 The Noonan - who grew up in a family of 14 siblings whose first names all began with the letter D - spent years building their empire. After first making their mark in 1980s gangland Manchester by specialising in armed robbery, they soon realised drugs were a much more profitable way to make their fortune. Damien ended up building links with other gangs in Manchester, Salford and further afield, and was said to have been an associate of Salford's 'Mr Big' Paul Massey. Thanks to his connections, the brothers ended up controlling much of the city's drug supply, ecstasy - making 'Madchester' one of the clubbing capitals of the world. At the height of their enterprise, the Noonans were said to be raking in a whopping £50,000 a night from the Hacienda club alone. But other gangs wanted an in and were prepared to do whatever it took){kind=link}
Damien was described as ‘the UN peace keeper in gangland Manchester’ and he bought and cemented loyalties by supporting different causes in his community
The story of how a crime family’s empire crashed down months after a top gangster died in a bike crash has been revealed.
In 2003, Damien Noonan ‘s motorbike death marked the beginning of the end for his family’s empire.
Hundreds of people lined the streets of Salford, as an 18-piece bagpipe band led the horse-drawn funeral procession down the street, report Manchester Evening News.
Despite rising to become a mafia don, Damien – alongside his brothers Dessie and Dominic – came from a relatively poor,Irish, working class upbringing.