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Irish Daily Mirror
01-08-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
See inside the hidden holding cells under the CCJ and our largest remand prison
These are the hidden hallways of a bustling underground 'mini-prison' that sits right beneath Ireland's main court building. The Irish Mirror gained unprecedented access to the massive holding cell area of Dublin's Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) in Parkgate Street - and to Ireland's largest remand prison - Cloverhill, in an exclusive video podcast to be released today. In the Shattered Lives podcast special, available on the Irish Mirror's YouTube channel today (Friday), three Governors of the Irish Prison Service also opened up about the reality of the committal process - bringing prisoners to and from the CCJ - and adjusting them to the realities of jail life. They also revealed to us the grim reality that weapons have been dropped into prisons via drone - and how 'tensions to this day' remain behind bars due to the Kinahan / Hutch feud. Speaking to the Irish Mirror inside a hallway consisting of 21 holding cells situated right beneath the courts in Dublin, Paddy Moran Assistant Governor of Mountjoy Prison told us: 'As you can see as we're walking there's a number of different holding cells. This would mimic what would actually happen on a larger scale in an actual prison, where we have to keep the different prisoners from different factions separated. It might be to do with feuds or it could be to do with all sorts of things like debts, people who might have given information or might be perceived to have given information to the guard. "We have to protect them while they're in custody and keep them separate from each other.' Paddy Moran and Paul Healy in one of the holding cells at the CCJ Holding cells at the CCJ Paddy is a senior official in a prison that was at one stage entirely segregated due to the bitter rivalries of the Kinahan Hutch feud - which killed 18 men. He told us of the unique challenges of that time - and how many of those tensions haven't gone away behind bars. 'That caused significant headaches within the prison service because there were large numbers of different gangs around the country that were, you know, pledging their allegiances to different sides in that particular high-profile feud. Yes, the feud has simmered down publicly thank God, but there are still lingering issues within the prison system of different prisoners who have been involved in different situations that can't mix with each other,' he revealed. 'There's still tensions to this day. But there are other feuds going on around the country. Not as well publicised but oftentimes pretty dangerous deadly feuds as well.' Inside Cloverhill Prison, which is home to over 400 prisoners awaiting trial or sentence, the Irish Mirror was granted access to many areas, including the A2 landing, where we saw inside a cell - where a TV, bunk beds and other facilities were visible. We were shown the reception area, where a prisoner is brought in and comprehensively searched - as well as one of the yards - which is protected by netting that nonetheless can sometimes be breached by drones. We also saw the 'Circle' - a massive area in the very centre of the prison where most other areas of the jail are accessible. Kevin O'Connell, Governor of Cloverhill Prison speaking to Paul Healy in The Circle area of the prison Bridget Allen and Kevin O'Connell, Governor of Cloverhill Prison, speaking to Paul Healy on one of the landings And in one shocking revelation to this paper, Cloverhill Prison Governor Kevin O'Connell revealed that prisoners have successfully managed to smuggle weapons into prison - after they were dropped into the yard via drone. 'Yes, I have seen it here myself. I have seen shivs, stanley blades and weapons and tools as well,' he told us. Kevin O'Connell, Governor of Cloverhill Prison, speaking to Paul Healy Cloverhill prison 'Prisoners will come up with ingenious ways of trying to conceal contraband and phones when they get into the prison. They'll hide it behind a light, a screen or whatever. In the round, the number of weapons used prisoner on prisoner has reduced greatly and that's been a positive piece and that's down to the de-escalation techniques and the work our staff do with our prisoners.' The Governor revealed that he has seen Stanley blades, shivs, mobile phones and all manner of contraband snuck into the prison - often in very inventive ways. Speaking to us by the shower area where prisoners undress and are searched before being committed, he spoke to us of one occasion where a prisoner tried to sneak over 700 tablets inside by hanging them from his nether region. Cloverhill Prison landing 'One of our staff noticed a prisoner here at ten o'clock at night. He wasn't in a full state of undress, he had his bottom half covered. One of our staff noticed he had something concealed on his lower half… to his groin area. Upon closer inspection they uncovered a quantity of several hundred tablets on his person,' he revealed. In the podcast, we also spoke to experienced Assistant Governor Bridget Allen of the Irish