Bernard O'Mahoney

Bernard O'Mahoney (born 15 March 1960) is an English author, security detail, and former soldier. After taking control of security at a nightclub he became associated with Tony Tucker, a drug dealer who was shot along with two others in what is known as the Rettendon murders.

This event captured the imagination of the media and forced O'Mahoney to retire from the security industry. He began writing books about his experiences. Several of these became best sellers, two of them being made into films. The books in question are The Essex Boys and Bonded By Blood which is based upon true events of the Rettendon murders.

O'Mahoney is also known for his affair with Michelle Taylor, a woman who was accused of (and who he now believes committed) the murder of Alison Shaughnessy. His 2001 book The Dream Solution focused on the case.

Personal life

Of Irish descent, Patrick Bernard O'Mahoney was born in , Dunstable, Bedfordshire, and grew up near Wolverhampton. He has also lived in London, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Basildon, South Africa, as well as being based in Northern Ireland.

He has six children. He has been married to Roshea Tierney since September 2009. He was the subject matter of Episode 7 of Series 2 of the Sky television programme Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men.

Books

So this is Ecstasy? Published in April 1997, it tells the story of dealing of ecstasy and other hard drugs in the Essex area during the early to mid-1990s, which gained a high profile in November 1995 with the death of Latchingdon teenager Leah Betts, and the murder of three men allegedly involved with local drug dealing the following month.

Essex Boys Published in April 2000, it is a more in-depth story of the Essex Boys, who featured in part of Wannabe in My Gang four years later.

Soldier of the Queen Published in February 2001, this is O'Mahoney's account of his time with the British Army as a soldier in the early 1980s.

The Dream Solution: The Murder of Alison Shaughnessy - and the Fight to Name Her Killer

Published in 2001 with Mick McGovern, this book focused on the high-profile murder of Alison Shaughnessy in 1991. O'Mahoney had originally been one of those who campaigned for the release of the Taylor sisters who were convicted of murdering Shaughnessy, before having an affair with one of them. He became suspicious of her obsessive behaviour and discovered a letter that indicated she was guilty of the murder.