Desmond Noonan
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Desmond Noonan | |
---|---|
Born | 1 August 1959 |
Died | 19 March 2005 Chorlton, Manchester, England | (aged 45)
Occupation(s) | Businessman, gangster |
Spouse | Sandra |
Desmond Patrick "Dessy" Noonan (8 August 1959 – 19 March 2005) was an English
Early life
Born in
Noonan then started to put his own men on the doors. By the late 1980s, 80% of the Manchester nightlife security was said[
The Noonan family tended to have nothing to do with the
Rise of the Noonans
Control of
By the mid-1990s Desmond Noonan was known as an enforcer, a very dangerous and violent man who had links with a wide swathe of Britain's underworld. In 1995, Noonan was convicted of violently attacking twin brothers, during which he was reportedly described by the court as
By the end of the 1990s the Noonan family had been linked to 25 gangland murders and dozens of robberies and had a stranglehold on most of the nightclub security in many of England's major cities; they had also made over £8 million from bank robberies and security alone.[citation needed]
Noonan also began to venture into the nightlife of many other cities to gain more wealth, and power. He and his brothers Damian and Derek started to acquire business interests in nightclubs in Liverpool, London and Newcastle. Desmond Noonan tried to do deals in other cities with their gangland figures, and was soon becoming involved with a number of crime bosses such as the Liverpool drugs baron Curtis Warren and head of Newcastle's biggest crime family Paddy Conroy.
The strength and power of the family, in particular Desmond Noonan, allowed him to be a prime peacemaker in the Manchester gang truces which for a short period of time brought the war in Moss Side to an end. Other gangland figures participating in this truce were
Noonan was released from prison in 2002 and became head of the Noonan crime family after Damian's death in 2003. Damian Noonan had died in a motorbike accident while on holiday in the Dominican Republic.[1]
Politics
Desmond Noonan was a lifelong Irish Republican and anti-fascist. He was active with the anti-National Front "
Death
Desmond Noonan was last seen on the night of 18 March 2005 drinking in the Park
His funeral was held in south Manchester on 22 April 2005. It was reportedly attended by hundreds of local residents with a kilted pipe band playing as his coffin arrived in a horse-drawn hearse at St Aidan's R.C. Church, Northern Moor.
Derek McDuffus, a drug dealer from south Manchester, was charged on 15 June after appearing at Preston Crown Court, and was eventually convicted of Noonan's murder, for which he received a life sentence. He was subsequently placed in solitary confinement to protect him from retribution by the Noonan family.[6] Desmond Noonan, who was suspected of having developed a drug addiction towards the end of his life,[5] was thought by the authorities to have been coercing local drug dealers into supplying him with narcotics, and had left the pub intoxicated in search of a drug dealer.[7] It is believed McDuffus stabbed Noonan and threw him out of his residence, after which he bled to death in the street.[8]
Noonan died four days before the broadcast of journalist Donal MacIntyre's fly on the Wall documentary MacIntyre's Underworld.[9]
See also
References
- ^ "Hundreds line streets in farewell to bouncer". Manchester Evening News. 10 August 2004. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ Sean Birchall Beating The Fascists (London, 2010), 46-47, 268-69
- ^ Dave Hann and Steve Tilzey No Retreat (Lancashire, 2003), 247-248
- ^ "Dessie Noonan | Page 2 | urban75 forums". Urban75.net. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ a b "UK | England | Manchester | Gangster's boast over gun hoard". BBC News. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Manchester Evening News: Number one for news, opinion, sport & celebrity gossip". Metronews.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Dealer guilty of gangster murder". BBC News. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Gangland leader 'bled to death'". BBC News. 19 April 2005. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Gangster's boast over gun hoard". BBC News. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
External links
- MacIntyre Documentary - Die On The Wall
- Manchester Evening News - Gang boss stabbed to death by John Scheerhout and Paul Britton
- Mob Magazine: Gangster's Boast Over Gun Hoard
- South Manchester Reporter - Gangster's brother: It was wrong for schools to close
- Manchester MetroNews: Noonan killer to be kept in solitary for protection