Second N7 fireball victim laid to rest

Convicted burglar Graham Taylor’s coffin was walked to St Aidan’s Church on Brookfield Drive behind a carriage pulled by four black horses.

Dozens of mourners formed a procession behind the carriage as well as about 20 cars.

Taylor (31), Karl Freeman (26) and Dean Maguire (26), all of whom had multiple criminal convictions and were linked to a burglary gang in south Dublin, were killed when their BMW crashed into a truck while travelling in the wrong direction.

Erratically

The BMW 3 Series burst into flames after hitting the truck in Rathcoole at 11.40pm on Wednesday of last week.

Just minutes before the collision, gardaí had observed the car the three men were travelling in driving erratically in the Tallaght area.

It’s believed it drove the wrong way down the N7 in an attempt to evade gardaí. The trio were later identified using DNA samples provided by family members.

Taylor was well known to gardaí and had amassed 121 convictions by April 2019 when he was sentenced to 2½ years in prison for leading gardaí on a chase during which he drove at 120km/h in a 50km/h zone.

The court heard he drove on the wrong side of the road, in the wrong direction around roundabouts and into oncoming traffic during the June 2016 incident, forcing other motorists into evasive action.

Taylor was released from prison in April. His 121 previous convictions included 11 for dangerous driving and others for burglary, handling stolen property, criminal damage and assaulting a garda.

When being sentenced in April 2019, Taylor’s lawyer said his client had been in and out of prison since his teenage years and became addicted to drugs at 17 in jail.

The court was told he had three children and wanted to turn his life around through an apprenticeship.

Taylor’s funeral follows that of Dean Maguire at St Mary’s Priory in Tallaght village. Maguire was previously described in court as being part of “a highly sophisticated, organised crime gang”.

Ciigarettes

At the beginning of Friday’s service, offertory gifts were brought up to the altar.

They included a torch and screwdriver, cigarettes, his cap, newspapers, his keys, a Canada Goose jacket and his reg plate.

Floral tributes were also laid at the altar alongside his coffin, which read ‘Husband’, ‘Maguire’, ‘Son’, and ‘Mad Man’. Friends and family also read out personal messages.

They spoke of the “mad memories” they had with the deceased, who they repeatedly described as a “legend” and devoted father to his two children, as well as a devoted husband to his wife.

A number of people finished their tributes saying “up Foxrock” while one female relative told the mourners: “Sorry for the language father, rest in peace ya f***ing legend”.

His coffin was later carried out to the tune of Tina Turner’s Simply the Best before being removed for burial to Newlands Cross Cemetery.

Gardaí are investigating an incident of dangerous driving involving associates of Maguire as they escorted his hearse back to Tallaght on Wednesday