‘Mr Flashy’ demands €30K from vulnerable man after he ‘liked’ rival's social media post

Social media continues to play a huge role in the deadly Finglas feud with the warring factions goading their rivals on various platforms on a daily basis.

The Sunday World can reveal that the north Dublin man – aged in his 20s – who was previously friendly with ‘Mr Flashy’ became a target for the criminal when he liked a post which was put online by associates of James ‘Whela’ Whelan, who was murdered by the ‘Mr Flashy’ mob in April.

It’s understood the young man attempted to cause serious harm to himself as a result of the threats.

“The young lad has been trying to move away from that gang but even so, it is not known why he liked the post put up by the rival faction,” a source said.

“Associates of Flashy took major offence to this and demanded €30,000 in compensation from the chap.

“This demand later got reduced to €10,000 on condition that the chap allowed himself to be shot in the leg as punishment.

“The net effect of all this is that the fella attempted to serious self harm himself and ended up in hospital,” the source added.

The incident shows just how dangerous the social media warfare element of the Finglas feud is and it is understood that the north Dublin man is still receiving medical attention.

Tensions remain extremely high in the Finglas area this weekend after ‘Mr Flashy’ and his brother recently survived an assassination attempt.

The Sunday World understands that the gangster is now in hiding and is believed to be in a safe-house in the capital’s southside.

He is also a prolific user of social media and has been posting videos of himself with his mother and young child in recent weeks.

But ‘Mr Flashy’ is no ordinary family man and his gang have been using social media to taunt their rivals after the botched murder attempt on him.

A particular focus of the gang’s abuse is a “highly reckless and dangerous criminal” who was released from jail in early June.

The 21-year-old, who is originally from Darndale, is on bail in relation to serious firearms charges and his release has inflamed tensions in the deadly feud.

He was heavily involved when the Finglas feud first kicked off last summer and is now the number one target of the ‘Mr Flashy’ crew.

After spending around 11 months in custody, the young criminal who has close links to slain gangster David ‘Fred’ Lynch, was finally released from custody around three weeks ago.

While in jail, he was considered a “highly disruptive” prisoner and amassed around ten ‘P19’ disciplinary reports due to breaching rules in relation to contraband and violent behaviour in Cloverhill Prison.

His release has been seen as a boost to the gang who are feuding with the wealthier and more equipped ‘Mr Flashy’ mob.

Revenge attacks are expected in the coming days against this crew whose base is the Kippure area of Finglas.

“At this point in time, the ‘Mr Flashy’ crew have the upper hand. There is no doubt that they will seek to avenge the botched murder attempt on him and his brother,” a source said.

“The other gang will need all the help they can get now and the Darndale criminal is going to be an important part of what happens next for them. He is well capable of going up against them,” the source added.

It has been a turbulent few weeks for ‘Mr Flashy’; as well as surviving a murder attempt, his gang were left reeling after a major cocaine seizure that happened in a Leinster county earlier this month.

Exact details of the bust in which drugs to the value of over €400,000 were seized cannot be outlined here for legal reasons but a close associate of the gangster was one of two men arrested and charged in relation to it.

“That seizure actually caused a lot of paranoia in the gang. Some people were claiming that it was a set-up.

“The drugs that were got were on their way back to Dublin and there are concerns in the gang that the Gardaí were tipped off. Either way it was a lot of cocaine to lose and people are not happy,” a source explained.

Gardaí are braced for more mayhem, and armed officers continue to patrol the troubled northside suburb on a 24/7 basis.

The only murder so far is the unsolved the fatal shooting of drug dealer James ‘Whela’ Whelan in the early hours of April 3.

Whelan was once a key ally of ‘Mr Flashy’ but set up his own rival criminal organisation last year which has led to the feud.

A common feature of the feud has been targeting of innocent family members of those involved in the gang warfare.

In the early hours of May 21, the mother and brother of murder victim James Whelan were lucky to escape injury when the family home was firebombed by the ‘Mr Flashy’ mob.

Whelan’s innocent mother Sonya and her other son managed to escape the house uninjured after the attack.

The house was substantially damaged, as were two cars parked outside.

And all the time the threats and abuse continue to play out on social media. This is not the first gangland feud in which social media has been used as a weapon – it was a massive element of the Coolock feud which erupted in 2019 and claimed five lives.