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Paddy Conroy is best man at O’Mahoney wedding

Sep 20 2009 by Adam Jupp, Sunday Sun

Bernard OMahoney with bride to be Roshea Tierney and best man Paddy Conroy in the background

TALES of the underworld brought them together – and today they’ll stand side-by-side at the altar.

Notorious former villain Bernard O’Mahoney, inspiration for gangster flick Essex Boys, travelled to Tyneside in 2007 to meet Geordie hardman Paddy Conroy as part of research for a book.

During his time here, Bernard met Roshea Tierney, 31, of Leam Lane, Gateshead. They hit it off and today the pair will tie the knot at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland.

And eye-patched Paddy, jailed for 11-and-a-half years in 1995 for torturing a rival, will play the role of Bernard’s best man after they developed a close bond since meeting nearly three years ago.

Bernard, 49, said: “I met her briefly the first time I came up, then when I kept travelling up to see Paddy, I bumped into her again and it went from there.

“I suppose you could say she distracted me from getting the book done but I got there in the end and the rest is history.

“It’s sort of because of Paddy we met and so we asked him if he would be best man and he said yes. Roshea is also four months pregnant now and we know it’s going to be a boy and we have decided to call him Paddy too. Let’s just hope he doesn’t come out with an eye-patch on.”

Bernard was part of the infamous Essex Boys firm which operated throughout south-east England.

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