Crossmaglen man Daniel O'Callaghan convicted of ATM raids

A Crossmaglen man has been found guilty of theft and other offences linked to ATM raids in the Republic of Ireland.

Daniel O'Callaghan, from Monog Road in Crossmaglen, was convicted at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

The judge said he was "intimately involved" with an organised crime gang that raided six ATMs in 2018 and 2019.

The former Crossmaglen Rangers GAA player was prosecuted after gardaí (Irish police) foiled a raid in County Cavan.

O'Callaghan is the fifth member of the organised crime gang to be convicted of being involved in the ATM raids, according to Irish broadcaster, RTÉ.

The cross-border gang used heavy machinery including stolen diggers to rip the machines from walls of businesses, damaging banks, hotels and fuel stations over a five-month period.

In August 2019, gardaí intercepted the gang as they attempted to use a stolen digger to pull an ATM from the wall of a restaurant in Main Street, Virginia.

It alleged that O'Callaghan jumped out of a stolen vehicle and fled into a nearby field along with two other gang members.

O'Callaghan escaped while his two accomplices were arrested.

However, the former footballer's DNA was traced to an outhouse and he was later arrested and charged with a number of offences.

He was accused of theft, money laundering, possession of more than €400,000 (£334,000) in stolen cash and being involved with a criminal gang.

O'Callaghan denied all the charges against him but was convicted of 16 offences at the non-jury Special Criminal Court on Friday.

The 31-year-old is an All-Ireland medal winner, having won the Gaelic Athletic Association's top club competition with his former football team, Crossmaglen Rangers.

He was remanded in custody after the verdict and will be sentenced at a later date.

The cross-border gang was based in south Armagh and east Monaghan and is believed to have stolen more than €777,000 (£648,000) in the six ATM robberies.

One of his co-accused, Niall Finnegan from Cherry Grove, Cullyhanna, County Armagh, is already serving three years in jail for his part in the thefts.

Three other members of the gang - brothers Ciaran, Stephen and Gerard Duffy - have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.