John "BJ" Clarke, aged just 21 when killed, was the target of criminal rivals and the Cab, writes CONOR LALLY
JOHN “BJ” Clarke was a father
of a six-month-old baby, had a number of drugs convictions and had been wounded in a shooting just six weeks ago. His father – John Clarke snr of Millwood Park in Raheny – spent time in prison for manslaughter. He had shot dead a friend in a row over a game of pool in 1991.
In a bizarre twist, one of the men wounded yesterday in the attack that claimed BJ Clarke’s life is the son of the man killed by John Clarke snr. One father had killed the other but a generation on their sons were best friends.
BJ Clarke was embroiled in a gangland feud with other criminals from his native Darndale in north Dublin.
In the early hours of Sunday March 29th two feuding factions met in Darndale when one man produced a handgun and shot BJ Clarke in the legs. He survived.
The next day the remains of David Lynch (26) were found dumped in Darndale.
Gardaí believe Lynch was at the scene when Clarke was shot the previous day. They are investigating if Lynch was shot in retaliation for the attack on Clarke. One line of investigation now being explored in relation to the murder of Clarke yesterday is if it was a revenge attack for Lynch’s murder.
However, Clarke had many gangland enemies and any one of these may have been behind yesterday’s attack.
Clarke was regarded as a young criminal who was rapidly becoming established as a key player in the drugs scene. He was a member of a gang selling heroin and cocaine across north Dublin.
The Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) had decided to target him and a major investigation into his assets, mostly cash and cars, was already well under way. An appearance in the High Court was imminent. He was also a target of the Garda National Drug Unit and Organised Crime Unit.
He had been told several times by gardaí that his life was in danger. He was living on the Beauvale estate in Artane but had also had recent addresses in Edenmore and Raheny.
A drug user, he was facing a number of charges for possession of cannabis and had been convicted on one such charge this week.
Clarke was a member of the same major drug dealing gang as Paul “Burger” Walsh (27), Foxhill Green, Baldoyle.
A measure of the men’s significance on the north Dublin drugs scene is clear from evidence presented in court by Cab when Walsh’s assets were confiscated in 2007.
Walsh had built a house in Baldoyle, was the owner of another property in Valley View, Swords, and was in the process of buying two houses in Co Laois.
He had a mobile home and site in Co Wexford, and had €80,000 on deposit. All these assets were bought without a legitimate source of income.