Man left battered, bound and gagged after gang attack

Darren Byrne (23) suffered severe injuries after being savagely attacked by a group of young local thugs.

He was discovered by members of the Fire Brigade at 6am on the morning of November 1 on Shelmalier Road.

He was taken to the Intensive Care Unit of the Mater Hospital and the scene was sealed off for a technical examination.

At one stage, gardai feared that Mr Byrne may not survive the attack.

Gardai in Store Street are investigating the incident and there has been no arrests so far.

Mr Byrne is understood to have been in a coma for over 24 hours after the incident but has since been discharged from hospital. He is from East Wall Terrace and is known to gardai.

The street where Mr Byrne was attacked -- Shelmalier Road-- was also the location in December 2008 for one of the capital's most notorious gun killings when Aidan O'Kane (50) was shot dead by a youth who was then aged just 16.

Jailed

Gun killer Conor Duffy of St Mary's Road, East Wall, was last month acquitted of murder but found guilty of the manslaughter and was jailed for seven years last April.

The trial heard that Duffy was among a number of youths in the area when Mr O'Kane's house was attacked with eggs.

Mr O'Kane died from a single gun shot wound to the chest.

Local sources have expressed "concern" about ongoing anti-social behaviour and violence among youths in the East Wall area.

"Halloween was particularly scary around here -- there were dozens of young lads going around the place completely off their heads on drinks and drugs," explained the source.

"There is ongoing problems with gangs of youngsters in the area," the source added.

East Wall was also where tragic Ciaran Noonan was beaten and abducted before being driven away in a car. His body has been dumped in a field near Ashbourne, Co Meath.

kfoy@herald.ie