Courts / Dublin / Report

Criminal already serving 16.5 years admits to role in Mark 'Guinea Pig' Desmond murder

Date
2024-01-29

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Lucan

County
Dublin

Summary

Charles McClean, aged 35, already serving 16.5 years for facilitating a criminal organisation and conspiracy to murder Wayne Whelan, pleaded guilty to impeding the apprehension of the person who murdered gangland figure Mark 'Guinea Pig' Desmond in Lucan on 2 December 2016. McClean admitted he knew or believed the murderer was guilty of an arrestable offence, namely Desmond's murder, and that he had impeded the investigation. He was originally charged with Desmond's murder on the same day. The case was heard before the Central Criminal Court, where Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded McClean in custody until 6 February for a sentence hearing and directed the preparation of a victim impact report. The hearing was scheduled to last 40 minutes. McClean's earlier convictions include an eight‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence for facilitating the fatal shooting of Thomas McCarthy in 2020 and an eight‑year sentence for conspiracy to murder Whelan in 2021.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Criminal already serving 16.5 years admits to role in Mark 'Guinea Pig' Desmond murder. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

November 2019 Incident
December 2 2016 Incident
February 6 Adjournment
July 27, 2020 Other
January 25 Other
September 2019 Incident
September 2021 Incident
September 29 2020 Incident
2019 and 2020 Incident
2024-01-29 Publication

Case subjects

Charles McClean

Convicted Person

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Since 2021, McClean has been sentenced to two consecutive sentences totalling 16.5 years imprisonment for facilitating a criminal organisation as well as conspiring to murder gangland criminal Wayne Whelan. Last April at the Central Criminal Court, McClean was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for facilitating a criminal organisation in the unexplained fatal shooting of father-of-five Thomas McCarthy (55), a man who had no links to crime.; Mr Justice McDermott remanded McClean in custody until February 6, for a sentence hearing and directed the preparation of a victim impact report.