Prison Service Training College, which has sites in Portlaoise and Dublin. She speaks in depth on the podcast about training recruit prison officers and on highlighting the prisoner journey from the courthouse all the way to the prison. Phil O'Meara, Assistant Governor with the Prison Service Escort Group (PSEC), also speaks on the podcast - showing us the 'dock' in Court 6 of the CCJ, and informing us how prison staff escort a prisoner to that area and remain offside but on constant standby for any event during the course of a trial. Cloverhill Prison cell Cloverhill Prison exercise yard with mesh covering 'The staff will escort the prisoner through this area here into the court as soon as his case is called. Staff will put themselves into a position where they are offside and won't prejudice the trial duration of the sitting,' he told us. 'The CCJ here is a very busy place as you can imagine here, Monday to Friday, and in the unfortunate event that something does happen, we have staff that we can call on straight away to assist if we have any disturbances." Assistant Governor Bridget Allen added: 'All our staff would carry radios as well. We have up to 60-70 staff here (in the CCJ) on a daily basis. Every escort that comes into the court has a radio on them so it's very easy for us to call for help if needed. I suppose it's part of our training. We're trained how to deal with those situations,' she said. Showing us inside a holding cell located directly below one of the courts, Assistant Governor Paddy Moran told of that stage of the process - where a newly-committed prisoner is beginning to adjust to their new reality. 'The first person that they're going to meet is a prison officer. We will be dealing with people that could be in crisis. They could be volatile, could be suicidal, could be stressed. Yes, they have committed a crime but we have to provide support to help them get their head around what has actually happened from there on in. I would treat any prisoner I meet the way I would want to be treated if I was in their shoes,' he said. The Irish Prison Service is currently running a recruit prison officer competition and you can find out more by visiting Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
Irish Daily Mirror
12-07-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
'He is evil' - Jozef Puska grinned at Ashling Murphy's boyfriend during trial
The boyfriend of murder victim Ashling Murphy has revealed how he had to restrain himself in court as her 'evil' killer Jozef Puska locked eyes with him and smiled. In the second part of our exclusive interview an emotional Ryan Casey told of how remorseless murderer Puska stared and smirked at him and the family throughout his November 2023 trial. 'You just watched this before your eyes and you think this guy's pure evil. And he is evil. I firmly believe it. I made eye contact with him the first day we came in and I never saw such evil in anyone's eyes in my life. Those grey eyes,' Ryan said. 'He'd look over at us, he'd make eye contact and he'd grin his little teeth. Just nasty little things. Not an ounce of remorse. Unless you're in the courtroom you don't see that I suppose.' Brave Ryan, who spoke exclusively to the podcast, 'Shattered Lives,' told how he found himself having to leave the courtroom on several occasions - as he couldn't contain his anger over Puska's brazen arrogance. Watch the full interview below 'To sit there and look at a guy like that for six weeks knowing what he's done to your partner. Don't get me wrong there were a couple of times, you probably saw it, where I had to get out of there. I'll be honest with you, me and my Dad, we had to get out of there. We didn't trust ourselves,' he revealed. 'We didn't want to jeopardise what the gardai had worked so hard to put together, what was a very strong and robust case. I'd be lying to you and everyone if I was to sit here and say I was able to keep things under control. It was very hard. Especially when he's so close.' Ryan opened up about having to sit through the most harrowing evidence of the six week trial - with the jury and family members having to hear of how Puska stalked Ashling as she went for her run along Grand Canal Way in Cappincur, just outside of Tullamore, Co Offaly on January 12, 2022. They heard graphic evidence of how the psychotic killer knifed Ashling 11 times in the neck in broad daylight - and saw shocking CCTV of him stalking multiple women on his bike ahead of the killing. 'Looking back at it now, we actually went into court and the immediate aftermath of it not prepared for what we were about to sit through,' Ryan told us. 'There's another element to it too, that took a lot of us off guard - how the human element of it was removed. It was very factually based and evidence based. A lot of the human side of it was taken out of the question. That was one thing that was hard to accept at the beginning. It was just very matter of fact and it's cold. It's tough to sit through that for six weeks,' he said. And he told us why it was important for him and the rest of the family - including Ashling's parents, sister and brother, to be there for the entire trial. 