“Providing recognition for this series is entirely inappropriate.”
Jimmy Guerin, the brother of murdered Irish journalist Veronica Guerin, has slammed a new Virgin Media documentary series about John Gilligan.
Virgin Media Television announced its slate of upcoming shows on Thursday (31 August), including the true crime show Confessions of a Crime Boss which will premiere on 4 September.
The three-part series will see Gilligan lift the lid on his life of crime and the suspected role his gang played in carrying out the murder of Guerin, “an atrocity that would change the way the country was policed forever and would be the beginning of the end for the former drug baron”.
The investigative journalist was killed in June 1996. Gilligan was later acquitted of organising her murder.
You can watch a trailer for the series below.
This is BLOCKBUSTER!
Confessions of a Crime Boss – Starts Monday at 10pm on Virgin Media One & Virgin Media Player.
This ground-breaking series sees Ireland’s most notorious criminal lift the lid on his life of crime and the role his gang played in the murder of Veronica Guerin. pic.twitter.com/3krETpxY5i— Virgin Media Television (@VirginMedia_TV) August 31, 2023
Jimmy Guerin slams John Gilligan documentary.
In a statement issued on Friday (1 September), Jimmy Guerin criticised Virgin Media Television for planning to air the programme. He said:
“I have received numerous requests from the media in relation to the upcoming documentary series to be broadcast on Virgin Media titled Confessions of a Crime Boss, along with a new book The Gilligan Tapes.
“The allegations of an amoral individual and a convicted criminal do not merit any rebuttal. These issues were covered in detail over 20 years ago in the cases I attended. They were appropriately dealt through the Irish judicial system, which the programme and the book are an insult to.
“I was invited to participate in the making of the documentary and declined. I further declined to attend a preview screening, as I strongly believe providing recognition for this series is entirely inappropriate.”
Jimmy Guerin also said it is “more than disappointing” that a national television broadcaster – along with producers, publishers and journalists – chose to give airtime to Gilligan. Virgin Media have yet to respond to Mr Guerin’s statement.
Confessions of a Crime Boss premieres on Virgin Media One on Monday, 4 September at 10 pm.
Main images via Twitter/VirginMediaTV and Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
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