Family say they are the ones who have suffered the true life sentencesJournalist Veronica Guerin was shot dead on June 26th, 1996, on the Naas Road in Dublin. Photograph: David Conachy/Independent News and Media/Getty Images; Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection Fri Jun 26 2026 - 06:00 • 5 MIN READThirty years on from the murder of investigative crime journalist Veronica Guerin, her family say it is they, rather than her killers, who have suffered the true life sentences.Only one of the people involved in her “horrific” killing was jailed for it, says her brother Jimmy Guerin. It would have been “far more just” had the wider pool of criminals responsible been convicted.On the evening of the 36-year-old’s murder, taoiseach John Bruton said the full resources of the State would be used to bring her killers to justice. “Veronica Guerin deserves no less. Her family and friends deserve no less,” he said. “That a journalist should be callously murdered in the line of duty is an attack on democracy, because it is an attack on one of the pillars of our democracy,” he told the Dáil.Brian Meehan (61) has spent nearly 27 years behind bars after being given a life sentence in 1999 for her murder at traffic lights on the Naas Road in Dublin on the afternoon of June 26th, 1996. The non-jury Special Criminal Court accepted evidence that Meehan, from Crumlin, Dublin, had driven the stolen motorcycle used in the killing. Brian Meehan, from Crumlin, is serving a life sentence after being convicted by the Special Criminal Court of Veronica Guerin's murder. File photograph: Ronan Quinlan/Collins Meehan has been allowed out of jail on some weekends in recent months as part of the rehabilitation process and could walk free for good this year. An offender sentenced to life must serve a minimum of 12 years before becoming eligible for parole. In reality, these inmates tend to spend more than 20 years in jail, according to the Department of Justice.Patrick Eugene Holland, from Inchicore, Dublin, was named in court as the suspected motorcycle pillion passenger who fired the shots that killed the Sunday Independent journalist. The career criminal always denied this and died aged 70 in a UK prison in 2009 after being jailed there for conspiracy to kidnap a businessman as part of a £10 million plot. He had been in and out of prison for most of his adult life.Paul “Hippo” Ward (62) was the only other man convicted of Guerin’s murder, having been said to have disposed of the gun and motorbike used in the killing. However, Ward’s conviction was overturned on appeal. He was jailed for 10 years after becoming involved in a serious riot in prison in 1997 pending that appeal. He was released in 2005 and went on to live in Dublin.John Gilligan (74), from Ballyfermot, was the leader of the gang responsible for the killing of the journalist, who had inquired doggedly into his affairs as his wealth increased. He was cleared of her murder by the Special Criminal Court but sentenced to an unprecedented 28 years for drug trafficking. This was reduced on appeal to 20 years. He was released in 2013.John Gilligan on his release from Portlaoise Prison in 2013. Photograph: Alan Betson The prosecution had claimed Guerin was shot because an assault case she was pursuing against Gilligan threatened to disrupt his gang’s drug business. A District Court judge struck out the assault charge in July 1996 because Guerin’s death meant there was no evidence before the court.A Spanish court gave Gilligan a suspended sentence in September 2023 as part of a plea deal in a case alleging he and a group of others were delivering drugs via the postal service. Last year the grandfather was arrested again during a drug seizure operation in the south of Spain.With only one man jailed for her murder, Jimmy Guerin believes his sister was “denied justice, but through no fault of the gardaí or the Government”. The family are “hugely appreciative” of the investigating team and do not believe they or various arms of the State “could have done any more”.Although Gilligan’s acquittal on the murder charge was a “bitter pill to swallow”, he says he would rather see justice deployed in this way, as it proved that the juryless court, which faces much political opposition, “bases its decisions on the evidence, and only the evidence”. On the prospect of Meehan securing release soon, Guerin says he does not believe the parole board should consider applications from people convicted of such serious crimes who do not confess. An admission “wouldn’t be a great comfort, but it would be something small”, he said.Families of loved ones who are killed due to crime “suffer equally”, said Guerin. “Of course, we have the life sentences.”Gardaí cover Veronica Guerin's car at the scene of the fatal shooting. Photograph: Pat Langan Regarded as a watershed moment in Irish gang crime, Veronica Guerin’s murder led to the establishment of the Criminal Assets Bureau, which targets the finances of people known to be behind serious crime but who consistently evade the threshold of a criminal conviction. Gilligan’s large house, lands and equestrian centre at Jessbrook estate in Co Kildare were confiscated by the bureau. The Minister for Justice said the murder of a journalist investigating criminals was a “terrible event” that “shocks us today as it did 30 years ago”.Speaking in advance of the 30-year anniversary, Jim O’Callaghan said the “very consequential murder” led to law changes and a “much more aggressive approach being adopted by the State to organised crime”.Gardaí do an “excellent job” responding to gangs, with people “forced to leave the country because the guards were on top of them so much”. He said some gang members had to leave the European Union for countries where they thought they could be safe, but “we’re getting them back from there”.Ireland now is a very difficult place for organised crime groups to operate in. That can be seen by the amount of convictions we have. I would certainly see that as a legacy of the terrible and tragic death of Veronica— Garda Commissioner Justin KellyThat there had been no gun-related killings over the last 18 months was an “extraordinary statistic”, he said.“That is due to the excellent work of An Garda Síochána, but I also believe it is due predominantly to the legacy left by Veronica Guerin and her murder, which transformed the way we do policing in Ireland in response to organised crime.” Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said there had been “seismic changes” to the criminal justice system since her “terrible” death, while the organised crime group was dismantled.“I think Ireland now is a very difficult place for organised crime groups to operate in. That can be seen by the amount of convictions we have. I would certainly see that as a legacy of the terrible and tragic death of Veronica,” he said. He said Garda actions mean organised crime figures “cannot stay here any more”, so they go abroad. But gardaí have developed strong international partnerships, so there is now no one who is “untouchable”, he said. Jimmy Guerin agrees his sister’s story and those she told have brought about an understanding within society that organised crime gangs must be tackled. He believes there is “an awful lot more support” for gardaí in their efforts to tackle gangland crime due to Veronica.Jimmy Guerin at the launch of an event commemorating his sister Veronica Guerin. Photograph: Maxwells