The son of EuroMillions jackpot winner Dolores McNamara has left his Limerick home after gardaí passed information to him that a local gang might be planning to kidnap him and hold him for ransom.
Gary McNamara left Limerick with his partner and child after gardaí informed him of the threat. However, senior Garda sources in the city last night told The Irish Times that it was impossible to determine the seriousness of the threat.
"It may just be idle pub talk or it may be a genuine threat, but sometimes there is no way of knowing," said one source. "The information has been passed on to him and he has decided to leave [ the city]."
The same source said that gardaí were obliged to inform Mr McNamara of any intelligence they received about threats to his safety. It was then a matter for him how he wanted to respond.
Mr McNamara (26), who lives in the Castletroy area, was pictured in many newspapers and appeared on television news bulletins when his mother won a €115 million jackpot in the EuroMillions draw in August. The family has been dogged by security scares in the media since winning the huge jackpot, which has made them one of Ireland's richest families.
Ms McNamara has engaged the services of a private security firm to advise her on precautions she should take. Her home in Garryowen, where she has said she wants to remain, has been fitted with CCTV and electric gates.
After she won the jackpot prize there was speculation that a number of Limerick's criminal gangs might target the family in an attempt to extort some of her winnings.
Ms McNamara has not been in Limerick in recent days. She has spent much of her time in London and Spain since becoming a multi-millionaire.
