Latest news with #ThisIsRobert
The Irish Sun
12-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
I was only 7 when I found out on YouTube hitman shot my innocent dad in our Dublin home – we lived in fear for years
ROBERT Delany's terrified daughter discovered what happened to her father on the internet when she was just a young child. Katie was only one-year-old when her 6 Robert with his two girls before the shooting 6 Katie was only one-year-old when her dad was gunned down Credit: Gary Ashe-Commissioned by The Sun Dublin 6 Hitman Daniel Gaynor was paid €10,000 to kill Robert Credit: Collins She has only ever known him in a She said: 'I had found out when I was seven or eight through a 'It was frustrating to know. I think I took it more out on my mam than anything because I felt lied to.' Katie, now 18, understands why it was kept from her. There can rarely be a right time to deliver news like that to a child. Read more on Robert Delany Listen to This Is Robert on In the final episode of the This Is Robert podcast, Bob's sister Sinead and his two daughters discuss the impact of his loss on their lives. Sinead said: 'After it happened, it was a very scary time because that sort of violent crime had never crossed our paths. So when it happened, we were extremely nervous.' Speaking to her nieces, she added: 'You were extremely nervous, even in the house, going to bed at night. And I suppose it was just, are they going to come for us? And I know in hindsight now, that obviously wasn't the case. But at the time, we were all very, very nervous. 'A motorbike drove past when I got out of the car one night coming home. And I was like, oh my God. Most read in The Irish Sun 'And just for that split second, I was like are they after us now? Do they know where we live? Because we weren't used to that kind of… 'I just remember, you know, we'd visit, because he was in Tallaght Hospital for such a long time. Robert Delany's parents discuss shock of hearing their son had been shot 'So you'd have to park, and this probably sounds silly now, but you'd have to park in the multi-storey car park. You'd leave at night on your own and go to the car park. So getting from the hospital into your car, it was just… petrifying.' Robert's daughters Megan and Katie added: 'Holding your breath, like.' 'STILL BE QUITE NERVOUS' Megan, who 'I used to walk home from school and I'd always be looking over my shoulder and just watching. I think it's just how your personality is now. You're just a nervous person.' Robert's parents say the Terry and Noeleen Delany have decided that releasing pictures of the father-of-two who has been brain dead for 17 years would give the brute who ordered him shot some sick satisfaction. SICK SATISFACTION His mum Noeleen said: 'I don't want them to know what they've done to Robert. I really don't.' And Terry explained: 'The thing about it is, the b*****ds that have done this might also take some perverse pleasure. 'I think they're that sick-minded, that they probably would. You wouldn't be surprised — what would kill us is if they produced that in a pub some night and started laughing. And they're quite capable of that, that's how evil they are.' Robert was gunned down in 2008 on the orders of a psychotic dissident republican who was embarrassed when the innocent postman broke up a pub fight involving his son. BRUTE DISOWNED He paid hitman Daniel Gaynor €10,000 to kill him, and while the trigger man failed to do that, he did leave Robert in a state of living death from which he will only emerge when he draws his last breath. The brute was disowned by the republican movement, condemned publicly by the likes of In episode 3 of the But watching him lie in his care home bed is always a reminder of what he's missing. 6 Robert parents Terry and Noeleen with his daughters Megan and Katie Credit: Gary Ashe-Commissioned by The Sun Dublin Sinead said: 'It's hard for us and it's hard to watch. He has no quality of life and he's, you know, he's just left there. 'I don't know if people are confused or they think you're going up and you're going to sit and have a chat with him. 'You know and he's going to have a chat back and you go for a cup of tea. And it's just not like that. We don't know if he hears us. We don't know. We don't know anything. We just hope that he does. 'But it's just very hard to look at him like that.' She added: 'It's a tough one because you can be selfish and just want him here like that because you can still go and see him. 'I had found out when I was seven or eight through a YouTube video. Everyone was talking about what happened. And it was on, I think it was the news. And I had clicked on it by accident and watched it. And I kind of just got upset and was really angry." Katie Delany 'But he doesn't have a quality of life and I think it's very cruel the way he's left. At the time when it happened, you know, it was just please, please, please, please, please keep him here. 