Set around a Dublin family embroiled in a bloody gangland war, Irish drama Kin has left British viewers hooked since first airing on the BBC in November last year.
The drama follows the fictional Kinsella family, as they battle an international drug cartel and other Irish crime groups to remain at the top of the heap in Dublin’s drug trade.
Kin creator Peter McKenna insists the show, which has just aired for a second series on the BBC, is not based on the gruesome Hutch and Kinahan gangland war that saw 18 people killed on the streets of Dublin – and beyond – from 2015 to 2018.
But fans have long suspected the production’s bloody scenes do have some chilling echoes of horrific real-life killings and other events from Ireland’s criminal underbelly.
Below breaks down the similarities between fact and fiction.
Frank Kinsella, who is played by Aidan Gillen, before a meeting with rival Eamon Cunningham
The Kinsella family tree which shows all the members of the fictitious crime clan
Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch leaving the Special Criminal Court after he was found not guilty last year for hotel murder
Christy ‘Dapper Don’ Kinahan is the boss of the Kinahan cartel, which is an international drug smuggling operation
Eamon Cunningham, who is played by Ciaran Hind, during a sit down with rival Frankl Kinsella
Murder that sparked Hutch-Kinahan feud: The scene after Gary Hutch was shot dead in the Costa Del Sol, Spain, in 2015
Beginning of the gruesome Hutch-Kinahan feud
The Kinahan-Hutch feud began when Gary Hutch, nephew of boss Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, was shot dead by the Kinahan cartel in Spain in September 2015.
Gary had close ties to the Kinahan cartel, which is headed up by Christy ‘Dapper Don’ Kinahan, from 2008 to 2013 with Spanish police classifying Gary as the ‘right hand man’ of Christy’s son Daniel.
However, the relationship didn’t last long as Gary was accused of being a ‘rat’ in February 2014 when a 10million euro shipment of ketamine and cannabis was seized in Cheshire.
In retaliation, Gary organised a failed hit on Daniel in August 2014 outside his home in Estepona in southern Spain.
The attempted murder completely destroyed the bond between the Kinahan and Hutch groups.
Despite 200,000 euros being paid to protect Gary, the Kinahans ignored the pact and had him killed outside his apartment block in Spain on September 25, 2015.
The feud went on to claim the lives of 18 people – three of which were innocent and killed in cases of mistaken identity.
The height of the feud came in 2016 when 10 people were killed.
The most notorious incident of the feud was the Hutch-organised Regency Hotel killing during a boxing weigh-in.
Four men – two of which were dressed as Irish police – stormed the hotel on Dublin’s northside with AK-47s and killed David Byrne.
The plan was to take out Christy Kinahan and his son Daniel but they had left the event shortly before the raid.
The bloody feud has claimed the lives of four Hutch family members and Kinahan associate David Byrne.
The crime family rivalry is the most violent gangland war Ireland has ever seen – which continues to grip Dublin to this day.
Zach Parker’s real-life murder outside a gym and failed hit on Eric ‘Viking’ Kinsella which left Jamie dead
Real-life murder: Zach Parker was shot dead while driving out of a car park at a gym in the Dublin suburb of Swords in January 2019
Kin: Jamie Kinsella after he was shot dead in a botched hit on his uncle Eric ‘Viking’ Kinsella
The failed hit on Eric ‘Viking’ Kinsella outside a gym saw his young cousin killed in the show’s first episode – which is eerily similar to the killing of Zach Parker.
The 23-year-old was shot dead while driving out of a car park at a gym in the Dublin suburb of Swords in January 2019.
Gardai believe Parker was killed because he owed money to the Finglas-based Gucci gang, which has links to the Kinahan cartel.
In the show, ‘Viking’ was shot but not killed outside a gym by a hitman that was on a job to kill him.
Jamie Kinsella was caught up in the shooting and was killed when a stray bullet hit him in the head.
