Wasn't there a tool hire business based there... whether they used that house there,I don't know as I never did business there...but always remembered a big sign there for their business.
I remember a very dilapidated terrace of two storey houses adjoining that demolished house that were also demolished sometime in the 80s too.
There is an excellent two-part series on this in the Independent Daily podcast. One added nugget of information is that Radio Kerry had heard persistent rumors of Nathan's involvement in drugs going back to 2023 and the rumors were so persistent that they asked the Guards about it who replied there was nothing in it. This is prior to the machine delivered to Ballyseedy. Implication being that this was far from Nathan's first rodeo. Maybe not on the scale for what he was nabbed for but it gives a context to how he was mixed up with James Leen to begin with.
O'Halloran's bikes in Boherbee has closed for retirement. Caballs bikes will be busier now!
That was know by a lot of people at the time. I think the Kerryseye aslo asked about it.
Podcast FYI: https://www.independent.ie/podcasts/the-indo-daily/the-indo-daily-breaking-ballyseedy-the-downfall-of-nathan-mcdonnell/a1750514387.html
That will be a loss. Wonder what happened all his stock
I'd assume he will sell it off to other bike shops like his, he was more into the racing bikes side of things. I didn't see a sale or anything like a stock clearance before he closed up. He was a lovely man to deal with.
I've had my road bike serviced with him over the years. He'll be hard to replace.
He told me he's off to enjoy himself on his old-timer car collection.
the perfect spot for maybe a coffee shop, or a vape shop……. or no maybe mobile phone cases!!!!
It's not an appealing spot for a new bike shop. He made a go of it alright, but the premises is far too small. There were bikes piled on top of each other.
As soon as it was serviced he phoned to get it out and free up space.
It's too far away for a coffee shop. Bothar bean failed quickly
Irish Times article says that Nathan made a complaint to Tralee Garda Station about WhatsApp messages linking him and others to drugs in 2023.
https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2025/03/08/nathan-mcdonnell-complained-to-gardai-about-crime-link-rumours-in-months-before-32m-drug-haul/
I remember hearing those rumours around Sept/Oct 2023, and a lot of names mentioned of people I knew who were 'friends' etc of his. I know someone who met him one day at something & they don't know him too well, but one of the first things he said to them was, 'I suppose you heard the rumours, they're not true obviously'……🤔
I also remember the gardai saying around the time of his arrest that there would be a lot more people named who were involved etc. No one else bar Leen was mentioned. A lot of the same people who were rumoured at the time were scrambling to say they had no involvement and his horse syndicate 'distanced' themselves!
Says it all really about the type of deluded and in denial, egocentric person he was!
Fair play to the IT to not call him 'Mr. McDonnell' and try to minimize what he did, unlike the Independent who seem to come up with all kinds of headlines distracting from the severity of his crimes.
Neither you nor I not hearing things, doesn't really mean anything. I believe we're going to learn a lot more over time.
This guy risked a lot of people and had involvement with criminal types for a long time. Not like he dialed '800SINALOA' and signed on, he had been cultivated, decided to cooperate and would've gladly taken the money had he not been caught. I expect that if he hadn't been caught, he would've gotten in deeper and deeper.
You never leave the cartels alive. Usually, your family doesn't, best thing that could've happened for that family is he was caught; their lives might no longer be as posh as they might've been otherwise, but at least they're more likely to live.
Cartels nowadays are livestreaming decapitations, to ensure silence. They do worse, too.
You'd think leen would be under more of a threat from Sinaloa more so than the McDonnell's....the information leen must have about logistics alone …nathan was in for the quick buck thanks to leen.
But how reckless do you have to be between the pair of them to plough ahead regardless even though you must be aware that there are targets on both their backs between the WhatsApp rumours and the Listowel etc money laundering raids.
Its interesting how Leen is pleading not guilty though, he can't seriously think he will get off? I wonder when that trial will be??
October this year is being touted as trial date
It will be up to the state to prove the case. I wonder what mcD said to get the light sentence
The indo framed this like he was preyed upon, like he was just another victim of the drugs trade, absolutely reprehensible stuff but then again with that particular papers close links to FFG, they do need to look after their own.
Does anyone actually believe the yarn that this was his first rodeo?
You'd think if Nathan used his ballyseedy company to pay import/export port costs like he paid to cork port this time...I'm sure the same paper trail exists for... if any... previous big consignments he signed for before
One of the Sunday paper review radio shows (I forget which one) had a journalist on who relayed a story of a supplier who approached Nathan about a small outstanding debt of something like €400-500. He wasn't getting paid anyway and instead Nathan went on talking about a €12k skiing holiday he was going on. There was another story of stays at the Ritz in Paris that cost €1-2 grand a night. There is a sense of entitlement in all of this that I think is in the realms of a narcissistic personality disorder. Trumpian like if you will.
It must be a complete shock to him now the completely different lifestyle he'll have in jail for another 8 years....no wonder he's finding it hard to cope with his situation now.
I wonder if it puts the attack on him in a different light. Instead about transporting drugs around the prison could it be the narcissistic personality that really rubbed the hardened crowd in the block he was in up the wrong way.
Good point. If there's one thing that makes you a target in prison, it's thinking you're "above" your cell mates!
He wouldn't be used to or probably wouldn't want to be in the company of commoners with his previous celebrity status so probably to relate to hardened criminals for him must be torture.... he'll never be respected in there anyway.
