DOMINIC NOONAN AND HIS TERROR IN MANCHESTER
Dominic Noonan, a notorious figure rooted in Manchester's criminal underworld, led a violent and intimidating reign that spanned several decades.His influence was deeply intertwined with a family dynasty that profited immensely from the city's nightclub scene and drug trade during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Estimates suggest that his family was earning around £50,000 each night from their control of the illicit activities inside Manchester's clubs, including the famous Hacienda nightclub, where they exerted control over who could sell drugs, thus cementing their dominance over the local criminal landscape.
Noonan’s criminal activities were diverse and ruthless.
Born to Irish parents and raised in the Whalley Range neighborhood, he was one of 14 siblings, all of whom had names beginning with the letter D.
Alongside his brothers Damien and Dessie, Dominic quickly built a reputation for armed robbery, armed enforcement, and violent intimidation.
The Noonan brothers became infamous figures within Manchester’s criminal circles, with Dessie acting as the enforcer and hitman, Dominic showing himself as a shrewd and charismatic businessman, and Damien garnishing loyalty through donations to local community causes.
Throughout the late 20th century, the Noonan family's influence expanded beyond drug trafficking and nightclub control.
They were known for their brutal tactics, including violence and murder, to suppress rivals and maintain their empire.
In 1991, Dessie was implicated in the shooting death of a rival gang leader known as “White Tony” Johnson, in a pub car park.
Despite the accusations, the trial was rife with allegations of jury tampering, leading to Dessie’s eventual acquittal in a retrial.
Meanwhile, Dominic Noonan’s reputation for violence was reinforced by his extreme acts aimed at intimidating rivals and potential challengers.
One such act involved decapitating a rival gang’s dog with a machete outside a pub and placing its head on a pool table, a brutal warning to others contemplating crossing his family.
The death of his brothers—Dessie in 2004 following a motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic, and Damien in 2005, murdered by a crack-dealing rival—struck a blow to the Noonan empire.
Despite their deaths, Dominic’s criminal pursuits persisted, including serious allegations of sexual abuse and other violent crimes.
In 2005, Noonan was convicted after authorities found a firearm and ammunition inside his Jaguar.
He was released on license in 2010 after claiming to have experienced a religious awakening and attempting to reinvent himself, even trying his hand at stand-up comedy.
However, his temper quickly resurfaced when he a road incident led him to tap a motorist’s car window with a newspaper bearing a story about him, shouting, “Do you know who I am?” Further issues arose when he was suspected of orchestrating criminal activities during the 2011 Manchester riots, leading to his rearrest.
In 2014, while on license, Noonan famously climbed 100 feet up the Big Wheel in Manchester, protesting local authorities’ efforts to recall him.
He spent six hours atop the structure, drawing a crowd of around 1,000 people.
Despite his notoriety, he managed to escape prison following this stunt.
His legal troubles continued, culminating in a series of convictions for sex offenses.
In 2016, Noonan was acquitted of engaging in a sex act in front of a minor, but was convicted of perverting the course of justice after offering £5,000 to the boy’s family to have the charge dropped.
The police had been building a case against him for some time, and by 2018, they possessed enough evidence to convict him for multiple sex crimes involving young boys as young as 10.
As a result, he was handed an 11-year sentence in addition to sentences for arson, blackmail, and other serious offenses.
With his criminal record firmly established, Dominic Noonan awaits the potential for the rest of his life behind bars, a tragic testament to a life steeped in violence, crime, and abuse within Manchester’s shadowy criminal history.
