Senior members of the Hells Angels have travelled to Dublin from all over the world to attend the meeting of club “officers”, the first time one of this scale has happened in Ireland.
But who are the Hells Angels – and why would a club meeting lead to an increased garda presence?
What are the Hells Angels?
The notorious motorcycle club was founded in California in the late 1940s, taking the name from a US bomber squadron in Europe during World War II.
There are hundreds of chapters worldwide, including across Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and even though it was incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation (HAMC) in 1966, each chapter is autonomous of the wider organisation.
It is designated as an outlaw motorcycle gang by the US Department of Justice and US law enforcement have previously accused clubs like Hells Angels, Bandidos and Sons of Silence of having links to criminal activity, including drug trafficking and violence.
Why would there be concern over a meeting of the Hells Angels?
Club members in other countries have made headlines due to violent incidents and clashes with rival organisations. While there have been no violent incidents reported in Dublin, gardaí remain vigilant due to the international reputation of the group.
Of particular concern to gardaí is that some attendees wear patches on their jackets that indicate that they have used extreme violence, including against police.
Today’s News in 90 seconds – 11th January 2025
What violent incidents have Hells Angels been linked to internationally?
High-profile incidents abroad have prompted gardaí to carry out a risk assessment of the Dublin event due to incidents that have occurred involving the club over the past two decades, including an increase in patrols at airports and ports.
There were a number of incidents that occurred throughout the 90s in Europe, prompted by clashes between chapters of the Bandidos bike gang and Hells Angels when the two were battling for supremacy in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Hells Angels members were charged with the murder of a man at Denmark’s Copenhagen Airport in 1996 while separately, another member was killed during a fatal brawl between Hells Angels and Comancheros members at Sydney Airport in Australia in 2009.
In 2015, a hitman was sentenced to 11 years in prison for attempting to kill a Hells Angel member at Canada’s Vancouver International Airport.
Are there Irish chapters of Hells Angels?
The Hells Angels established its first chapter in Ireland in April 2011 and one of its leading members is Matt Kelly, the nephew of Dublin gangland criminal Eamon Kelly who was shot dead by dissident republicans near his north Dublin home in December 2012.
It is understood Mr Kelly, who is not involved in crime, runs the Hells Angels’ clubhouse in Dublin 15 where a number of events took place during the week that were also monitored by gardaí.
What about other Irish biker gangs?
There are other biker gangs in Ireland and while violence is rare, there have been a number of high-profile incidents.
Senior members of a separate biker gang whose base is in the Crumlin area of Dublin are heavily involved in drugs trafficking on an international scale and have been the subject of a number of organised crime and Criminal Assets Bureau investigations.
In October 2017, Alan ‘Cookie’ McNamara from Murroe, Co Limerick, was sentenced to life in prison for the biker feud shotgun murder of Andrew ‘AOD’ O’Donoghue at the gates of the Road Tramps motorcycle club at Mountfune, Co Limerick, on June 20, 2015.
McNamara, who is aligned with the Caballeros motorcycle club, shot Mr O’Donoghue in a revenge attack after he was humiliated by the Road Tramps in an altercation outside a pub in Doon.
The Texan biker gang the Bandidos, which has worldwide chapters, was backing McNamara while he was up on murder charges and even produced T-shirts in support of him.
In October 2016, there was a significant armed garda presence in place when a motorcycle club in Limerick held an initiation event that led to the formation of a new chapter of the Bandidos in Ireland.
