Robbie Lawlor

This article is about the Irish criminal. For the MMA figher, see Robbie Lawler.

Robbie Lawlor (died 4 April 2020) was an Irish criminal. He was originally from Dublin, but had lived in County Meath and was heavily involved in organised crime, including the Drogheda feud.^[1][2][3] In November 2022, Lawlor was named in court documents submitted by the Criminal Assets Bureau as the gunman who shot Owen Maguire six times during a 2018 assassination attempt in Drogheda.^[4]

Robbie Lawlor
Born	Dublin
Died	4 April 2020 Etna Drive, Ardoyne, north Belfast
Cause of death	Shot dead
Children	2

He was well known to Gardaí for being involved in serious and organised crime.^[5] He was a suspect in the murders of Kenneth Finn and David Lynch among other crimes.^[3] He had over 100 convictions and had been released from prison in December 2019.^[5] He had been warned by Gardaí that his life was in danger before he went to Belfast.^[5]

Mugging

He was mugged by teenagers after leaving a gym in December 2019, which was filmed by his assailants, suspected to include Keane Mulready-Woods, a teenager involved with the rival gang who would be subsequently lured to his death which was suspected to have been ordered at the hands of Lawlor.^[6] During this daylight assault on Lawlor, the assailants stole his gym bag and flip-flops and posted photos of them wearing the latter after the mugging.^[6] The assault was allegedly at the behest of a criminal foe of Lawlor.^[6] In ruthless revenge, Mulready-Woods' head and hands were severed from the body, and bags with body parts left in rival turfs in holdalls. The presence of flip-flops in the bag with Mulready-Woods' remains dumped in Coolock was widely interpreted as a threat not to cross Lawlor.^[6]

Death

On 4 April 2020, he was shot around 11:50am outside a house in Etna Drive, Ardoyne in north Belfast.^{[1][2][3][7][5]} The PSNI and Garda Síochána believe he had travelled to Belfast in the hours before he was shot, possibly to collect debts.^[1][2][3] As well as being a suspect in the death of Keane Mulready-Woods he was suspected of being responsible for a number of other killings.^[1][2][3] He had been threatened by one faction in the Drogheda feud but was also at odds with a major Dublin criminal who is suspected of several murders including that of Alan Ryan.^[1][2][3] Three men suspected of the murder were arrested and questioned by the PSNI at Musgrave police station.^[1][2][3] Three suspects were arrested on April 4, a fourth was arrested on April 5.^[7]

The shooting was condemned by Detective Sergeant Jason Murphy, as a murder, as a danger to the local community and due to the additional pressures caused by coronavirus pandemic.^[1][2][3] The shooting was also condemned by Minister for Justice Naomi Long and Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly.^[1][2][3] The PSNI suspect that a single gunman shot Lawlor.^[7]

Charges brought

In December 2020 two men, one from Derry and one from Belfast, were charged with his murder.^[8][9][10] Both were also charged with possession of a 9mm pistol with intent to endanger life.^[8][9] They appeared via videolink and spoke only to confirm that they understood the charges.^[8][9][10] They were remanded in custody, to appear before the court by videolink again on 8 January 2021.^[8][9][10]