Crime boss Gilligan’s former home is sale agreed
THE seven-bedroom home seized from former crime boss John Gilligan by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) looks set for a new future after going “sale agreed”.
The country pile near Enfield on the Kildare/ Meath border, sitting on more than five acres, was put on the market last August at a bargain €120,000 guide price.
But its potential was seen by many interested parties who subsequently viewed it.
At the time it was valued it was thought the Gilligan connection might bring negative connotations.
But rising prices coupled with Gilligan’s fall into relative obscurity meant the final selling price was far higher than the guide.
Estate agents REA McDonald in Lucan village confirmed the property is now sale agreed.
“Buyers have come forward and the sale of the house and land is now at an advanced stage and should be completed soon,” said Barry McDonald.
He would not comment on who the buyers are or their plans for the property.
When the house was seized by the CAB in February last year the Gilligans had finally exhausted a 20-year battle to hold on to it and two other houses.
“It took years, but ultimately we won and that showed anyone engaged in criminality that we will go the full distance when it comes to seizing assets,” a bureau source said at the time.
The CAB would not comment on the current sale of the Jessbrook bungalow.
One source said the house may not be used in a private residential capacity by the new owners.
“The house is large, and has a lot of land attached to it, so there is potential there for it to be run as a business or a centre of some sort,” said one source. “There is ample space for parking and the lands could be landscaped or used for gardening or growing produce.”
Gilligan, who served 17 years for drug trafficking and was the boss of the gang that shot dead crime journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996, used the Jessbrook house to hide in following two attempts to murder him following his release from jail in 2013.
He is now living in rented accommodation in Co Roscommon but also spends time in the Clondalkin area of Dublin.