The Battle of Kilmeaden will never feature in any history books, but among hardcore Irish motorcycle clubs (MCs) it is regarded as a seminal moment. At the 1990 annual Kilmeaden bikers’ gathering, hosted by the Waterford Freewheelers Motorcycle Club, an altercation turned into a melee.
On one side were members of the Hells Angels MC, a motorcycle gang based in California but with hundreds of affiliate clubs around the world. Facing them were a mix of Irish MCs, including the Devils Disciples from Dublin and Limerick’s Road Tramps.
According to Outlaws, a book on motorcycle gangs by Tony Thompson, the face-off began when a Hells Angel pulled a knife on one of the Pagans, an English MC. The Pagan reportedly incapacitated his attacker by spraying him in the face with ammonia from two plastic lemons he carried in his jacket.
Dozens of bikers were left with horrendous injuries in the ensuing battle as helmets, knives and lumps of wood were used in close combat. The violence is said to have attracted the attention of local republican paramilitaries who, in effect, then expelled the Angels from Ireland.
The Battle of Kilmeaden resulted in the big Irish MCs — the Freewheelers, the Devils Disciples, the Vikings and the Road Tramps — working together to keep out the international MCs. That collaboration was solidified into the formal “1% Alliance” in the early 2000s: the 1% refers to a statement made by the American Motorcycle Association in 1947 after a drunken riot at a drag race in Hollister, California. It said 99% of bikers were well behaved while the remainder were “outlaws”. Since then MCs have worn the 1% patch as a badge of honour.
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The clubs make money by selling merchandise and hosting events, which bikers wearing back patches can attend only with the approval of the host club.
Members of 1% clubs vow not to discuss internal business or disputes with outsiders, so it is rare for internecine wars to come to public attention. However, details of the biker culture have now spilled into the open, after a member of the Road Tramps was killed by a one of a group linked to the Bandidos MC, one of the most dangerous international gangs.
Last week Alan McNamara was convicted of murdering Andrew O’Donoghue in 2015 with a shotgun outside the Road Tramps’ clubhouse in Co Limerick. But was this a one-off act of violence or can we expect further clashes between Irish motorcycle gangs?
While there are more than 100 social motorcycle clubs in Ireland, these are in no way similar to the “one percenter” MCs. One entertainment officer said most members of these clubs were “Sunday riders” who like to meet up to ride their Harley-Davidsons together a couple of times a month. Members pay a fee to guarantee membership.
The one percenter MCs are different: bikers can become members only after a lengthy probationary period, and full members regard each other as brothers. These “back patch” clubs have logos sewn into the rear of their jackets. The club name is above the badge on a part known as the “rocker” and the bottom of the jacket carries the name of the territory in which the club operates. The 1% badge will usually be worn on the front of the jacket.
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When McNamara showed up with his wife Mary at Kelly’s pub in Doon, Co Limerick, on June 19, 2015, he was in Caballeros colours. This Irish MC was known to be in league with the Bandidos, an international MC involved in criminality.
The FBI ranks the Bandidos second only to the Hells Angels as the largest outlaw motorcycle gang. These international gangs have recently expanded in Europe, which they see as a growth market, while chapter numbers in America are experiencing slower growth.
A 2015 FBI report stated that some gangs have “evolved from bar-room brawlers to sophisticated criminals”. An earlier report from the bureau said the Bandidos used their network of chapters to distribute drugs internationally. They have also been involved in weapons trafficking, money-laundering and bombings in the US. The FBI said the expansion of outlaw gangs into new territories, or the wearing of patches in a rival gang’s territory, are among the main causes of assaults and violence between rival MCs.
This is what happened in Limerick in 2015. McNamara, a former member of the Road Tramps, would later tell gardai he was “stupid” to wear his Caballeros colours that day. It was “like a red rag to a bull”, he said.
Earlier this year Seamus Duggan, 51, James McCormack, 41, and Raymond Neilon, 50, all pleaded guilty to robbing McNamara. The Circuit Court was told that as Alan and Mary McNamara left the bar, the three Road Tramps approached. Duggan held back Mary McNamara while the other two men punched the Caballero and took his jacket. McCormack said he wanted to insult McNamara because he was concerned about the Bandidos seeking to take over their area. He presented McNamara’s Caballeros jacket to the president of the Road Tramps.
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Judge Tom O’Donnell said: “I know these are structured motorcycle clubs, and I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but these are adults, for God’s sake. The fact that an adult goes back to their president with a badge in their hand as a token is childish in the extreme. I’m flabbergasted.”
The gardai would later find an arsenal of weapons in the Road Tramps clubhouse. The three Road Tramps will be sentenced in October. McNamara, who retaliated the following day by shooting dead O’Donoghue, who was not involved in the robbery, will also be sentenced that month.
Posts on Irish “one percenter” websites have warned that O’Donoghue’s killing is “not forgotten or forgiven”. Last year McNamara’s Caballeros club became a full Irish chapter of the Bandidos. A post on the official Bandidos website hailed the actions of McNamara, stating that he “really showed what the patch and the colours mean to him when he took the matters in his own hands. A real fighting Irish all the way. Expect no mercy.”
In a statement, the gardai said it was “fully engaged with our international partners, in particular Europol, on the emerging trends among European- based outlaw motorcycle gangs, and is adequately equipped to address any future attempts for such groups to expand into serious organised criminality in this jurisdiction”.
Thompson said McNamara’s murder was a milestone in the battle between the 1% Alliance and international gangs. “With the Bandidos going into Limerick, you have one of the Hells Angels’ biggest international enemies gaining a foothold in Ireland, and that is going to cause more difficulties and future conflicts,” he said.
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It would be wrong to regard these international groups as pure criminal gangs, the author added. “There are inner circles involved in criminality but you don’t have to be a criminal to join. But if you do commit a crime then you may be treated as a hero.”