Man charged with gun murder of Danny McClean and attempted murder of dissident republican

Sunday World

15-05-2025

The suspect (50) is due in court today
A man is due in court today charged with the murder of Danny McClean in Belfast more than four years ago.
He is also accused of the attempted murder of taxi driver Sean O'Reilly in February.
The suspect (50), who was arrested in north Belfast on Tuesday, has also been charged with firearms offences in relation to both incidents.
He is expected to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court on Thursday morning
Danny McClean
Watch: Forensics at the scene of shooting in west Belfast
The man had also been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Jim Donegan, also in Belfast, in December 2018, but he is not facing any charges in relation to this.
As is usual procedure, all charges are reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
The arrest of the suspect on Tuesday was made following a search by the PSNI's Major Investigation Team in north Belfast.
Murder victim Danny McClean
Detective Inspector Gina Quinn said: 'In respect of the attempted murder in west Belfast, a 49-year-old man was shot as he sat inside a taxi in the Bell Steel Manor area on the morning of Sunday 23 February. We believe two gunmen approached the vehicle on foot, and a number of shots were fired in a cold-blooded attack intended to kill.
'Danny McClean, aged 54, was murdered on the evening of 2 February 2021. He was shot a number of times by a gunman as he sat in a car parked in the driveway of a property on the Cliftonville Road in north Belfast.
Jim 'JD' Donegan
'Jim Donegan, aged 43, was murdered as he waited, in his car, to collect his son from school. This was in the Glen Road area of west Belfast on the afternoon of 4 December 2018. Mr Donegan was shot several times by a gunman.'
The attempted murder charge is in relation to dissident Sean O'Reilly.
The attack on Mr O'Reilly sparked fears of a violent retaliation amid an escalating feud between members of the dissident gang Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH) earlier this year.
Sean O'Reilly during the Republican Network for Unity Easter commemoration in Milltown cemetery on April 20
The victim was sitting in his car outside the taxi firm where he works in Poleglass when two masked men approached his vehicle shortly before 10.30am and fired multiple shots.
The wounded driver was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital where and was initially described as being in critical but stable condition.
Mr Donegan was shot dead in his Porsche car as he waited to collect his 13-year-old son outside St Mary's Christian Brothers School in 2018.
A Police Ombudsman probe previously said the PSNI "missed opportunities" to identify the subject of a dissident republican threat six months before the killing – the watchdog found a failure by police to link him to intelligence it received about a threat on an unnamed man.