Veronica Guerin

Veronica Guerin (born July 5, 1958 in Dublin , † June 26, 1996 there ) was an Irish journalist .

education and profession

Guerin had studied accounting and political science before starting a public relations agency . Only later did she work as a journalist for the “Sunday Business Post” and the “Sunday Tribune”. In 1994 she began a series of reports on crime in Ireland for the Sunday Independent.

Journalistic activity

In her articles, Guerin wrote particularly against Dublin's drug lords. She replaced their names with pseudonyms , as the use of names was prohibited by law at the time. In 1995 she was the first West European female journalist to receive the International Press Freedom Award after she had been threatened several times and once shot in an attempted murder in her home. One day, while doing journalistic research, Guerin came across the name of John Gilligan. This man, released on parole, had a sizeable fortune, despite not officially doing any regular job. While his name was well known to the tax authorities, Irish law at the time did not allow assets of unknown origin to be frozen for longer than an investigation. Guerin suspected this man was making a living doing drug deals in Dublin and began doing more research. He was once beaten up by himself in front of the door of his villa. The following night she received a death threat from him against herself and her son - and the next day an offer of bribery through an intermediary. Gilligan offered 100,000 pounds that they mention a word about it in the newspaper and the police from the game leave. However, she refused, having already given evidence to the police. She also continued to pursue her private investigations against him until she was murdered.

The murder and the investigation

Guerin was shot dead in her car on June 26, 1996 when she stopped at a red light. One of the two men who stopped on a motorcycle next to her car fired a pistol at her. She died on the scene, leaving behind a son and husband.

In November 1998 Paul Hippo Ward, a Dublin drug dealer, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Guerin. He did not commit the murder, but provided both the motorcycle and the murder weapon. Brian Meehan was charged with driving the motorcycle and was sentenced to life in prison in July 1999. Patrick Dutchy Holland was also suspected of being the man who fired the pistol, but insufficient evidence was available and he was ultimately sentenced to twelve years in prison for drug trafficking. To this day (as of 2006) he swears not to be the murderer of Veronica Guerin. John Gilligan was sentenced to 28 years in prison for organizing and responsible for the largest drug cartel ever to exist in Ireland. As the head of the criminal gang responsible for guerrin's death, he narrowly escaped conviction for the murder of the journalist. The judges confirmed that there was serious suspicion of Gilligan's involvement in the murder affair, but there was a lack of evidence.

The Irish government viewed the journalist's murder as a massive attack on freedom of the press and democracy in general, leading to the largest investigation ever carried out in Ireland and the arrest of more than 150 organized crime suspects .

Reactions to her death

Statue in the park of Dublin Castle

Just a few days after Guerin's assassination, the Irish constitution was amended in a special session of parliament so that suspicious persons can now permanently confiscate dubious assets, which has since been put into practice by a police station that was created in the same year.

The Taoiseach of Ireland, Bertie Ahern TD, had a statue erected in the garden of Dublin Castle on June 22, 2001. The plaque below bears the title "Be not afraid" (German: "Have no fear.")

Film adaptations

The 2003 film Die Journalistin (original title: Veronica Guerin ) with Cate Blanchett in the title role, which was partly in Ireland , deals with the last two years before her death, in which Guerin concentrated so much on the drug scene Original locations was filmed. Another film adaptation of her fate is called When the Sky Falls (German: Alone Against Crime ) with Joan Allen as Sinead Hamilton .

Homage

The person Guerin appears in the concept album The Wake of Magellan by the power metal band Savatage .

The Irish singer Christy Moore dedicated another homage to her with the song Veronica .

Web links

• Veronica Guerin in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Text by Veronica on Christy Moore's homepage