The Westies (Irish gang)

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The Westies
Named afterWest Dublin
Founding locationBlanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland
Years activeLate 1990s - early 2000s
TerritoryDublin, Ireland
LeadersShane Coates, Stephen Sugg, Bernard 'Verb' Sugg, Andrew Glennon, Mark Glennon
ActivitiesDrug trafficking (heroin), armed robbery, extortion

The Westies was the name given by the Irish media to a criminal gang based in Blanchardstown, west Dublin, Ireland.

Contents

They controlled the heroin trade in west Dublin in the late 90s and early 2000s and were known for their extreme violence against drug addicts and rival drug dealers. The gang, who were also involved in armed robberies and extortion, imploded after the murders of all of its leaders. [1] [2] [3]

Leaders

Shane Coates

Shane Julian Coates (1972 – 2004) was from Willowood Grove in Clonsilla. [4] [5] One of eleven children from a respectable Dublin family, [6] Coates had been involved in crime from a young age, and in 1990 was sentenced to two years jail for stealing a van and damaging a Garda car with it. [7] In 1994, Coates survived an attempt on his life after he was shot in the stomach while drinking in the Mountview Inn in Clonsilla. [8] Coates was considered to be the leader of the Westies, and due to his psychopathic tendencies was dubbed "The New Psycho" by the Sunday World . [9] [5] He was a bodybuilding enthusiast who very rarely drank alcohol. [5]

Coates became a father in 1994. [5]

Stephen Sugg

Stephen Sugg (1977 – 2004) was from the Corduff estate in Blanchardstown. [5] A friend of Coates since youth, the pair began their criminal careers together, initially robbing cars but later graduating to armed robberies. [10] By 1990, the pair had a lengthy criminal record. [10] As recalled by a former associate, Sugg was very much the second-in-command in the criminal gang; "Coates led Sugg around by the nose. Without Coates, Sugg was nothing." [5]

Bernard Sugg

Bernard "Verb" Sugg (1980 – 2003) was the younger brother of Stephen Sugg. Considered the gang's enforcer, [5] the younger Sugg was said to have a reputation as a violent thug. [11]

Deaths

Bernard 'Verb' Sugg (23) was shot dead by two masked men in a pub in Blanchardstown in August 2003. [12] Shane Coates (31) and Stephen Sugg (27) went missing in Spain in 2004. Their bodies were found buried under concrete in a warehouse near Alicante in July 2006. Both had been shot in the head. Spanish police suspect they were killed after crossing another group of Irish gangsters based in Spain. [13] [14] [15] Coates had fled to Spain after being injured in a shoot-out with Gardaí in Cavan in 2003. [16] In April 2005, Andrew Glennon (30) was shot dead after being ambushed by at least four gunmen near his home in Clonee. His brother Mark (32) was shot dead outside his home in Blanchardstown by a lone gunman five months later.

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Chrisafis, Angelique (23 November 2004). "Gangland shooting terrorises Dublin suburb". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ O'Keeffe, Cormac (23 August 2003). "Gardai fear crime boss seeking revenge for killing". Irish Examiner.
  3. ↑ Foy, Ken (13 June 2011). "Garda swoop foils the revival of feared Westies crime gang". Herald.ie. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Man shot in city pub". Evening Herald. 13 August 1994. p. 1. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Williams, Paul (2003). Crime lords. Dublin: Merlin. ISBN   978-1-903582-51-0.
  6. ↑ "'We wanted to show the real horror of gangland' - Darklands co-writer drew inspiration from life of his murdered Westies brother". Irish Independent. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "Dublin youths sentenced at Mountmellick". The Nationalist. 27 April 1990. p. 15.
  8. ↑ Allen, Tim; Healy, Liz (13 August 1994). "Man shot in city pub". Evening Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  9. ↑ Dillon, Eamon (25 May 2003). "New Psycho on run after shoot-out". Sunday World (Southern ed.). p. 8. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Pure evil". Sunday World (Southern ed.). 2 November 2003. p. 38. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  11. ↑ Williams, Paul (24 August 2003). "Ireland's most evil gangsters". Sunday World (Southern ed.). p. 20. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Khan, Frank (12 November 2003). "Murder hunt as man gunned down in new gangland killing". Irish Independent.
  13. ↑ Collins, Liam (23 July 2006). "Flying too close to the sun on Costa del Crime". Irish Independent.
  14. ↑ "Irish gangsters' bodies buried in Spanish warehouse, say police". The Guardian. 21 July 2006.
  15. ↑ "Two bodies found in Spain maybe missing men". RTÉ.ie. 18 July 2006.
  16. ↑ Phelan, Shane (19 March 2009). "'These guys were real psychopaths'". Irish Independent.


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