Partially buried body may be that of missing Dublin man
Detectives believe victim was murdered over an unpaid debt
A BODY found in rural Kildare is believed to be that of a man whom gardai suspect was murdered last month.
Philip Finnegan (24), from Aikenhead House, Dublin 8, went missing on Wednesday, August 10.
Gardai believe he may have been killed on the date he went missing — and was murdered by associates of jailed gang boss Brian Rattigan.
It’s believed Finnegan may have been abducted by people known to him on August 10. Afterwards, his body was dumped in Rahan Woods in Carbury on the Kildare-Meath border, and just 8km from Edenderry in Co Offaly.
The body was found partially buried in the woods by a local person out walking their dogs at around 8.30pm last Friday night.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster visited the site yesterday and gardai suspect the body is that of Finnegan.
Gardai already intensified a search operation in the area last week before the body was found.
“It looks like they either panicked or were amateur in what they were doing because the body was only partially buried and was always going to be found,” said a source.
It is believed gardai had previously received information that two people known to Finnegan, who were in prison at the same time as him, may have been involved in his disappearance. They are investigating whether he was killed after falling out with associates of Rattigan who said he owed them money.
Killer and drug dealer Rattigan is serving life in prison for murdering Declan Gavin — the first man to be killed in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud.
Finnegan previously escaped death when a gunman opened fire at him and another man in a drive-by shooting on Lower Basin Street in July 2013. In December that year, Finnegan was also caught up in a dispute between two groups in Dublin’s city centre.
Later that day, a hatchet was thrown through the front window of his home at Mary Aikenhead House but no complaint was made.
Separately, a man remains in garda custody after a number of shots were fired at the home of John Hutch, the innocent brother of crime boss Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch.
Up to six shots were fired at the home in Drumalee Park, off the North Circular Road in Dublin’s north inner city. John Hutch managed to run to safety and was not injured.
The attack — which involved two gunmen and is linked to the ongoing feud between the Hutch gang and the Kinahan cartel — occurred at 5.25pm on Friday evening.
The gunmen escaped in a car which was found burnt out a short distance away near Blackhorse Avenue.
A 32-year-old man — described as a senior associate of the Kinahans — was arrested nearby and is detained at Store Street garda station.
John Hutch — who has no involvement in crime — is the father of Jonathan and Gareth Hutch. Jonathan was the target in the fatal shooting of innocent dad-of-three Trevor O’Neill in Majorca; Gareth was the victim of a feud-related murder on May 24.
The ongoing feud has claimed the lives of 10 men since September of last year.