Declan Gallagher is from the town of Letterkenny in Co Donegal. He worked in the construction industry from an early age. He emigrated to London in the mid-eighties and then to New York a year later, where he worked in a mafia-controlled concrete union, then to carpenter union using false names provided by the construction companies.
During his time there, he became aware of the danger of working with these companies and how many Irish men were murdered for crossing the mafia.
New York of today is a much safer place and the mafia no longer have the same control in the construction industry.
The Poisoned Glen tells the story of the influence this had on illegal Irish emigrants and how some met there untimely death.
