Have you ever wondered how the Kinahan family rose to become the crime lords they are today?
Well, journalist Nicola Tallant has a new book that dives into their journey from small time crooks to drug kingpins.
The family have become so prolific in the underworld and in the media, they were even the inspiration for the hit series Kin starring Emmett J Scanlan and Marvel star Charlie Cox.
The gang's ambitions have taken them all over the world, from Dublin to Amsterdam to Spain and even Dubai.
Under the direction of kingpin Christy Kinahan and his son Daniel, the gang grew into one of themost powerful international drug trafficking netwoks with billions of euro at stake and global law enforcements trying to bring it down.
She joined The Pat Kenny Show to discuss the family's rise to power, tracing the people, the partnerships and the rivalries behind that rise and the international pursuit that eventually caught up with Daniel Kinahan.
When asked how a small-time crook in Dublin went on to become a "gazillionaire", Nicola replied: "I don't think anyone saw it coming. Christy Kinahan came from a very different background to most people that inhabit the criminal underworld.
"He would have been from a middle class family. He grew up in a very nice home on the north side of Dublin. He was educated. He didn't have all those other things that usually sort of guide people towards crime.
"He started out as a small time check forger. He was had polite manners, good accent, so he would be the one that would if they had robbed stuff off the docks, he'd go in and sell it into the legitimate economy."
As for how they went from small-time hustles to drug lords, Ms Tallant explained that Christy was in the right place at the right time when the drug boom started.
She continued: "All of a sudden drugs weren't for addicts. They were for people to recreationally use it and for the customer base, for the dealers, it just exploded.
"He realised that this little pill was the new thing on the scene and he specifically went to Amsterdam to make the connections.
"It had arrived as initially ecstasy from the US, but very quickly in the Netherlands, the dealers and the chemists had got together and they were making it there.
"It was the place to buy it. Amsterdam is a supermarket of drugs for many reasons and he went there to seek out to make connections."
He did some time in Portlaoise and is hailed as the first prisoner to bring in the Internet and phones into the prison and continue his business from there.
Nicola Tallant's book Kinahan Inc: From Dublin to Dubai lands in Irish books shops from November 12, 2026.
Main image: A wanted poster of Christopher Kinahan Jnr, Daniel Kinahan and Christopher Vincent Kinahan during an initiative to tackle transnational organised crime gangs by An Garda Síochána Pic: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos
