GARDAI CLOSING IN ON KILLERS OF FEUD VICTIM KEITH
GARDAI are close to arresting the brutal killers of a newly married man executed during the Drogheda drugs feud.
Keith Branigan (29) was shot dead three years ago because he was a friend of the leaders of one of the gangs involved in the titfor-tat street war.
A rival Traveller gang were blamed for his murder.
The former airport worker was gunned down by a lone gunman as he erected new decking at a mobile home in a caravan park, in Clogherhead, Co Louth.
He had only been married a few weeks.
The gunman was driven away in a stolen Lexus.
It is understood Gardai have now identified the shooter and getaway driver involved.
It is believed one of them has left the country but detectives know where he is and are confident of bringing him back.
A Garda source said; “This was a horrible killing and has kind of been forgotten about with some of the other high profile murders during the feud.
“We have quietly made a lot of progress in our investigation and hope to make some arrests soon.
“We are very confident of catching Keith Branigan’s killers.”
The two gang leaders he was a friend of fled the country in February last year after receiving death threats.
They have been traced to both Spain and Mexico, often moving between the two.
There are warrants for their arrests in Ireland but no international arrest warrants yet.
Record
Keith Branigan had a record for violent offences and had served two years in prison.
Most of the crimes occurred when he was younger.
He wasn’t regarded by Gardai as a serious player in the drugs world, and had kept his nose clean for the previous five years before he was gunned down.
He was, however, known to drive the gang leaders around on occasions.
He had just celebrated his first wedding anniversary at the time of the murder.
The Garda source added; ‘Keith was killed just to wind up the [ gang leaders]. He was friendly with them since he was a kid, and was an easy target.”