'I guess it was important for a sense to bring some sort of humanity into the courtroom. We wanted to be there and represent the person they're discussing. I think it's important, you know, to find that inner strength and to sit there. You know to be there and show to him (Puska) who's sitting five or six metres away from you, we ain't going anywhere. We know exactly what you done to her. A lot of it was about defiance but God damn it was tough to listen to.' Ryan told us he was 'definitely not prepared' to hear the horrific details of the murder itself, but he says he found the strength to be there for Ashling. 'I was definitely not prepared for that part. That was tough. It was just one of those things. It just felt like you had to be there for it. And I don't know, you have to dig deep and show a bit of defiance. Show him and his family members who sat down the back and supported him, how the hell can ye guys support him and what he's done. You want to sit through this and support him after this?" Ryan also spoke about having to sit through Puska taking the witness stand - where he provided an 11th hour new story in which he sensationally claimed he interrupted the real killer - and tried to 'help' Ashling. 'It was embarrassing and it was just downright disgraceful that he thought he could even spin something the way in which he tried to spin it and it just sums him up in my opinion - to drag a family through that knowing what he's done and to try and spin a ludicrous story like he tried to pull. It's crazy stuff,' Ryan said. 'It was infuriating. It was so disrespectful and it just sums him up. Anyone that sat in that courtroom knew, not even, it didn't even have to go past a week, a lot of people knew. In my mind I wasn't afraid that he wouldn't get the verdict we were looking for. (But) verdicts and justice are two different things I suppose. How do you get justice for that really? There's no real justice in a case like this." Puska is now serving a life sentence in the Midlands Prison - and for Ryan, he hopes he stays there - though he has considered if he'd prefer he'd been deported back to Slovakia. 'There's part of me that thinks keep your enemies close and keep him here under our supervision. Then you see the cost to the State,' he said. Asked if he had any message for Puska or for the family members who stood by him throughout his trial Ryan said: 'I've nothing to say to them. He was just a good for nothing low life who had nothing going on for himself and what he done that day and why he done it I don't know. I don't think we'll ever know. He's just a good for nothing coward really. And I'm not afraid to say it, the family that stood by and supported him and continues to support him, what are they made of? 'If and when the time comes, who knows what the future has in store for us all, I just know if I had a child some day and they came to me and said I've committed such a crime - I'd be the first person to drag you to the garda station, sit you down there and say I never want to see you again if you done what you said you done. How can they support that? 'They sat through that trial as well after listening to all the evidence as well. Come on. Is that what you really want in our society too?' This month it also emerged that two of Jozef Puska's brothers who were convicted in connection with their actions following the murder, will not be appealing their convictions. Lubomir Puska Jr, 38, and Marek Puska, 36, along with their wives Viera Gaziova, 40, and Jozefina Grundzova, 32, are all set to be sentenced in October after a jury accepted the prosecution's case that the brothers misled gardaí by failing to disclose crucial and vital information when they gave witness statements, while their wives burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Meanwhile Jozef Puska's wife Lucia Istokova, 36, had pleaded guilty to withholding information from gardaí investigating the murder. But Ryan says he does not ultimately care that the brothers are not appealing - and says the family members were convicted thanks to overwhelming evidence. 'They've been found guilty so to be honest with you I don't care what they do. The evidence was there and it was cut and dry. I don't think there's anything wrong with me discussing this. They tried to conceal it. They've been found guilty of that. Is that really the people we want walking around our streets?' he said. The heartbroken young man also opened up about how he wants Ashling - who was a talented musician and beloved teacher, to be remembered. 'I want her to be remembered as a person who embodied everything that's good about Ireland. She was interested in culture and the arts, was a very talented musician and she loved giving back to her community. A very loving person, very caring person, very unselfish person," he said. "She would always go out of her way, would always put herself last. Never liked the spotlight. Just a very giving loving nurturing person. Loved her family, she loved children. She'd work all week. She'd come home, she'd teach Friday night and then she'd teach all day Saturday from nine to seven in the evening. "That was her way of giving back but she also did it because she loved kids."
