Martin "The Viper" Foley (born 24 November 1952) is anIrish criminal. He rose from petty crime to become an associate ofMartin Cahill. Foley has 40 convictions, and is considered a key figure in the McCormack-Foley crime family fromCrumlin, Dublin. He has had several attempts on his life including being shot on five occasions, most recently on 26 January 2008. Foley was shot a number of times outside the Carlisle gym on Kimmage Road West, South Dublin. The men behind the attack were involved in a separate gun feud, which has since run its course because the main players are all either dead or in prison. Foley has kept a lower profile since then.[1]
He was born inDerry and was one of five children of a couple who moved south to live in Crumlin.[2] He is an uncle ofJames Quinn.[3]
A well knownDublin gangland criminal, Foley's first conviction was in 1968. Since then he has been a member of Martin Cahill's criminal gang, and jailed for numerous offences including breaking a police officer's jaw.[1]
In 1982John Traynor shared information on O'Connor's jewellery manufacturing inHarold's Cross with Cahill and his gang.[2] In summer 1983 Cahill and Foley were key figures in a ten member gang who took staff hostage and stole £2 million worth of jewels.[2]
In 1984 the Concerned Parents Against Drugs group claimed that Foley and associates of dealing drugs.[2] In response Martin Cahill set upConcerned Criminals Action Committee, which was led by Foley.[2] They marched on homes of the Concerned Parents and eventually a truce was reached.[2]
Paddy Shanahan, a criminal fromCounty Kildare approached Foley about stealing paintings from the collection of Sir Alfred Beit.[2] In May that year theCahill gang stole from the collection a total of £30 million worth of paintings.[4]
An attack on 26 January 2008 was the fourth time Foley has been shot; in 1995 outsideFatima Mansions, in 1996 by the convicted murderer Brian Meehan, and in 2000 as he left a swimming pool inTerenure. This shooting is believed to be linked to theCrumlin-Drimnagh feud, with Foley aligned to one of the feuding gangs.[5] He was also abducted by theProvisional IRA in 1984, but escaped following a shoot-out inPhoenix Park between the kidnappers andGardaí.[1]
In 2017 a brother ofSeán Dunne was awarded €10,000 by aHigh Court judge as a result of intimidation of him and his family by a "debt collection agency" run by Foley.[2]
In 2025 he was ordered to pay theCriminal Assets Bureau over €1 million in outstanding tax or lose the home he lives in with his wife and daughter.[6] He was assessed as owing €916,960.12 in unpaid taxes from 1993 to 2000 plus interest.[6] The judge gave him 18 months to pay the unpaid taxes and refused an application to allow the family to remain until his daughter turns 18.[6] The case has lasted over a decade.[6]