Gardaí name man shot dead in Dublin pub
Murder squad detectives were tonight hunting a three-man gang after a shooting left one man dead and another injured.
Two masked raiders armed with handguns burst into a busy north Dublin pub last night and opened fire as mourners attended a function following a funeral.
Gardaí said they singled out their victims in the upstairs of the Jolly Toper bar, Finglas, before shooting them a number of times.
The dead man was named locally as Paul Martin and known in the area as a key player in the drugs trade.
Detectives believe the attackers fled the scene in a dark-coloured car driven by a third man who had been waiting on Church Street before making off towards the Finglas Road.
Finglas Fine Gael Bill Tormey said this latest brutal gun crime had shocked the entire community.
"It is absolutely horrendous," Mr Tormey said.
"In the grand scheme of things, this is a new low.
"This pub is a very respectable place that is used by many local groups, the elderly and for social occasions. For someone to come in and spray a load of bullets is definitely a new low with the risk of hurting innocent people."
Superintendent John Harnett, Finglas garda station, said a car was later found nearby and is undergoing a technical examination.
The two men were rushed to the Mater Hospital where Martin, who was in his late 30s, died a short time later.
The second man, aged 33, is in a stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery at the Mater Hospital.
Martin was described by locals, who asked not to be named, as an influential player in the local drugs trade with a network of youths working for him.
He was also regarded as an organiser in the area and had a long history of criminal activity.
A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out at Dublin City Morgue.
Gardaí said one attacker was just over 6ft while the other was just under 6ft.
Both men were slim and wearing dark-coloured clothing.
Supt Harnett refused to say whether the shooting was linked to drug crime or if the dead man had previous criminal convictions but it is understood the attack was linked to a local gangland dispute.
Gardaí have received information from people in the pub at the time, he added.
"We have received great co-operation so far and we are appealing for anyone with information to contact us," the officer said.
Sinn Féin's Aengus O'Snodaigh said the incident reinforced the need for the deployment of extra gardai in crime ridden areas.
"Unfortunately, shootings in Dublin have become an all too regular occurrence," the TD said.
"The fact that many shootings are taking place in public places, such as last night's shootings in a pub in Finglas, shows that the criminals responsible have absolutely no fear of being caught.
"This is partially because of a lack of gardaí in the communities where they operate.
"Sinn Féin has been calling for higher Garda visibility in communities that are suffering from high levels of crime. We want to see extra Garda patrols, particularly on foot and on bicycle in these communities."
The shooting follows a gun attack in Spain last week which left three Irishmen injured.
It is understood one of the Irishmen, a known associate of gangland boss John Gilligan, was the intended target of the lone, masked assailant near a nightspot in Marbella.