Irish Daily Mirror
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
'I'm not far-right' - Boyfriend of murdered Ashling Murphy speaks for first time
The boyfriend of murder victim Ashling Murphy today insists 'I'm not far right and I didn't incite violence.' Ryan Casey, (27), feels he has been censored and silenced ever since having to take a defamation case against the BBC over comments that were made about his victim impact statement on their programme 'The View' by journalist Kitty Holland back in 2023. Speaking now for the first time after settling his case against the broadcaster, Ryan opened up about: Being labelled as 'far right' and having his powerful victim impact statement delivered in court in November 2022 be censored by and misinterpreted by others. Ryan said he felt he needed to take the case against the BBC after comments made by Ms Holland asserting that aspects of his victim impact statement, read out in court during Puska's sentencing in November 2022, were 'not good' and were 'incitement to hatred". Speaking from his family home in an exclusive Shattered Lives podcast, Ryan told us: 'I don't think there's a word of it that is incitement to hatred or appealing to any of this far right stuff that everyone likes to call everyone nowadays that has an opposing opinion or any concerns about the safety of the country and stuff.' He also stated that he was rejecting any notion that his statement - directed at Puska, who came to this country in 2013, never worked and lived off the State - in stark contrast to Ashling, was in any way 'anti immigrant.' 'If it [the victim impact statement] led anyone to believe that I was anti-immigration, like shame on you, because read the whole statement and you clearly know that I'm not I'm not anti immigration at all. Immigration for this country has been an amazing thing,' he said. 'This is what the problem is, the labelling and just the thought that someone from those two words might think I'm anti-immigration. It is what it is and I have no problem in saying I stand over that statement today even more so than ever before." The brave young man, who says he feels he has been 'muzzled' for the past three years amid the defamation case, says he now wants to take back his story and speak out. And one major issue Ryan says he now wants to reveal is what he says was a private meeting he had with then Minister of Justice Helen McEntee in early 2022, where he says she promised him that legislation giving powers to Judges to hand down minimum prison terms to ruthless killers, would be in place before Puska was convicted. However, the legislation has still not been enacted - and Ryan says he feels let down by her and the Justice system - as he now faces the prospect of the psychopathic killer being released in his lifetime. Even at the time of Puska's sentencing, presiding Judge Tony Hunt expressed his frustration that his hands were tied on the issue, stating it was 'long past time that Judges have some say in setting what the minimum terms should be.' The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week 'We were promised this in early 2022. She [Helen McEntee] said it right to us, right to me, to the Murphys. She literally said we will have this in place by the time if he's been convicted he will see the full force of the law in this country. I'm talking a month or two after it happened initially. It was said to us in the Murphy's sitting room,' Ryan said. And Ryan spoke of the terrifying fact that Puska could be released by the time he is in his 40s. 'The average has come up a little bit in recent years but the average is 21 years. That's crazy. That's not life. I know our prisons are places of reform but there has to be categories to it,' he said. 'It has to depend on the nature of the crime, like this is crazy stuff, 21 years time. I'm only 27. That guy, given our current system, is going to be out and I'm going to be touching late 40s. 'It's all talk and very little action. I'm not a politician, I'm not a barrister or a State legislator but how is that a hard piece of legislation to pass and bring in and run through the Dail? 'I don't think anyone would have any argument with it,' he said. Asked if he felt let down by Helen McEntee and the government Ryan said: 'Yeah absolutely. We all do. The justice system let us down. When you're promised the change will come in the time before that trial, don't make that promise if you can't meet it. 'That's infuriating to know that he was sentenced then to life and for Tony Hunt to make those comments. It's even more infuriating because it just highlights the fact that they didn't even try. They done nothing. And it can't be done retrospectively.' The Irish Mirror contacted Ms McEntee about Ryan's claims and she did not respond - while a spokesperson for her current Department of Housing said we should refer our query to the Department of Justice - which is now headed by Jim O'Callaghan. The Department of Justice did not return a comment before this article went to print. And Ryan believes remorseless Puska, who knifed Ashling 11 times in the neck in a horrific broad daylight attack, should die behind bars. 'He should never see the light of day. That's what I think. That's why, you know going back to the victim impact statement, we were told these were very important documents as well in those 21 years time, if he ever gets a chance to be up for review for release. It's ridiculous to even contemplate but these documents would be hugely instrumental for a parole board to look and say, 'Jesus no we can't let this guy out'. 'That's why we also felt the need to put our heart on our sleeves to ensure this guy never sees the light of day again. If the Justice system can't do it, maybe we can.' He also revealed that those powerful victim impact statements were never in his mind intended for public consumption. 