Two men released in probe into canal bank murder

Darren Guerrine, of La Touche Road,Bluebell, west Dublin, was shot in the head about 500m from his home in February 2008.

His body lay on the banks of the Royal Canal for several hours before it was discovered by a passer-by at the rear of an industrial estate between Kylemore Road and Naas Road.

One suspect in his mid-30s and the other in his late- 20s were arrested in Dublin and questioned at Kilmainham and Kevin Street stations before being released without charge this morning.

Gardai believe Mr Guerrine was targeted because of a row between criminals in the Bluebell area.

He is suspected of being shot dead on the orders of a notorious local Real IRA boss over a cash dispute.

A hoax pipe bomb thrown at a property in Bluebell yesterday may be linked to this same violent RIRA faction.

At a court hearing in January of last year, it emerged that the victim's brother Gavin Guerrine (21) knocked down a man leaving him in a coma and with severe brain damage because he believed that this man was involved in his brother’s killing.

A garda explained that Gavin Guerrine held a genuine belief that Christopher O Rourke was involved in the death and that this belief was at the forefront of his mind when he knocked him down on the afternoon of April 19, 2009.

Mr O Rourke (23) had been walking down Huband Road with his girlfriend when Guerrine drove at him at speed, sending him flying into the air.

He then took off again at speed.

Mr O Rourke suffered a severe brain injury and spent several weeks in a coma. He also sustained facial fractures and a serious leg injury which made walking difficult and forced him to use a wheelchair.

After this incident, he made two attempts on his life in 2010, and died one month after his 25th birthday, in August, 2010, from a drugs overdose.

Gavain Guerrine was later sentenced to a total of five years in jail.