EXCLUSIVE | 

Money laundering ‘moll’ jailed days after dad of kids killed in alleged shovel attack

Heather McNamara was caught with €43,000 in cash, while receiving €312 a week on social welfare

Today at 07:00

A mother of three convicted of laundering drugs money said she should not be sent to prison because of the recent killing of her ex-partner Ger Curtin in Limerick.

Heather McNamara also said being put into custody would be “an awful trauma” for her two-year-old child, who she had with convicted drug dealer Paul Collopy.

But a judge at Ennis Circuit Court this week said McNamara could not hide behind her children to avoid prison, and sentenced her to 18 months.

She had been caught with €43,000 in cash, had previously been driving a BMW and was in a luxury Range Rover when arrested — all while getting €312 a week on social welfare.

A garda gave evidence that Paul Collopy was the main influence when it came to the cash and drugs found at her Cloughleigh home.

Ger Curtin, who was the father of her two older children, died in Limerick two weeks ago after allegedly being hit with a shovel at a house in Garryowen.

The house where the alleged attack took place has since been the target of an apparent arson attack with video and photos of the fire posted on social media.

Curtin’s brother, Shane, named in a Criminal Assets Bureau case as a serious gangland figure in the county, was among the mourners at Ger’s funeral.

Dressed in a black suit and tie, he was photographed taking a phone call during the funeral procession after returning to his native city to pay his respects.

Details of his alleged involvement in serious crime emerged during a CAB case against Bawn Motors, which had been set up to launder the city’s crime gangs’ cash.

A senior officer gave evidence that garda intelligence showed Shane Curtin has connections in the drugs trade in Limerick.

It was stated that Curtin remains active in importing and distributing controlled drugs and spends most of his time outside Limerick.

It isn’t the first time Heather McNamara has been convicted of money laundering, having been caught with €68,000 in 2014.

While on bail for that offence a judge refused to allow her to get her passport back for a foreign holiday after hearing her partner was heavily involved in organised crime in Limerick and would have known criminal associates both nationally and internationally.

Collopy (48), who one had an ice-cream van business, is currently serving a 10-year sentence after being caught red-handed by gardaí with €50,000 worth of cannabis in April 2021.

It was heard in court how he made himself a target of the Co Clare drugs unit after re-establishing his supply routes within one year of being released from prison for another dealing offence.

A garda described Collopy as “one of the leading players” involved in the large sale and supply of drugs in the area.

In court this week, Judge Francis Comerford said Ms McNamara could not use her children “as a shield” after she said being sentenced to prison would be very traumatic for them.

She said her two year old “is very attached to me — I have a seriously close bond and I dread to think what would happen if a got a custodial sentence.”

Ms McNamara said the father of her two children aged 17 and 21 was “brutally murdered just over a week ago and I worry for the mental health of the two older kids as well.”