'It wasn't a public statement. It was a statement for the court record, and to the Judge and Jozef Puska. We didn't want the media in the room. We were requesting this and we were told no, the media have the right to be in the room. Look it, I don't regret wearing my heart on my sleeve. Some things you wish didn't happen but I did the right thing.' Asked about the day Puska is released and if he fears that moment Ryan told us: 'Do I fear it? Personally? I don't know, I think he's the one that should be afraid if he's ever released. That's my feeling on it. I think it's in his best interest if he stays where he is." He also spoke of his infuriation that Puska, now housed in the Midlands Prison, is being taught English at the expense of the taxpayer. 'To the tune of about €1,250 per prisoner to get an English lesson. I looked into it and I found it out. He would have been better off maybe learning English when he got here. It might have helped him get a job. Like I said I'm all for reform but there has to be levels to it. 'Like why are we as the taxpayer funding a guy that committed such an atrocity, to learn English. God damn it, what are we like? We're so soft.' The heartbroken young man also opened up about the harrowing moment he received a call to be told something awful had happened to the love of his life on the afternoon of January 12, 2022. He last spoke to Ashling in person on January 10 - a stark memory now etched in his brain after they decided not to touch one another due to Covid restrictions at the time. 'I met her two days beforehand. It would have been the last time I saw her. We had Covid in the house at the time. I didn't have it but we were isolating. And she had done the shopping for us on the 10th, so we couldn't go anywhere. She brought in the shopping and she left it at the doorstep and I brought it in. There was a moment. She was just about to sit into her car and we kind of latched eyes for a second. I can't even describe it. In the aftermath I thought about it a lot. 'Huge regret around that moment obviously. Why didn't I just say feck the restrictions, who cares. 'Why didn't I just hold her.' They stayed chatting over the phone the next day, Ryan said, and were texting on the morning before Ashling went for her run. "We said our goodnights I suppose on the 11th, a little bit past midnight into the early hours of the 12th. I still have those text messages. That would have been the last time I spoke to her. Ashling had gone running on the 11th, and considered her run along Grand Canal Way - a busy and popular spot, to be safe. 'This is the thing that's most killing about it. She done nothing wrong,' Ryan said. "She ran in an area and every now and then I go down there myself and do the walk. There's just always a flurry of people walking around and I just wonder - why? 'It's always busy, this is the thing. It goes back to the realisation for me that you know what, it's not the country we grew up in anymore if we can't even go for a walk after a day's work on a bright January day. Was there concerns? No. I know her Mam Kathleen had concerns and told her not to be going down there but that's what any mother would have, those concerns." Ryan revealed how he felt something was up by the evening of the 12th - and he felt compelled to call Ashling. 'Something got into me on the 12th. It got to maybe five o'clock, maybe half five. Something inside of me just said you know what I'm sick of these frustrations, I don't care and so I rang her. I would have text her maybe two, three o'clock. She would have been just finishing school. 'I would have text her I said feck these restrictions, I'm sick of not being able to see you, lets go for a McDonald's or something. I got no response for a couple of hours, which would be unusual. I tried to ring her again, I got no answer. A couple of hours went by and I think I rang Ray (Ashling's father). Ray didn't answer either. Ray eventually I suppose rang back and he didn't tell me initially. He was just distraught and he was telling me 'you need to come over.' 'I thought maybe it was a car crash or something. I remember I just ran up the hallway, up to my Dad and I think we were just in fight or flight mode. I never thought it was anything that serious. Dad drove me over and I remember being on the way over with rattles and shakes. I just got to the house, cars everywhere and that's when you got a sick feeling, you know? 'One of her cousins came out to me and just hugged me and I think I was just hysterical to be honest. At that stage I knew what the hell's going on. No one would tell me obviously. Then I was brought into the front room and they told me then. I don't remember much after that." It was some time before Ryan would learn the full harrowing facts - that Puska stalked Ashling and attacked her at random - stabbing her multiple times. 'I definitely didn't know the extent of it. We just knew that she was attacked by someone. We just had each other. There's no tools to help you process that,' he said. 'You're just in shock. It's turmoil. Your life is turned upside down.' The next part of the process was even more difficult for Ryan as gardai investigating the murder had to ask him difficult questions. 'I remember being brought out by the guards and obviously they have to ask their questions as far as the initial investigation. They're asking you questions for obvious reasons. But at the time that was tough. Last contact, all that sort of stuff. They were just doing their jobs I suppose." IN SATURDAY'S MIRROR - Ryan speaks about facing Puska in court, his political ambitions and more.
