Mob boss Owen Maguire blamed for ordering sledge hammer attack on Joe McGinley grave

The attack is alleged to have been ordered by a furious Maguire after an argument over dogs and rabbits in which he was insulted, sources say.

The Drogheda-based drug dealer has had to use a wheelchair since being shot several times by slain Dublin gangster Robbie Lawlor in July 2018.

Sunday World sources say three men from Drogheda were ordered to vandalise the grave of Joe McGinley in Longford because of alleged remarks by one of his sons, Arthur McGinley.

A sledge-hammer left at the scene had the message written on the handle: “King Arthur just for you.”

In a widely circulated video on social media, McGinley names Maguire as being behind the attack on the grave and demands to know why it was carried out.

“Just add me on WhatsApp and tell me what was the reason you done it for? To break my father’s grave, me nephews and brother... for what?”

He also says while he knows exactly where a relative of Maguire’s is buried, he will not carry out a reprisal act of vandalism.

“I know exactly where your sister, Lisa, is. She done nothing to me, Lord have mercy on her and may God give her a good bed in heaven,” he says.

“I’d rather be dead than touch a grave, but will you tell me what did you do it for? What did I do to you?”

Photos taken from the graveside show marble statues smashed from their pedestals and the corner of a large granite headstone taken off with a hammer blow.

In another clip, McGinley said: “People can talk about the dead but when they touch them that’s a different thing.

“Boys, fair play to you, you are men going breaking a grave. I tell you what you are going to get some love for that.

“On my brother’s grave, you know what kind of cursing you are going to get for that.”

It is not the first time members of Maguire’s gang have been ordered to desecrate a grave in a bid to intimidate people.

The grave of Michael ‘Bobby’ Maughan was attacked following his parents’ relentless campaign to find justice for their other son Willie, who was murdered by the gang’s associates.

His grave was destroyed after thugs dug four feet down and a tape recorder, which was laid on the coffin, was exposed.

Willie and girlfriend Ana Varslavane are believed to have been killed in April 2015 by members of the gang headed up by Maguire and Cornelius Price.

The attack on the grave in August 2016 came the day after Joe Maughan appealed for information to help find the remains of his son and his pregnant partner.

Willie’s innocent older brother, father-of-four Michael ‘Bobby’ Maughan (30), passed away from meningitis in April 2008.

At the time, Joe described the thugs behind the vandalism of the grave as “the lowest scum” on earth.

“What kind of people are out there? What happened here is the worst of the worst, but that won’t stop me fighting for justice for my son,” he said.

“Me and my family will go to our graves, but we will get justice in the end.”

Owen Maguire is currently the target of a case by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), which is seeking to seize cash and property belonging to him and his brother Brendan.

At the centre of the CAB case is €304,000 in cash, two properties, a Rolex watch, a Mercedes car and a Ford Transit van.

Last year, CAB successfully applied to have Owen Maguire served the legal papers after he consistently refused to accept them at his Drogheda home.

He had tried to dodge being served legal papers by just ignoring CAB officers who called to his Drogheda home three times in August and September.

But the game of cat and mouse came to an end in November when Judge Alex Owens granted the order that allowed gardai to leave a box of papers at Maguire’s home.

It was also heard that Brendan Maguire accepted a folder of documents which were handed to him at his Manchester home and “service had been effected.”