Amanda Kinsella’s car dealership and a gang boss’ seized assets
Amanda Kinsella, who is played by Clare Dunne, runs a car dealership which is actually a front for the crime family
Irish police show up at Amanda Kinsella’s door
Gardai and CAB raid a garage linked to the Kinahan cartel in Bluebell, Dublin
Amanda Kinsella, wife to Jimmy, runs a car dealership which is a front to hide the money the family had made from crime.
When Mikey got out of jail, fans will remember he was offered a job as a car washer in Amanda’s, who is played by Clare Dunne, showroom.
The fictional enterprise is similar to the real-life money laundering car dealership run by an associate of the Kinahans, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The Irish High Court ruled his lavish lifestyle and business were funded through the proceeds of crime.
Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau – which was set up in the wake of the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin – seized two of the Kinahan associate’s houses, luxury cars, high-powered motorcycles, jewellery and cash.
Innocent lives lost in bloody gangland violence
Melanie McCarthy, 16, also known by the surname McNamara, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2012
Cian Fitzsimons’ character Jamie was killed in a botched hit on his uncle
The gym where Melanie McCarthy was killed in a drive by shooting
Jamie Kinsella, who is played by Cian Fitzsimons, was accidently murdered in the first episode of the drama’s first season in a botched hit on his uncle Eric ‘Viking’ Kinsella.
The teenager’s killing in the car park of a gym sparked a bloody war between the Kinsellas and the Cunninghams.
The murder has similarities to the real-life killing on Melanie McCarthy in 2012. She was shot in the head as she sat in a car with her boyfriend and two others in the Dublin suburb of Tallaght.
The Irish police, called Garda Siochana, believed Melanie had been shot during an indiscriminate attack linked to a feud between rival groups.
There were also two innocent men – Martin O’Rourke and Trevor O’Neill – killed in the bloody feud in cases of mistaken identity.
Pub shootings in the show and in reality
Mickey and Jimmy Kinsella heard Caolan Moore was drinking in a pub so they went out and shot him
Michael Barr was killed in a shooting in the Sunset pub on Dublin’s northside in 2016
The trendy bar that was the location for the shooting of Caolan Moore
Gardai attend the scene at the Sunset Bar after Michael Barr was shot
Kinsella brothers Mikey and Jimmy, who is played by Emmet J Scanlan, took part in a hit on Caolan Moore in episode three of the first series.
Moore was behind the botched hit on Eric in the first episode which resulted in the death of Jamie Kinsella, who was not involved in crime.
In an act of vengeance, the brothers discover Moore is drinking in a pub and Jimmy shoots him dead in front of his friends on the same day as Jamie’s funeral.
The scene was shot in Frank Ryan’s bar in Smithfield, which is a trendy bar in the Smithfield area of Dublin.
Pubs have played a role in several real-life killings in recent years. At the height of the Kinahan-Hutch feud in April 2016, Michael Barr was shot dead at the Sunset House pub in Summerhill.
Eamon Cumberton and David Hunter were imprisoned for the murder of Barr.
Notorious Dublin criminal Eamon Dunne was shot dead in the Fassaugh House in Finglas in 2010. Dunne, who was nicknamed ‘The Don’, and his gan were involved in drug dealing, armed robbery, extortion and murder.
And Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch escaped an attempted hit on his life in an Irish pub in Lanzarote which had allegedly been ordered by the Kinahans.
Hutch recognised the would-be killers and fled the bar before they returned with guns to kill him.
The ‘Gucci Gang’, ‘Mr Flashy’ and Caolan Moore
Caolon Moore breaks away from Cunningham’s gang in the show before was taken out by the Kinsellas.
His gang of youngsters dress in expensive clothes and often show off their cash.
The obvious comparison to this group is the Gucci Gang which is led by young gangster Mr Flashy – who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The gang, which is based in Dublin’s northside suburb of Finglas, also dresses in expensive clothes and ‘Mr Flashy’ is known for showing off his pricey collection of designer watches.
‘Mr Flashy’ and associates dressed in suits as they take a ride in a limo