Dublin Live
27-04-2025
- Dublin Live
Graham Dwyer detective says killer 'would have murdered again' after Elaine O'Hara
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Monster Graham Dwyer would have killed again - if Gardaí had not caught him for murdering Elaine O'Hara, the detective who nailed him says. "I have no doubt that if he wasn't caught, he would have built up to murder somebody again," Peter Woods says. And, in an exclusive interview with The Irish Mirror, Mr Woods reveals that the killer brazenly taunted him and another detective when they were questioning him about Elaine's murder – by pointing at his own private parts. Mr Woods, a recently-retired Garda detective sergeant who played a central role in bringing Dwyer, 53, to justice over the August 2012 murder of Elaine in the Dublin mountains, tells our Shattered Lives podcast the incident happened when he challenged him about his sick habit of looking at videos of images of women with stab wounds. Mr Woods says Dwyer got angry when he was being questioned following his arrest on October 17, 2013 – a month after the remains of Elaine, 36, had been found in Killakee Wood, a discovery that prompted a massive murder probe. Mr Woods says he challenged him about texts to Elaine that showed his sexual interest in bloodletting – and Dwyer became angry. He says: "At one stage, he got very annoyed with me. I said to him: 'You have a fetish for stabbing women, bloodletting.' (Image: Mick O'Neill) "He pointed at his penis. He said, 'look, do I have an erection here? Do you think I have an erection? What do you think?' He got really pissed off with me reading out the content of (texts between Dwyer and Elaine)." Mr Woods broke his silence to speak about the Dwyer case following his retirement late last year – and this month's tenth anniversary of the twisted architect being jailed for life for Elaine's murder, a charge he denies to this day. Dwyer, a native of Bandon in Cork but living in Foxrock, south Dublin, was given the mandatory life term on April 20, 2015 following his conviction at the end of March in that year following a mammoth trial that shocked and gripped the nation. The prosecution successfully argued that Dwyer – who had a fascination with gore and knives – stabbed Elaine to death for his own sexual gratification after luring her to a meeting at Shanganagh, south Dublin and bringing her to Killakee. (Image: Collins photo agency) As soon as he was convicted, there was speculation Dwyer may have killed before, especially as a text he sent Elaine mentioned Raonaid Murray, a 17-year-old who was stabbed to death in Glenageary, south Dublin in late 1999 – a crime that has never been solved. It's understood Dwyer has been excluded as a suspect for that killing – and Mr Woods says he believes Elaine was the monster's only victim. He says some of the texts to Elaine clearly show he was building up to a murder – and give no indication he had previously killed. He says: "If you look at the text messages, and I have done, it appears that he was building up to this. "I don't actually believe that he killed before. I don't believe that, but that's (my) personal opinion. What informs me is the text messages. 'I want to do a woman next', and it built up from there." But he does say he believes Dwyer would have killed again after Elaine's murder to satisfy his blood lust – and his conviction prevented that. He says: "This (murder of Elaine) is definitely in the category of a sexual offence. "I know a bit about sexual offenders and what happens. And sexual offenders tend to build up to an offence, then they commit the offence, and then they stop for a while. "And when they stop for a while, the urges build up in them again, and they get the urge and it becomes overwhelming, and they commit further sexual offences. I have no doubt that if he wasn't caught, he would have built up to murder somebody again. "I'm sure that if he got away with this, and however length of time it took, the sexual fantasy that was in his mind would have built up again. "And bear in mind that on the morning he was arrested, he'd been looking at some serious stuff on his phone the night before, you know, some stabbing of women in Brazil, really gruesome, gruesome stuff. I do believe he would have built up to get somebody else that he could have done that with." Mr Woods, who, with Detective Garda Jim Mulligan, questioned Dwyer for almost 24 hours after his arrest on suspicion of Elaine's murder, tells us the cocky killer never thought he would be caught – and he believed he was smarter than the Gardaí across the interview table from him. (Image: Mick O'Neill.) The officers had a plan to get Dwyer to give them details about his life that coincided with texts to Elaine – including that he had recently bought a bike, had become a dad again and had suffered pay cuts. Gardaí needed those details to corroborate the texts and asked him about his life. He willingly answered – blissfully unaware he was helping Gardaí to build a case against him. Mr Woods says: "He absolutely thought we were stupid. He absolutely did not think that what we were doing was all part of the plan." Mr Woods said he believed Dwyer felt superior to him and Detective Garda Mulligan. He said: "You could see