Posted by Graham “The Wig” Whelan is an Irish criminal associated with the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, originally from Clonard Road in Crumlin, Dublin. He has a significant criminal history, including a 2000 arrest at age 17 for possessing €1.6 million worth of ecstasy and cocaine, leading to a six-year sentence. This incident sparked the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud, during which he aligned with Freddie Thompson. Whelan was arrested again in 2007 for a feud-related murder but released without charge. He moved to the UK in 2011, working with Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh, a senior Kinahan figure.
In 2019, Whelan was arrested in Dublin for money laundering, pleading guilty to possessing €1,200 in cash, a €28,000 Audemars Piguet watch, and paying €2,140 for a hotel stay with proceeds of crime. He received an 18-month sentence in November 2021, with 33 prior convictions, including five drug-related offenses. The Criminal Assets Bureau seized €75,000 from him, ruled as crime proceeds, an appeal he lost in 2022. He has been linked to drug trafficking and was a key figure in Kavanagh’s Irish drug network.
Whelan is also known for personal ties to Conor McGregor’s family, dating McGregor’s sister Aoife since at least 2022. He attended Erin McGregor’s wedding in 2024 as a VIP guest and was present at the funeral of James “Jaws” Byrne, a Kinahan-linked criminal. Described as a “dangerous criminal” by himself during arrests, Whelan has four children and became their primary carer after his partner’s suicide in 2020.
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