Shane O’Farrell killer had undisclosed cigarette smuggling conviction

The alleged garda informant who killed law student Shane O’Farrell was convicted of cigarette smuggling in 2007 – The Ditch can reveal – despite previous state probes of the case wrongly finding his first conviction was for theft in 2010. 

Earlier this week The Ditch reported that gardaí concealed Zigimantas Gridziuska’s March 2011 circuit court conviction. Now The Ditch can report that both a judge-led report and Gsoc investigation failed to acknowledge Gridziuska’s actual first conviction in Ireland. 

The O’Farrell family are demanding a public inquiry into their son’s tragic death near Carrickmacross in August 2011.

‘A June 2022 scoping exercise led by retired judge Gerard Haughton made similar claims’

Gsoc in May 2018 published a report on Shane O’Farrell’s death.

The report claimed  Zigimantas Gridziuska, who killed O’Fareel in a hit-and-run, was first convicted of an offence in Ireland in January 2010.

“Mr. Gridziuska’s first conviction in Ireland was for a charge of theft on the 28th of August 2009. He received a sentence of 100 hours of community service from Carrickmacross District Court on the 27th of January 2010,” read the report.

A June 2022 scoping exercise led by retired judge Gerard Haughton made similar claims.

“On the 27th January 2010 at Carrickmacross District Court he (Gridziuska) was sentenced to 100 hours Community Service… This appears to be his first conviction in Ireland,”  read Haughton’s report.

The Ditch can reveal that Gridziuska received his first criminal conviction in Ireland more than two years earlier. 

He was fined €400 in late 2007 after being caught smuggling cigarettes, according to the Revenue Commissioners' March 2008 tax defaulters list.

A spokesperson for Fiosrú, formerly the Garda Ombudsman, said, “Fiosrú is not in a position to comment on this matter.”