going' Peter Sutcliffe The question of whether Sutcliffe really heard the voices was central to his trial and continued to rage after. And it was one of the aspects of the case that motivated Alife to get in touch with him to discover what the truth was. 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'When we were sitting there in Broadmoor just the two of us he had nobody to impress and no reason to lie. I felt I was in a unique position to get all this stuff. 'It might sound strange but he was always a good host and made the effort to make you feel welcome. 'He was always like, big smiles; he would stand up and walk over to you, shaking your hand, put his arm around you and say, 'Thanks for coming all the way.' 'He'd sit and have a drink. His clothes were too tight for him because he had a big stomach due to injections for his diabetes. 'He was clean and tidy but in the later years, when his eyesight was getting bad, I noticed stains on his top, stuff still in his beard, he looked like a bit of a tramp. It might sound strange but he was always a good host and made the effort to make you feel welcome Alfie James 'It was a chance in a lifetime for me to get this information out of somebody like Sutcliffe. 'I wanted to know what he's really like so I wrote to him, he replied and it developed from there. 'Looking back now it was such a unique opportunity which I'm pleased I took because I found out so many things which were not known before.' Alfie's drive to discover what motivated Sutcliffe led him on an incredible journey until he became as close as anyone to the Yorkshire Ripper. He added: 'It was strange to begin with. At our first meeting in Broadmoor, I was looking at his hands and thought, 'The crimes those hands have done.' 'And when I was looking him in the eye I couldn't help thinking, 'The things you've seen.' 'Despite that, my main thought was, 'I want to know, what have you done and why did you do it?'' Over 16 years his persistence paid off as Sutcliffe, who died in prison in 2020 aged 74, confided details about every aspect of his life – and crimes. NEXT TIME: The Ripper's Delight – a hoaxer derails the police investigation. .. 'I'm The Yorkshire Ripper' by Robin Perrie and Alfie James is published by Mirror Books and is available in paperback and as an ebook. Buy it on 16 Police and crowds at the first remand appearance of Peter Sutcliffe in 1981 Credit: Alamy 16 Broadmoor Hospital, the psychiatric hospital where Sutcliffe was transferred after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia Credit: Alamy 16 Sutcliffe died in prison in 2020 aged 74 (picture taken in 2017) Credit: Ian Whittaker
