ALTHOUGH described by people who know him as an "intelligent" criminal, Michael Boyle proved foolish when he told gardai he was going to London to kill a man.

Boyle (49), from Inchicore, Dublin, thought the gardai would have little interest in his scheme, which was "not on their patch". In fact, they tipped off British police and armed officers waited on a London street in September 1995 and shot Boyle after he opened fire on his victim.

This week he was jailed for life at the Old Bailey in London for attempted murder, the most serious of a range of convictions gathered in a long criminal career.

What made the case unusual was evidence that Boyle was in London to carry out the killing after receiving instructions from George Mitchell, a Dublin criminal whose name rarely makes the papers. The court was told Mitchell arranged for three gunmen, including Boyle, to target a family in London which was troubling an associate.

Boyle's most notorious crime before the attempted murder was the kidnap of solicitor Bill Somerville in Wicklow in 1983.

Boyle spent most of his early life in Bray, Co Wicklow, and was a promising junior hurler. The son of a soldier, he was considered "respectable" and surprised many when first convicted of petty crime. Although he embarked on a more serious criminal career, gardai who dealt with him said he was unlike the typical criminal they encountered. "He was always presentable and very civil. You wouldn't take him for a criminal" said one.

By the 1970s Boyle (in his 20s) was one of the State's most dangerous criminals. He was arrested after armed robberies in Rathdrum and Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, and was tried at the Four Courts in Dublin in April 1975. During the hearing he asked prison officers to let him go to the toilet, where he had arranged for a gun to be taped to a cistern along the lines of a celebrated scene from the film The Godfather.

HE emerged from the cubicle with the Webley, threatened the prisoners and escaped.

He was recaptured the following month and detained at the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum from which he escaped shortly afterwards. He was caught at a house in Dublin a month later and eventually convicted.

Boyle had six convictions, including one for armed robbery, and spent several years in jail before he and an accomplice, Eugene Prunty, plotted the Somerville kidnap in August 1983. Boyle and Prunty had planned to kidnap Mr Somerville's son but were persuaded to take the solicitor when he convinced them his wife could raise the £50,000 ransom they demanded.

The family organised payment of the ransom but also called in gardai, who taped the kidnappers calls and recognised their voices. Mr Somerville was freed after two days. Gardai found Boyle had taped him to a tree, with a plastic bag fixed over his head, in a forest five miles from the Somerville home. Prunty and Boyle were arrested later.

Boyle was released on bail and carried out another serious crime, this time the false imprisonment of Mrs Alma Manina of Greystones, from whom he demanded £60,000. He was convicted of both crimes in July 1984 and received a 12 year sentence.

Prunty received a 10 year sentence and appeared happy to live a quiet life after his release, but gardai continued to regard Boyle as dangerous. At one stage after his release they arrested him on suspicion of possessing a firearm. He was released without charge, but told Det Insp Tim Mulvey, based in Harcourt Square Dublin, that he was an intelligence officer for the IRA.

He offered to sell information to gardai for £20,000 but Insp Mulvey, who had doubts about its quality, refused to pay.

In spring 1995, Boyle told Insp Mulvey of a scheme involving George Mitchell, described in the London court as "a well known Dublin criminal". Boyle was to be one of three gunmen who would target the Brindle family in London, who were troubling one of Mitchell's associates.

Insp Mulvey told Boyle to have nothing to do with it. Gardai also informed the South East Regional Crime Squad in Britain of the plot. Boyle was placed under surveillance and his elaborate preparations for his part of the scheme were watched.

In a series of visits to London, Boyle, who had a safe house and a Peugeot 205 GTi car at his disposal made more than 100 visits to addresses connected with his target, Anthony Brindle. He also checked the electoral register and videotaped the area around Mr Brindle's home. British police did not warn Mr Brindle about the planned attack, arguing later that this "would result in an escalation of violence".

ON the night of September 20th, 1995, armed officers disguised as British Gas workers watched as Boyle arrived in a van outside Mr Brindle's south London home. They saw him remove a wing mirror and get into the back of the van, where he hid behind a makeshift curtain hanging behind the front seats. Removing the mirror allowed an unimpeded field of fire.

When Mr Brindle walked to his car, Boyle fired three bullets into him. Mr Brindle, shot in the elbow, chest and thigh, headed back to his house, pursued by Boyle. At this stage the armed police intervened, emerging from their van and firing 14 shots at Boyle.

As Boyle was rushed to intensive care that night, few expected him to survive, although one garda who knew him said he had always proved "tough". He was right. Boyle made an extraordinary recovery. He was first tried in October, but the trial ended when he sacked his legal team. It was a new trial, started last month, which resulted in his conviction.

Gardai are now understood to be examining the implications for people in Dublin of the evidence given in court. Boyle, meanwhile, is said to have turned his mind towards whether he should seek compensation from the British government for his injuries.

Mr Brindle survived the attack, and, as is often the case after such incidents, refused to give evidence against the man who shot him.