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Mob boss Christy Keane’s nephew caught with nine bags of cocaine down his pants at wedding

David Keane (30) claimed the cocaine was for his own use at the family wedding

Today at 10:58

A man convicted of selling cocaine at a family wedding is a nephew of Limerick gang boss Christy Keane.

David Keane (30) had been found with nine bags of cocaine worth €580 in his underwear, along with €1,310 in cash and two mobile phones.

He claimed the drugs were for his own use at the event in Bunratty Castle Hotel, Co Clare, in June 2019.

When being interviewed by gardai he told them: “I had no intention of selling drugs.

“It was my family at the wedding — I wouldn’t even let them know I had drugs.”

Detective Kevin Hooban told Ennis District Court that it was his opinion the bags of cocaine were what was left of what David Keane sold, and the cash was the proceeds of sale and supply of the drugs.

Judge Mary Larkin said that she was absolutely satisfied Mr Keane had the cocaine to sell at the wedding following his failure to answer questions about the drugs.

“He doesn’t know this and he doesn’t know that. I have no shadow of a doubt that he had the drugs there for one particular reason,” she said.

David Keane is close to his cousin Owen Treacy Jnr, whose father, also called Owen Treacy, was left badly injured in an attack that killed Kieran Keane.

David Keane has also posed for photos with one of the city’s most notorious criminals who we are not naming as he is facing serious criminal charges.

He is a known sulky race enthusiast and is a regular face at sulky events around the country.

Last year, when David’s father Pa Keane passed away, his cousins and uncle were on hand to show their support at the funeral.

Pa, a brother of Christy Keane, had worked for Limerick City Council for many years and was well known around the city.

Christy Keane is a well-known mob boss in the city. He was jailed in 2002 for 10 years for possession of €250,000 worth of cannabis.

He survived an attempt on his life at a University of Limerick car park in 2015 when he was shot a number of times as he walked to a gym at the complex.

Pa Keane had worked in the family’s coal business but was prosecuted for threatening to kill a co-worker at the council’s road sweeping depot on April 22, 2010.

He escaped a jail sentence when the judge imposed a suspended eight-month term.

Pa Keane’s family ties to one of the city’s most infamous gang bosses almost cost him his life in 2010.

He escaped what is believed to have been an attempt to kill him when a suspected gunman approached a Limerick Council employee driving a mini-sweeper in the city centre.

The would-be attacker fled the scene after realising Pa Keane was not in the vehicle.

Is understood the suspected assassin planned to shoot Pa Keane because of his family connections.

Kieran Keane was tortured and shot dead in 2003 in one of the most infamous murders in Limerick city.

Kieran’s nephew, Owen Treacy, survived being stabbed 17 times in the same attack by members of the McCarthy/Dundon criminal gang.

Five men are still serving life sentences for that murder.

At the recent Ennis District Court hearing, Judge Larkin convicted David Keane of drug dealing after hearing the evidence.

She imposed 100 hours of community service on Mr Keane for the offence instead of a suspended prison term.

Mr Keane was attending a family wedding at the Bunratty Castle Hotel and the drugs were found on him at Ennis Garda Station after his arrest on the night.

Detective Hooban told the court that “there is no possible way he could have taken that amount of drugs without being hospitalised”, having already consumed other cocaine.

At interview, a garda told Mr Keane that “this is a phenomenal amount of cocaine for one person”.

Mr Keane replied: “I had an awful amount of cocaine taken.”

Judge Larkin said Mr Keane was unable to say how many grams of cocaine he had before being found with the nine bags.

The judge said: “If I go to a wedding, I would be buying a dress and a pair of shoes to get all fancied up — that would be my thing.

“I know how much the dress and the shoes would cost — how much gear did you get and how much did it cost you?”

Mr Keane said he paid €300 but didn’t know how much cocaine he received.