'And I don't think we would have cared back then how he was going to be left. But we just wanted him here. But so many years later now, it's kind of, it's so cruel on him.' Robert's partner Mags, who eventually had to leave him with his family's blessing, still visits her teenage sweetheart. Katie said: 'Yeah, she's okay. She'll still come up and visit with me. She'll take me up every now and then. She still loves going down and seeing him as much as anything. Like, as any of us do.' FAMILY'S NEW ADDITION As does Harry, the grandson born last year Robert has never really met. Megan said: 'I would say he would have idolised Harry from what we're told. You wouldn't have got a minute with him.' THIS IS ROBERT - A BRAND NEW TRUE CRIME PODCAST ROBERT Delany was 27 when in 2008 he was The innocent dad's 'crime' was to break up a pub fight involving the wrong man. Shot in front of his young daughter in their Dublin home, Bob suffered catastrophic brain damage. For 17 years he has been neither living nor dead. But his family is This is Robert is an Irish Sun podcast narrated by Damien Lane, brought to you by the producers of the Kinahans and the Stardust Tragedy. This is his story. Listen to This Is Robert from Thursday May 29 on Finding the right time to tell him what happened his grandad is very important to the family. Sinead added. 'It's tough. I'm sure if we don't tell him, he'll find out, like what happened with Katie.' This Is Robert episodes 1,2 and 3 are available now on Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. 6 Robert with Megan when she was just six 6 Robert has been left in vegetative state after the shooting
The Irish Sun
05-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
‘I don't want him to go with the girls here' – Mum's fear for innocent son shot by hired hitman in 17-year living death
THE parents of a man who has been in a vegetative state for 17 years have admitted they have battled with the conversation about ending his life if they are ever given the option. Advertisement 5 Robert Delany was shottwice in the head in 2008 Credit: Gary Ashe-Commissioned by The Sun Dublin 5 Robert was shot in front of his two daughters Megan and Katie 5 Robert's parents Terry and Noeleen and his two daughters Megan and Katie Credit: Gary Ashe-Commissioned by The Sun Dublin But Astonishingly, the former postman is not being kept alive by any machines — but his parents admit, that if he was, they would be forced to consider the unthinkable. Dad Terry told us: 'I think, over time, we would have discussed it. 'But if there was an option there, maybe we wouldn't have done it at the time, but I think in time we probably would have done it. Advertisement Read more in News Listen to This Is Robert episode one on 'There's a friend of ours, whose son was knocked down many years ago and she went to the hospital and he was on the machine and they told him there was no hope. 'She turned it off and we were talking to her about it. 'She said, 'Why keep him on the machine?' And I think we may have come to the same conclusion in time, had he been on that machine. Advertisement Most read in the Irish Sun 'And it wouldn't be for the sake of us wanting to move on and forget about him. 'It's just himself, you know. Maybe there is a better place that people go to. You'd like to think.' Robert Delany's parents discuss shock of hearing their son had been shot Noeleen added: 'There's no life, you know. But I still don't think I could have switched it off.' Robert was shot on the orders of a Advertisement A few months later, hired hitman Daniel Gaynor shot him at his home in BRAIN INJURIES He suffered catastrophic brain damage from which he will never recover and requires 24-hour care. There we witnessed a man who relies completely on the kindness of others for his every basic need. Advertisement A man who will never hug his daughters, speak to his mum or properly meet his grandson, who was born last year. MUM'S PRAYERS Noeleen said: 'I willed him to pull through. I prayed so hard. I didn't want to lose him, you know. 'But now, you kind of say, look at where he is now. And it's very sad to look at him.' Robert is surrounded by photos of the life he has missed out on. Advertisement The Peamount care home staff and his family have helped make as good a home as he could hope for. SHOCK SURVIVAL But they know it's no life. Terry explained: 'I've never heard of anybody surviving that level. 'The doctors told us that they've never known anybody who's survived that level of trauma. 'There was never a machine where somebody gives you that choice and says, 'look, you know, it's time to . . .'. Advertisement 'We never asked that question. No. Because, amazingly enough, despite all the equipment he was on in the ICU, despite everything. 5 Hired hitman Daniel Gaynor shot the young dad at his home in Tallaght Credit: Collins 'At no stage did they say 'Look, here's the deal, Mr and Mrs Delany, you have a choice here, Robert is not coming back' and that they want us to switch off the machine. 'We were never asked that question because he was never on it. It's strange, when we used to go in and see him in the ICU. Advertisement 'He was rigged up to every machine you could think of. 