Matthew Gilbert, known online as "The Irish Viking," faced Bray District Court for speeding at 134 kph in a 100kph zone on January 2, resulting in a six-year driving ban. Gilbert, now living in Dubai and formerly a barber, turned to OnlyFans during the pandemic, where he reportedly earned over €54,000 monthly from nearly 3,000 subscribers. His company, Matty Irish Viking Limited, was established shortly after his explicit content venture began. Despite his financial success, Gilbert faced tax issues, being listed as a tax defaulter with under-declared income exceeding €61,000.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
It is not very often that Bray District Court sees a TikTokking Viking in the dock.
asserted
Viking → see → dock
But recently Kilcoole native Matthew Gilbert, the Wicklow bodybuilder better known online as ‘The Irish Viking’, stood before it and departed with a six-year disqualification from driving.
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Gilbert → know → disqualification
The 35-year-old, who now lives in Dubai, was caught doing 134 kph in a 100kph zone on the N11 on January 2.
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who → live → January
He was already banned from driving and had no insurance.
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He → ban → insurance
His solicitor, Brendan Maloney, told the court Gilbert had returned to Ireland in December and hired a car using a valid UAE licence.
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Gilbert → tell → licence
The problem was a five-year ban handed down back in 2021.
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problem → hand → 2021
An appeal against that earlier ban was lodged and later withdrawn.
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appeal → lodge → ban
Mr Maloney argued his client technically held a valid licence and that the rental insurance would not have been affected had he crashed.
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he → argue → licence
The court imposed the six-year ban regardless.
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court → impose → ban
As court appearances go, a speeding motorist caught out on a technicality is about as run-of-the-mill as it gets.
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it → go → technicality
What sets Gilbert’s case out from the circuit court crowd is that he usually has 2.4 million eyes ogling his every move, and, by his own reckoning, almost all of them belong to women.
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all → set → women
The 35-year-old Matthew Gilbert, who now lives in Dubai, was caught doing 134 kph in a 100kph zone on the N11 on January 2
Before the fame, Gilbert plied his trade as a barber.
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Gilbert → live → barber
Then came Covid, when he decided that chopping hair was not going to cut the financial mustard, and he embarked on a decidedly more radical career path on the explicit OnlyFans website.
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he → come → website
The paid subscription platform lets creators charge followers a monthly fee for private and often explicit content, and it turned the Wicklow barber into one of the most talked-about men in the country.
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it → let → country
He has said his body-building videos on TikTok saw views plunge once he made the switch, and the numbers are eye-popping to say the least.
Only months after launching, Gilbert said he was earning over €54,000 a month from around 3,000 paying subscribers at roughly €18 each.
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he → say → 18
Take him at his word and that is more than €640,000 a year.
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that → take → word
Making a quick buck on the site is not as easy as it may seem, according to Gilbert.
uncertain
it → make → Gilbert
‘People think it is easy money but it is a lot of work,’ he said, describing daily posts and constant direct messages to fans across every time zone.
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he → think → zone
‘It’s a 24-hour job.
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It → ’ → ?
So he wasted no time turning his bulging biceps into a burgeoning business.
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he → waste → business
Matty Irish Viking Limited, on Dame Street in Dublin, was incorporated in March 2021, five months after he first posted.
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he → incorporate → March
It is difficult to confirm how much he is actually worth but he is by any accounts riding high on the Only Fans tide.
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he → confirm → tide
However, much to his chagrin, one pair of decidedly unwelcome eyes were ogling Gilbert intently – those of the dastardly tax man.
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pair → ogle → man
In March 2025, Gilbert appeared on Revenue’s list of tax defaulters, the subject of a level 2 audit.
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Gilbert → appear → audit
He had under-declared his income by more than €61,000, and, with interest and penalties, his personal settlement came to more than €88,000.
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settlement → declare → 88,000
His company was named too, having under-declared corporation tax, PAYE, PRSI, USC and VAT by €191,464, for a total settlement of €266,693.
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company → name → 266,693
Between them, the settlements passed €350,000.
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settlements → pass → 350,000
In March 2025, Gilbert appeared on Revenue’s list of tax defaulters, the subject of a level 2 audit
Revenue confirmed that everything owed has been paid in full, and Gilbert has not been accused of anything beyond the settled tax matters.
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Gilbert → appear → matters
That he could stump up such a high six-figure sum on demand is indicative of the humongous amounts involved in the online soft-porn sphere.
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stump → stump → sphere
Which begs the question: can a southside former barber turned full-time totty be what women really want?
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women → beg → what
If we are to take Gilbert at his word, around 85% of his OnlyFans subscribers are female.
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% → take → subscribers
A 2022 study in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour found that OnlyFans users were predominantly white, married, heterosexual men.
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users → find → Behaviour
If Gilbert’s figure is right, he has built a business on an audience that looks nothing like the platform’s norm.
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that → build → norm
It is also a figure that only he can vouch for, and it has never been independently verified.
So is this what women really want?
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women → vouch → what
A muscled, tattooed, self-styled Viking with a barber’s patter and a body-builder’s physique, selling closeness by the month?
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Viking → style → month
Gilbert would say his subscriber numbers are unarguable.
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numbers → say → ?
His critics would point out that a paywall is not a poll, and that paying to look is not the same as wanting to date, marry or admire.
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paying → point → ?
So is this what women really want?
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women → want → what
A muscled, tattooed, self-styled Viking with a barber’s patter and a body-builder’s physique, selling closeness by the month?
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Viking → style → month
Millions of scrolls and thousands of monthly payments suggest a genuine appetite for the fantasy he sells.
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he → suggest → fantasy
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
