text: Early adulthood In the attempt to make ends meet, Ireland had a series of manual jobs, then in December 1975, he was convicted of car theft, criminal damage and two burglaries, for which he was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. Ireland was released in November 1976 and moved to Swindon, Wiltshire. He lived with a woman and her children for a few months. In 1977, he was convicted of extortion, for which he was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. In 1980, he was convicted of robbery, for which he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. In 1981, he was convicted of attempted deception.
  In 1982, Ireland married Virginia Zammit; the couple and their daughter lived in the Holloway area of London. In 1985, he was convicted and sentenced to six months for "going equipped to cheat". He divorced in 1987, after his wife discovered he had committed adultery. In 1989, in Devon, he married Janet Young; he was violent towards her and stole from her. In the early 1990s, they separated; she and her children became homeless. He moved to Southend-on-Sea, where he became homeless and lived in a hostel. He later moved to his own flat.  Whilst living there, he travelled to the Coleherne Arms, a gay pub in Earl's Court, London, where he first met his victims.
  Victims