that during the interview. Dwyer is the type of fellow that if you fed into his ego, he would talk to you. "So then we start talking about his life. And we talk about where he works, the fact that he's an architect. All these tiny things are important. "We talk about his family life. We talk about the flying competitions. Each time, bang, we're putting him in a location where the phone is." Dwyer was later charged and convicted – and made repeated challenges to his conviction, even going as far as the Supreme Court, but lost every time. But Mr Woods says Dwyer was so confident at every stage of the investigation and trial that he never believed he would face justice. He says: "He never thought he'd be arrested. He certainly never thought that he'd be charged. "When he was charged, he most definitely believed he'd get bail. "When he didn't get bail, he said at the trial that it was only a matter of time that all the forensic evidence cleared him and that he would get out at the trial. "And his confidence didn't even wane when he was convicted. He had the civil case going on in relation to the retention of phone data, and he believed that he would win his appeal. Right up to the Supreme Court, he was confident that he would get out." Mr Woods - who kept a photograph of Elaine in the Garda file to remind him who he was fighting for – also speaks of the moment Dwyer was convicted in March 2015, following the massive trial at the Central Criminal Court in front of Judge Tony Hunt. He says he and other members of the team met Elaine's family in a room after the verdict. He says: "We go up to the family room, and we met the family. And we had a nice moment. We had hugs, and there were tears." And he adds it was important for the team to get justice for Elaine. He says: "It doesn't bring Elaine O'Hara back. It wasn't going to bring her back, but it was going to get justice for her and it proved that she was a human being that did nothing wrong. "I think it's very, very important to families that justice is done for them." And when asked if he still thinks about Elaine, he says: "Quite a bit. I'm still friendly with (Elaine's father) Frank and the family. I absolutely think of her, in particular every August. "I think about her regularly. She was a very, very decent human being, trying to get on with her life, trying to live her life independently. "She, no doubt, had difficulties, like everybody has, and she just wanted to be loved, really. She wanted someone in her life that would love her and take care of her. "And she went down a specific route into how she might find love and, I suppose, that is where she ended up where she was." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Daily Mirror
24-04-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Detective says Graham Dwyer would have murdered again had he not been stopped
Monster Graham Dwyer would have killed again - if Gardaí had not caught him for murdering Elaine O'Hara, the detective who nailed him says. 'I have no doubt that if he wasn't caught, he would have built up to murder somebody again,' Peter Woods says. And, in an exclusive interview with The Irish Mirror, Mr Woods reveals that the killer brazenly taunted him and another detective when they were questioning him about Elaine's murder – by pointing at his own private parts. Mr Woods, a recently-retired Garda detective sergeant who played a central role in bringing Dwyer, 53, to justice over the August 2012 murder of Elaine in the Dublin mountains, tells our Shattered Lives podcast the incident happened when he challenged him about his sick habit of looking at videos of images of women with stab wounds. Mr Woods says Dwyer got angry when he was being questioned following his arrest on October 17, 2013 – a month after the remains of Elaine, 36, had been found in Killakee Wood, a discovery that prompted a massive murder probe. Mr Woods says he challenged him about texts to Elaine that showed his sexual interest in bloodletting – and Dwyer became angry. He says: 'At one stage, he got very annoyed with me. I said to him: 'You have a fetish for stabbing women, bloodletting.' 'He pointed at his penis. He said, 'look, do I have an erection here? Do you think I have an erection? What do you think?' 'He got really pissed off with me reading out the content of (texts between Dwyer and Elaine).' Mr Woods broke his silence to speak about the Dwyer case following his retirement late last year – and this month's tenth anniversary of the twisted architect being jailed for life for Elaine's murder, a charge he denies to this day. Dwyer, a native of Bandon in Cork but living in Foxrock, south Dublin, was given the mandatory life term on April 20, 2015 following his conviction at the end of March in that year following a mammoth trial that shocked and gripped the nation. The prosecution successfully argued that Dwyer – who had a fascination with gore and knives – stabbed Elaine to death for his own sexual gratification after luring her to a meeting at Shanganagh, south Dublin and bringing her to Killakee. As soon as he was convicted, there was speculation Dwyer may have killed before, especially as a text he sent Elaine mentioned Raonaid Murray, a 17-year-old who was stabbed to death in Glenageary, south Dublin in late 1999 – a crime that has never been solved. It's understood Dwyer has been excluded as a suspect for that killing – and Mr Woods says he believes Elaine was the monster's only victim. He says some of the texts to Elaine clearly show he was building up to a murder – and give no indication he had previously killed. He says: 'If you look at the text messages, and I have done, it appears that he was building up to this. 