'But it was never a machine where you could say, 'OK, we've come to a decision'.' Terry and Noeleen were told way back in 2008 that their son could live for decades. And as they get older, the prospect of leaving Robert behind terrifies the couple. Advertisement 'COULD LIVE FOR DECADES' Discussing their chats with docs after the shooting, Terry said: '(The consultant) began saying, 'Robert is a young, healthy, fit man. He could potentially live like this for decades'. And we were thinking, yeah right, like there's no way. And here we are all these years later. 'And the likelihood is Robert could outlive us. You wouldn't want to be leaving him behind. But that's in God's hands.' Robert has come close to the end on a number of occasions and pulled through. Last year they had a serious scare, and in his condition an infection can be deadly. Advertisement "I willed him to pull through. I prayed so hard. I didn't want to lose him, you know." Noeleen Delany Terry said: 'If Robert has an infection, they'll try to get a line into him to feed him the antibiotic. 'So it's terrible. We're struggling and the nurses and doctors here are struggling to say, ordinarily it's just getting a vein and pumping the stuff straight in. That's no longer feasible because they don't want to damage them anymore. So they have to find alternative ways to get the medication into him. 'The problem with the alternative way is it takes longer to get into the system. Whereas if you get it straight into your veins, it's into the blood system immediately and starts to work. 'But when you see him struggling like that, on the occasions that we've seen him struggling, and he's on his oxygen, he'd be kind of a bit stressed out, Yeah, it's very, very difficult to watch now.' Advertisement 'NO RESUSCITATION' He added: 'Now, we have 'no resuscitation', like if Robert were to get to the stage when, as he almost did last year. 'We've had this discussion, and we have to sign the forms every year to say 'no resuscitation', because we just want to let him pass. We never wanted to get to the stage where there's a guy standing over him.' THIS IS ROBERT - A BRAND NEW TRUE CRIME PODCAST ROBERT Delany was 27 when in 2008 he was The innocent dad's 'crime' was to break up a pub fight involving the wrong man. Shot in front of his young daughter in their Dublin home, Bob suffered catastrophic brain damage. For 17 years he has been neither living nor dead. But his family is This is Robert is an Irish Sun podcast narrated by Damien Lane, brought to you by the producers of the Kinahans and the Stardust Tragedy. This is his story. Listen to This Is Robert from Thursday May 29 on But despite the unimaginable horror of the situation the family are all in, a large part of them wants Robert there. Noeleen said: 'The thoughts of letting him go, with the girls, you know, I just don't want him to go with the girls here. Not that he can do anything with them, but to know that their Daddy's still here. Does that make sense?' Cops are still appealing for information which might lead to the arrests of the person or persons responsible for the shooting of Robert. Advertisement People are asked to call Tallaght Garda Station on 01 666 6000. You can also contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station. Officers vow all info will be treated in the strictest confidence. THIS is Robert is brought to you by the producers of the Kinahans and the Stardust Tragedy podcasts. Episode 2 is available for download today on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 5 An Irish Sun team visited the stricken father-of-two at Peamount Healthcare in Newcastle, Co Dublin Advertisement
The Irish Sun
29-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
‘Spared' by gang then shot in head – Secret exchanges of ex-Provo & innocent Dublin postie condemned to ‘living death'
INNOCENT postman Robert Delany was told his life would be spared by an ex-IRA man — before he was blasted in the head. The secret exchanges between 4 Robert's parents Terry and Noeleen Delany with his two daughters Megan and Katie Credit: Gary Ashe-Commissioned by The Sun Dublin 4 Robert pictured with his daughter Megan Credit: Gary Ashe-Commissioned by The Sun Dublin 4 Robert's two daughters Kati, 17, and Megan 23 Credit: Gary Ashe-Commissioned by The Sun Dublin Robert, now 43, was And it was all because he'd tried to break up a fight involving a son of the veteran republican just a few months earlier. He survived the attempt on his life but continues to suffer what doctors have termed a 'living death'. Now, almost 17 years on from the barbaric attack, Robert's family have revealed their ongoing trauma in the three-part podcast. Read more in News Listen to This Is Robert from Thursday May 29 on As the shooting victim continues to receive 24-hour care, his parents Terry and Noeleen outlined details of their son's deadly betrayal. Terry said: 'Robert was keeping a low profile after the fight because he knew they were after him — they wanted to find out who he was. 'But then he took the initiative and went to see the young lad's father — a well known criminal. 'Robert met him in a local Most read in The Irish Sun 'He apologised for what happened, explained the circumstances and was told 'it's OK, don't worry about it'. 