The General

In the 1950s, young Cahill and his siblings turn to petty theft to help their family. He is caught by a Garda while attempting to steal from a butcher's shop and is sent to an industrial school, setting the tone for his later criminal career.

By the early 1980s Cahill is released and returns to Rathmines, where Dublin Corporation seeks to demolish Hollyfield Buildings. Garda Sergeant Ned Kenny helps with the evictions, and tensions rise as Cahill resists leaving his home.

Following demolition, Cahill moves a caravan onto the site and later a tent to block further construction. His resistance continues until the Corporation offers him a new home in Rathmines, after which he backs down.

Cahill buys a new home for £80,000 and turns his cash into a bank draft. He then orders his gang to rob the bank, escalating his challenge to the Dublin police and humiliating the recently promoted Inspector Ned Kenny.

Cahill and Noel Curley stage an armed robbery of a video arcade and are arrested. At the trial, Cahill uses various schemes, including attempting to kill the State's chief forensic scientist with a car bomb. They are ultimately acquitted when the State fails to prove fear of the victim.

Cahill's gang plans and executes a massive robbery of O'Connor's jewellery factory in Harold's Cross, netting over £2 million. The gang sells the loot to a London fence, and Cahill tortures the truck driver when a gold bar goes missing, asserting his suspicions indirectly.

The IRA demands a share of the proceeds, but Cahill refuses. In response, the IRA forms CPAD, and Cahill's group counters with the creation of Concerned Criminals Against Drugs to drive them off.

Cahill and gang case Russborough House and steal the Beit collection, comprising eighteen paintings, evading alarms and Garda surveillance. The theft marks a pinnacle in their operations.

In response to the Beit theft, the Gardaí form the Tango Squad and begin 24-hour surveillance of Cahill. He temporarily evades capture and even negotiates with UVF contacts to move the paintings.

Revenue investigators attempt to question Cahill at his home; he orchestrates the burning of their car. Cahill also experiences a diabetic hypo, underscoring his volatile circumstances.

Gary, a member of Cahill's gang, is accused of raping his own daughter. Cahill tries to silence the complainant with a bribe, but when that fails he shoots Gary in the leg to avert the case going to court.

News breaks of Cahill's links to the UVF and the sale of Beit paintings. Gardaí surveillance turns to hostility as crowds throw rocks at him, signaling mounting public and institutional outrage.

The film ends with Cahill's assassination outside his Rathmines home, with the IRA claiming responsibility. The killing closes a violent chapter in his criminal career and sparks further questions about loyalist involvement.