'I don't actually believe that he killed before. I don't believe that, but that's (my) personal opinion. What informs me is the text messages. 'I want to do a woman next', and it built up from there.' But he does say he believes Dwyer would have killed again after Elaine's murder to satisfy his blood lust – and his conviction prevented that. He says: 'This (murder of Elaine) is definitely in the category of a sexual offence. 'I know a bit about sexual offenders and what happens. And sexual offenders tend to build up to an offence, then they commit the offence, and then they stop for a while. 'And when they stop for a while, the urges build up in them again, and they get the urge and it becomes overwhelming, and they commit further sexual offences. 'I have no doubt that if he wasn't caught, he would have built up to murder somebody again. 'I'm sure that if he got away with this, and however length of time it took, the sexual fantasy that was in his mind would have built up again. 'And bear in mind that on the morning he was arrested, he'd been looking at some serious stuff on his phone the night before, you know, some stabbing of women in Brazil, really gruesome, gruesome stuff. 'I do believe he would have built up to get somebody else that he could have done that with.' Mr Woods, who, with Detective Garda Jim Mulligan, questioned Dwyer for almost 24 hours after his arrest on suspicion of Elaine's murder, tells us the cocky killer never thought he would be caught – and he believed he was smarter than the Gardaí across the interview table from him. The officers had a plan to get Dwyer to give them details about his life that coincided with texts to Elaine – including that he had recently bought a bike, had become a dad again and had suffered pay cuts. Gardaí needed those details to corroborate the texts and asked him about his life. He willingly answered – blissfully unaware he was helping Gardaí to build a case against him. Mr Woods says: 'He absolutely thought we were stupid. He absolutely did not think that what we were doing was all part of the plan.' Mr Woods said he believed Dwyer felt superior to him and Detective Garda Mulligan. He said: 'You could see that during the interview. Dwyer is the type of fellow that if you fed into his ego, he would talk to you. 'So then we start talking about his life. And we talk about where he works, the fact that he's an architect. All these tiny things are important. 'We talk about his family life. We talk about the flying competitions. Each time, bang, we're putting him in a location where the phone is.' Dwyer was later charged and convicted – and made repeated challenges to his conviction, even going as far as the Supreme Court, but lost every time. But Mr Woods says Dwyer was so confident at every stage of the investigation and trial that he never believed he would face justice. He says: "He never thought he'd be arrested. He certainly never thought that he'd be charged. 'When he was charged, he most definitely believed he'd get bail. 'When he didn't get bail, he said at the trial that it was only a matter of time that all the forensic evidence cleared him and that he would get out at the trial. 'And his confidence didn't even wane when he was convicted. He had the civil case going on in relation to the retention of phone data, and he believed that he would win his appeal. 'Right up to the Supreme Court, he was confident that he would get out.' Mr Woods - who kept a photograph of Elaine in the Garda file to remind him who he was fighting for – also speaks of the moment Dwyer was convicted in March 2015, following the massive trial at the Central Criminal Court in front of Judge Tony Hunt. He says he and other members of the team met Elaine's family in a room after the verdict. He says: 'We go up to the family room, and we met the family. And we had a nice moment. We had hugs, and there were tears.' And he adds it was important for the team to get justice for Elaine. He says: 'It doesn't bring Elaine O'Hara back. It wasn't going to bring her back, but it was going to get justice for her and it proved that she was a human being that did nothing wrong. 'I think it's very, very important to families that justice is done for them.' And when asked if he still thinks about Elaine, he says: 'Quite a bit. I'm still friendly with (Elaine's father) Frank and the family. I absolutely think of her, in particular every August. 'I think about her regularly. She was a very, very decent human being, trying to get on with her life, trying to live her life independently. 'She, no doubt, had difficulties, like everybody has, and she just wanted to be loved, really. 'She wanted someone in her life that would love her and take care of her. 'And she went down a specific route into how she might find love and, I suppose, that is where she ended up where she was.'