'Robert immediately relaxed his guard and we were also told they wanted €20,000 off him — but we could never prove that.' Robert Delany's family recall first Christmas without him just months after shooting Reflecting on the assurance Robert received, Terry added: 'The guards said to me that Robert was very naive — the criminal was never going to let this go. 'The criminal's ego had been blunted and Robert had sadly set himself up by meeting him. 'I think that goes to demonstrate how innocent he was — he actually sought out the criminal to apologise. 'UNDER THREAT' 'Robert was under threat — he realised shortly after the incident who he was dealing with. 'He realised he was in trouble and that it wasn't going to go away. 'He took the initiative to go and meet this guy, in the hope that he could sort it out himself without bringing any pressure on us — but sadly that didn't work.' Terry added: 'We were told by his friends that Robert was keeping a low profile, that he was changing his shifts in work and working later. 'We only found this out after the event. We knew that something had happened but didn't quite know what it was. He never told us.' CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE Reflecting on his campaign for justice, dad Terry revealed: 'We just said from day one we're not going to be intimidated by anybody. 'We spoke to the guards about security measures we should take. 'We took a conscious decision that we were going to highlight Robert's case at every opportunity.' Robert's mum Noeleen also reveals how she believes the meeting was arranged as they 'wanted to find out who he was' and 'follow him'. Although Real IRA hitman Daniel Gaynor was responsible for the shooting, At the time, Gaynor was a contract killer for the Real NO CHARGE FOR SHOOTING By then, the veteran republican had been abandoned by the mainstream republican movement over the shooting. He had started associating with dissident republicans led by former Real IRA boss Alan Ryan. The ex-Provo was probed about the shooting but was never charged. Gaynor was also questioned but would never stand trial. He was shot dead by Keith Wilson in August 2010. 'The guards said to me that Robert was very naive — the criminal was never going to let this go." Terry Delany Robert's family still believe that it's not too late for anyone to be charged with orchestrating the attempt on their son's life. The new podcast will also hear from the former senior Garda who led the investigation into the shooting. Pat Lordan, who retired in 2023 after 37 years' service, still hopes that the criminal who ordered the attack can be brought to justice. 'HORRIFIC CRIME' Mr Lordan told us: 'This was a horrific crime against a young man who was doing his level best for his family. 'He was just trying to look after his family. 'There was a viewpoint that this was a case of mistaken identity among the investigators. 'But that, as we know, was not the case. We also got information early on that people had been told not to speak up. 'I think the words used would have been 'dead people can't talk'. 'This would be common enough but people do talk — no matter who they are. 'The best of criminals talk and trust in people.' 'UNUSUAL CASE' The former officer added: 'This was the most unusual case and a difficult one for us Gardai to work on because the culprits didn't have to and never did set foot in Robert Delany's apartment. 'Robert was attacked in his own home. A shotgun fired at him, badly injuring him, leaving him with life-threatening injuries which he has not succumbed to. 'He's really had a horrific time for all these years — struggling through as a result of the injuries he sustained that day.' GANG CULTURE RIFE THEN ROBERT Delany was shot at a time when gangland crime in Dublin was rampant. In 2008, Eamon 'The Don' Dunne was running one of the capital's most dangerous drugs gangs, two years after orchestrating the murder of his mentor Marlo Hyland. But the Dublin brigade of the Real IRA was also a powerful force and had access to an arsenal of weapons. They used the threat of republican violence to tax drug dealers via various forms of extortion. They warned dealers they'd be shot if they didn't pay protection money to support their 'cause'. Daniel Gaynor was among those used to intimidate. And at this time, the Wilsons were at the heart of murder in Dublin. The gun-for-hire family, led by Eric 'Lucky' Wilson, killed at least 12 people. It all began when Eric murdered his former best friend in a row over drugs in 2005. He then became the go-to guy for gangsters Eamon Dunne, Marlo Hyland and the Kinahans. But Eric went on to murder a man in a Spanish bar in 2010 and was later caged for 23 years. Robert's sister Sinead and his two daughters will also reveal their trauma on the three-part podcast. We will also meet Robert. THIS Is Robert is brought to you by the producers of the Kinahans and the Stardust Tragedy podcasts. Listen to This Is Robert from Thursday May 29 on 4 Robert with his daughter Megan aged 6 Credit: Gary Ashe-Commissioned by The Sun Dublin
