Jessbrook and his dreams of nags to riches lie in tatters
GILLIGAN built his beloved Jessbrook with drug money and the centre was to be his ticket to respectability. The gangster planned to retire there and live as lord of the manor having amassed a fortune from his criminal empire. His wife Geraldine aspired to be accepted into horsey society and dreamed of staging major showjumping events at the huge indoor facility. But instead of swapping a life of crime for a life of luxury, he spent nearly two decades in jail and this year was stripped of everything he owned. Instead of Jessbrook becoming a centre for the horsey set it became known locally as “Hash Hall” to remind the crook it was built with drug money. The pair had hoped to attract top events when it was fully fitted out and they compared it to the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Co Cork, where the Eurovision Song Contest was held. The venue boasted seating for hundreds of spectators along with facilities for dozens of horses. They had even hoped to fill in a quarry on the land and develop it into swimming pool for competitions. But a ruling in February by the country’s highest court finally brought to an end two decades of appeals and Gilligan’s dreams of having something to show for his life of crime. Gardai have been determined to strip the gangster of his ill-gotten gains since Veronica Guerin’s murder in 1996. As well as Jessbrook in Enfield, Co Meath, two houses in Dublin were seized, one belonging to his daughter Tracey and another in the name of his son Darren. Gilligan had purchased Jessbrook in 1986 and in less than two years had pumped more than £1.5million into the complex, including a luxurious family home next door. Everything was paid for with wads of cash. The couple bought their corporation house in Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown, West Dublin, from the local authority in 1996 for £7,000 after renting it since 1977. During the lengthy renovations, Gilligan’s famous temper got the best of him. He said: “There was one builder that was threatened.” Gilligan got one of his henchmen to ring a contractor he had fallen out with and say he was “going to burst him over the head with hammer”. The terrified builder later made a complaint to gardai, and told how he and his wife had to sleep at night with a shotgun in the bed.