Early Life
Born in Whalley Range, Manchester, Noonan emerged from poverty and into the criminal scene with his brothers Damian and Dominic Noonan. His criminal career began as a doorman in the early 1980s; his reputation as a fighter and his overall appearance gave him credibility on the club doors of Manchester.
Noonan then started to put his own men on the doors and by the late 1980s 80 % of the Manchester nightlife security was said to be controlled by Desmond Noonan and his family. Around this time Dominic Noonan was jailed for 15 years for his part in an armed robbery at a bank in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. During his imprisonment, still in control of the crime family, Damian and Derek Noonan were forging links with other notable Manchester gangs including the Cheetham Hill and Salford gangs.
The Noonan family tended to have nothing to do with the Moss Side gangs, although Desmond Noonan was part of a group who provided black gangs with guns and other weapons. After involving himself in Manchester's nightlife, Desmond Noonan started to become involved with other criminal and political circles outside of Manchester. He went to forge links with gangs in London, Newcastle and Liverpool. It is alleged that Desmond Noonan associated with many powerful criminal figures based in Leamington, Coventry and Birmingham. The association was based on the movement of guns and drugs between the West Midlands and the North West. Although the relationship was profitable it soon turned sour, leading to a war that saw a number of executions take place in Manchester and Birmingham, ultimately ending with the slaying of Ashley Foley and Josh King, both found shot in the face (to prevent an open-casket funeral). Desmond Noonan was held by West Midlands Police, but the case was dropped due to lack of evidence.
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