Gardaí advised John Gilligan on self-protection

Convicted drug dealer John Gilligan received Garda advice on personal protection measures before leaving the State, although it is believed he will remain a target of assassins in the wake of two unsuccessful attempts on his life.

Little is certain about Mr Gilligan's intentions, although reports he may visit Amsterdam have not been by dismissed by gardaí, who also believe Britain or Spain could be viable destinations.

It is also understood the 62-year-old will require physiotherapy and other medical attention following the latest attempt on his life, in which one of his legs was left “shattered” by a bullet.

Gardaí do not believe the criminal, who was accused but acquitted of the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, will make a full recovery from his injuries, which have left him at least temporarily immobile.

Pressure on him to leave the jurisdiction intensified last weekend following the shooting dead of Stephen “Dougie” Moran (46), who provided protection for him.

To date there have been two unsuccessful attempts to murder Mr Gilligan, one in which his would-be assassins went to the wrong pub and the second in which he was shot six times.

Permanent target
Gardaí believe he will remain a target.

“There are very few places he can go, because he is a fish out of water,” a source said.

“[Amsterdam] might be his first port of call before he goes down to Spain; that would be an option.”

The source said that Mr Gilligan’s life is under threat for a number of reasons. He is known to have made attempts to access significant amounts of money on his release. Another reason is that he would be blamed for bringing additional Garda attention on the criminal underworld because of his previous criminal activity.

'Still shaking people down'
"A lot of people lost money over his carry-on and arrogance which was still in play when he came out. He was still going around shaking people down for money [based] on his reputation," the source said.

“These young pups who came along [to Irish organised crime] when he went into jail would say: ‘John who?’”

A criminal figure from Ballymun has emerged as the main suspect in the murder attempts. Mr Gilligan has been warned that his life is in danger but he will not continue to receive information from gardaí once abroad.