10/10/01 - Tale of two halves
The Courier

Bernard O'Mahoney's latest book tells the astonishing true story of the murder of Alison Shaughnessy. In a bizarre twist of fate, Bernard battles through the courts to defend the name of the accused Taylor sisters, resulting in their freedom, only for some vital evidence to crop up proving their guilt.

Alex Norman spoke to the former doorman and Essex Boys author about the mental strain of writing The Dream Solution. "VIOLENCE and violence and violence," recalls Bernard O'Mahoney, was all that he remembers when working the doors of the notorious Raquel's nightclub in Basildon - now closed.

Bernard goes onto say: "They [the punters] were either trying to fight with each other or make love to each other. It was a very violent club and it was a very violent town. I don't think it will ever go back to that." Before he continues to talk, Bernard hobbles over to the television to turn down the volume (maybe he was 'capped during gang warfare or maybe he just twisted his ankle, considering he has renounced from the impurities of the underworld).

Bernard has seen and heard things in his life that no man should, and it's because of this and his children that he has decided to turn his back on crime... well, not completely.

Bernard was told he "has a couple of good books in him", therefore, he has returned to the other side of the track several times to write best-selling crime books such as Essex Boys, which was also brought to the screen; Bernard is quick to point out he had no involvement in that film because he thought it was "bloody awful".

Bernard's latest book, The Dream Solution, may have only taken a year to write, but it was a damn sight longer in the making. The book recalls Bernard's part in helping to clear the name of the Taylor sisters, who were accused of murdering newly-wed Alison Shaughnessy in a frenzied attack fuelled by the jealousy of Michelle Taylor.

After serving less than one year of their sentences, the Taylor sisters were freed - thanks in part to the exhaustive campaign by Bernard. But it wasn't all plain sailing, as Bernard will be quick to tell you - he ain't no saint. "Foolishly, because I was involved in crime, I saw nothing wrong with "nobbling" witnesses and fabricating evidence."

Following the sisters' release, Bernard and Michelle began a passionate affair which resulted in Bernard discovering the most unbelievable of truths, that the women he sweat blood and tears for were in fact 'guilty' of murdering Alison.

So it was back to the courts in an attempt to tell the world the "truth" about the sisters in a legal battle almost as dramatic as the one that saw the sisters freed. "I felt a complete and utter mug," says Bernard. "I was sick with myself more than anybody else. In fairness, I was involved in criminal activity myself."

In a tale of two halves, it would appear that Bernard is the one who has ended up with egg on his face, almost as if what happened was some form of comeuppance for his past life in crime. What goes around comes around. "You make your own bed and I certainly made mine," explains Bernard.

"My big regret is what I did to my family - I put them before other people. Unfortunately that's me, if I get involved in something I tend to go over the top."

Bernard eventually won the legal battle that enabled him to tell the truth about the sisters, resulting in his latest book, The Dream Solution, another fascinating insight into the flaws of the British Judicial system that enabled the Taylors to walk free. The Dream Solution by Bernard O'Mahoney with Mick McGovern is published by Mainstream.