Man is gunned down while drinking in pub
Monday October 16 2006
The 24-year-old victim had been sitting in the open area at the back of the Fairview Inn, a popular haunt of GAA fans attending Croke Park.
The incident happened at around 1.40am yesterday.
It was one of two shootings in the city within an hour.
The other shooting took place at a halting site in Ballyfermot where a 30-year-old man was slightly injured when struck by a shotgun blast in the face and neck.
Gardai said that the two victims' injuries were not life-threatening.
The man shot at the rear of the Fairview Inn near the Philipsburgh Avenue junction is known to gardai. He has a criminal record.
The gunman, who was not wearing a mask, shot him in the back at close range with a small hand-gun. He then calmly walked out through the pub, holding the gun in his hand.
It is understood that he was followed at a distance by a member of the public who alerted gardai.
One man was arrested nearby while a second was detained as he left a house in Portland Row. Two other men were later arrested at the house.
The four men, all in their early 20s, were taken to Clontarf and Raheny garda stations for questioning. They were held under the Offences Against the State Act.
The injured man was taken to the Mater Hospital where he initially refused to co-operate with medical staff. He was still detained there last night.
Gardai were alerted to the Ballyfermot shooting after a mobile-phone call to the local station at around 2am yesterday.
When they arrived at a halting site at Labre Park, off Kylemore Road, two men were exchanging blows. One was covered in blood. The officers separated them. The more seriously injured man was taken to St James's Hospital.
"It was only after examination by staff there that it was established he had not simply suffered a beating. It was found that he had been blasted with a shotgun in the face and neck before the fist-fight was broken up," a garda said.
The scene at Labre Park was sealed off for forensic examination.
No arrests were made but gardai said they were following a definite line of enquiry.
- Charlie Mallon
