Paul Ward, 34, of Crumlin, Dublin, was convicted by three judges sitting without a jury entirely on the evidence of a police informer.

Dublin Correspondent Leo Enright: "Veronica Guerin was shot six times at point blank range"

Ward, a member of the most notorious criminal gang in recent Irish history, denied any knowledge of the murder of Ms Guerin, a 36-year-old mother of one, at Clondalkin, County Dublin on 26 June, 1996 .

However, the judges at a Special Criminal Court in Dublin accepted the evidence of informer Charles Bowden, who was also a gang member and who turned states witness.

Ward was not present when Ms Guerin was shot dead in her car, but the judges said he disposed of the gun and a motorcycle used in the murder and so was guilty of her murder.

Drugs gang

Two other men are also accused of murdering the journalist. One of them, John Gilligan, is in custody in England and has appealed to the House of Lords against his extradition.

During the 31-day trial, the court was told that the murder was planned and carried out by a drugs gang responsible for importing hundreds of kilos of cannabis, as well as guns and ammunition, into Dublin between 1994 and 1996.

The gang made millions of pounds from the drugs importation and from the distribution operation which was run from a lock up premises in the Harolds Cross area of Dublin.

Bowden, 34, told the court that Ms Guerin was murdered because she had taken out an assault charge against the leader of the drugs gang and he feared his drugs empire would collapse if he was sent to jail.

No emotion

Bowden added that Ward had taken part in meetings where the murder was planned and that his role was to allow the killers to return to his house after the murder where he would get rid of the gun.

But Ward claimed that Bowden had lied about his role in the murder and that police had invented three admissions which they claimed he made during interrogation 48 hours after his arrest in October 1996.

The judges did rule that alleged admissions made by him were not admissible in evidence and that his constitutional rights had been "consciously and deliberately violated" in the course of the investigation.

They were also highly critical of police who interrogated Ward after his arrest in October 1996.

Ward showed no outward emotion after sentence was handed down but signalled to his girlfriend Vanessa Mehan as he was left the dock.

The murder weapon, .357 Magnum revolver, has never been recovered.