RAVE TO THE GRAVE | 

Pals of slain Limerick gangster toast killer’s death with champagne at graveside

They posted videos on social media popping champagne and spraying it over Keane’s grave as part of their celebrations.

Yesterday at 20:58

Friends of Kieran Keane celebrated with champagne at his grave this weekend in the aftermath of the death of his killer David Stanners amidst a backdrop of violent incidents in Limerick city.

David ‘Frog Eyes’ Stanners, from Moyross in Limerick, had served over 20 years of a life sentence for the brutal murder of rival Keane before he was found unresponsive when warders opened his cell door this week.

People linked to Keane reacted with glee to the news this week saying they were “delighted” that Stanners had died and it was their “time to celebrate”.

They posted videos on social media popping champagne and spraying it over Keane’s grave as part of their celebrations.

People can be heard cheering loudly and saying “we finally got our revenge” in a video posted online.

Stanners’ death is not being treated as suspicious and he is understood to have died of natural causes.

​Other videos show pals of Keane letting off fireworks and popping open more champagne in Limerick in celebration of Stanners’ death.

The celebrations come at a time of more violence in Limerick with a man aged in his 30s suffering injuries when he was attacked in the city in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Garda and emergency services rushed to the scene shortly after 310am following reports of a disturbance involving a group of people on Hyde Road where a number of shootings and a pipe bomb blast have occurred recently.

It is the latest in a series of tit-for-tat incidents in the area that was once the home of the notorious Dundon brothers.

Gardaí have stepped up their activity targeting gangs and carried out a series of raids this week which they said were targeting “organised criminal activity in the Limerick area”.

The raids follow an upsurge in violent incidents.

In one of the incidents earlier this month, we reported how the home of Limerick gangland figure Jimmy Collins on Hyde Road became the target of a gun attack.

It’s understood the clash was sparked by tensions between two low-level drug dealers in the area and Collins’ son-in-law, Thomas O’Neill.

O’Neill, who is married to April Collins, has a long track record of violence and hit the headlines in 2004 as a 16-year-old when convicted of an horrific gang rape in the Cratloe Woods, Co. Clare. The suspected drug-dealers believed to have been involved in the gun attack are said to be supplied by the gangland faction controlled by Eds McCarthy, a relative of the Dundon brothers.

Sources say that, along with his brother ‘Fat’ John McCarthy, the gang is considered one of the strongest operating in the city.

April Collins previously gave evidence against John and Wayne, the brothers of her ex-partner Ger Dundon, who were both convicted of murder and jailed for life.

In another incident in July a man, was injured when a pipe bomb exploded on Hyde Road, damaging two houses.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to the serious assault, which took place early Saturday.

“A male aged in his late 30s was treated at the scene for serious injuries and removed by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick. His condition is understood to be stable,” a garda spokesperson said.

“No arrests have been made to date and technical examination of the scene has been carried out.”

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to this incident to come forward and are particularly interested in speaking to individuals who were present in Hyde road area at the time of the incident.”

Meanwhile, a vicious online feud is running alongside the recent spate of violent incidents in the city.

April Collins and other members of the family have been targeted by vile online posts from fake accounts, adding to the simmering tensions.

One video show a woman shouting abuse from a house near the Collins’ on Hyde Road in the city.

The video shows a red car stuck in traffic while a man on a scrambler motorbike gestures at the driver, appearing to urge her to pull out of the line of cars.

The clip which has been circulating on social media is captioned ‘When she so tough she needs escort to get stuck in traffic haaaaaa.’’

Filmed on the Hyde Road a woman is heard shouting abuse from a house at the driver whose window is down.

“Go away you f***ing gowl. Driving around with your fellas crack whore and disease.”

“Go on out of it!” she shouted.

A source recently told the Sunday World that the feud could get “messy” after the gun attack targeting the Collin’s family home.