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The Gilligan Tapes: Ireland's Most Notorious Crime Boss In His Own Words

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‘I DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD, BUT I KNOW I’M GOING TO HELL.’

In this remarkable book – the first of its kind – journalist Jason O’Toole distils hours of sensational face-to-face, no-holds-barred interviews with the feared criminal John Gilligan into a fast-paced and jaw-dropping account of the Irish gangland scene.

Starting out as a petty thief in Dublin, Gilligan rapidly rose to the status of crime lord, mixing with serious criminals such as Martin ‘The General’ Cahill, Christy ‘The Dapper Don’ Kinahan, Patrick ‘Dutchy’ Holland and John ‘The Coach’ Traynor. He was deeply involved with money laundering, miraculously survived an assassination attempt, and it is said he has millions stashed away at a secret location. O’Toole demands answers to all the hard questions; some of Gilligan’s responses will make readers shiver.

Gilligan knew that laying all his cards on the table could mean signing his own death warrant. But he has done it here. And with a cast of all the country’s deadliest underworld figures, this exposé is nothing short of explosive.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 3, 2023

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Jason O'Toole

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for James Durkan.
399 reviews2 followers
March 27, 2024
⭐️⭐️✨

A look from the other side of the crime world. John Gilligan, crime boss, giving his account of his life and what brought him to this point.

While an interesting read, you get first hand answers from the boss himself, I do find he just comes off as bitter and whiny. You do you, John.

As a lot of this happened when I wasn’t born/was a child, it is an insight into Dublin and a changing Ireland.

Props to Jason O’Toole though. Taking all these tapes and creating this was by no means a small task.
Profile Image for Reem Eisa.
221 reviews1 follower
April 14, 2025
What I enjoyed about it was the fact that it was recorded interviews so you hear the story from the horses mouth directly.

I enjoyed listening to his story, don’t recommend a life of crime but it’s an interesting story. Great listen
Profile Image for Shane Colton.
62 reviews
December 18, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Was alot better than the documentary. So many true crime books are written by a journalist "about" criminals or individuals. This was different in that it was wrote with the criminal and interesting to hear the first hand answers of Gilligan, truth lies and everything in-between
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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