KILLER Brian ‘Tosser’ Meehan visits family and friends as he enjoys day release from prison.
The thug is the only person convicted over the murder of brave crime journalist Veronica Guerin in June 1996.
Killer Brian ‘Tosser’ Meehan visits family and friends as he enjoys day release from prison.[/caption]
And The Irish Sun can reveal it was his FIFTH day of freedom.
Meehan wore an orange top, cream chinos and navy runners, with his grey hair slicked back, as he made his way around Dublin on Sunday.
Snaps of the 57-year-old — who also had a black leather bag with him — reveal his altered appearance with the brute now sporting a beard.
The one-time key member of mob boss John Gilligan’s gang was ferried around by an associate.
He first visited a home in Crumlin at around 9am, where he spent a period of time before he was driven to another property in Finglas.
It’s part of a gradual build-up towards Meehan’s eventual release from Wicklow’s Shelton Abbey open prison.
But sources said he is “very unlikely” to walk free this year.
He is currently being granted day release unescorted, with the Gardai notified when this happens.
A source told us: “This is all part of the process ahead of being let out. But there’s stages to it that he has yet to reach, such as overnight release and so on.
“Sunday was another day release and Meehan has complied with all conditions when on them. But it’s very unlikely he’ll get out this year.”
‘APPEARED CAREFREE’
Another source added: “Meehan appeared carefree when out and about last weekend. He was driven around by a younger associate and visited family and friends before heading back to Wicklow.”
Meehan, who was caged for life for Veronica’s murder in 1993, is one of Ireland’s longest-serving prisoners.
He drove the bike used in the reporter’s killing, carrying ruthless gunman Patrick “Dutchy” Holland.
Cops believe he shot Veronica dead in her car on Dublin’s Naas Road.
Holland always denied carrying out the murder and was never charged before he died behind bars in the UK for other offences in 2009.
ENHANCED REGIME
Evil Meehan served most of his sentence at Portlaoise Prison, in Co Laois, before he was moved to Dublin’s Wheatfield in 2019, where he was on an enhanced regime.
Two years later, he was moved to Shelton Abbey, in Arklow, where he has been spotted enjoying playing golf on the campus.
And Meehan is now based in an apartment-style single-occupancy living unit on the campus.
‘MODEL’ INMATE
He has engaged with services in the last number of years as part of his bid to become a free man.
And he is recognised within the prison system as a “model” inmate who causes no trouble.
But his release must be signed off by the Justice Minister, if the Parole Board recommends it.
As revealed by The Irish Sun, he is set to appear before the Parole Board again after his last attempt to get out of prison failed in 2023.
“Meehan appeared carefree when out and about last weekend. He was driven around by a younger associate and visited family and friends before heading back to Wicklow.”
An Irish Sun source
Retired detective Brian Sherry, who was involved in Veronica’s murder probe, said there will always be concerns over Meehan — even though the criminal world has transformed since he was caged.
The former cop told us: “He’ll never be, as the man says, sorted out. Downstairs he was just always a bad man, it’s as simple as that.
“He’s coming out into a different era. But what else has he got? What can he do? He’s no skills apart from robbing, thieving and general debauchery.
“So what’s he going to do? Unless he’s been trained up by the prison service, and maybe he has. But who’s going to give him a job?”
JAIL THREAT
Criminals who have served life sentences are subject to conditions for the rest of their days, including monitoring by the Probation Service.
And Mr Sherry pointed out that if Meehan were convicted of any more crimes, he could face being thrown back in jail.
He added: “The murder he and others committed was horrendous, but at the end of the day, you don’t have sentencing here for the rest of your natural life.
“The only thing is that, even when he gets out, he’s on parole.
“If he commits another crime, or anything like that, irrespective of whether he’s convicted or not, he can just be automatically put back behind bars as his sentence is reactivated.”
The former cop told us: “He’ll never be, as the man says, sorted out. Downstairs he was just always a bad man, it’s as simple as that.
An Irish Sun source
At the time of Veronica’s murder, Meehan was one of drug baron Gilligan’s most trusted men.
He made huge amounts of money working with one the country’s most ruthless gangs at the time.
He travelled to the Netherlands on a regular basis, where he would launder his dirty cash.
IMMENSE PRESSURE
But following Veronica’s murder, Meehan was under immense pressure and fled the country, moving between different areas of Spain and Holland.
He was arrested in 1997, along with gangster John ‘The Coach’ Traynor, in Amsterdam following an operation between Gardai and the Dutch police.
Although Traynor was released without charge, Meehan was extradited back to Ireland after ten months.
And in 1999, he was convicted at the Special Criminal Court of Veronica’s murder and other raps, including for firearms and drugs.
THUGS’ FALLEN OUT
He is the last remaining member of Gilligan’s gang behind bars.
The pair fell out after Gilligan told a TV doc Meehan admitted his involvement in the journo’s murder.
In 2001, Gilligan was cleared of Veronica’s murder but was jailed by the Special Criminal Court for 28 years for importing cannabis resin.
Another retired senior investigator told The Irish Sun: “Meehan must be tearing his hair out to think that he’s been in prison for so long and Gilligan has been swanning around for a long period of time.”
