Gardaí believe that a man shot dead in north Dublin this afternoon is an Iranian national and suspected hitman for a major organised crime gang.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin might be tempted to take some Charles Dickens down from the bookshelf today and start adding in his own, personalised chapter.

So that’s Friday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

The Government is being urged to appoint one department to battle loneliness and social isolation.

Gardaí in Dublin are dealing with 522 “live” threats to life, with 11 of them assessed as “critical”.

Forensic tests are being conducted on the bicycle of a youth who took a suspected handgun from the body of a dying man as he was being treated by paramedics.

The McKenna family, which owns electric and electronic retailer Power City last year shared another €3m dividend windfall.

A woman went on a “massive spending spree” after a bank accidentally deposited €51,000 into her bank account.

A Dublin Airport taxi driver has been fined €250 after he was found guilty of failing to take an accountant on the shortest route to his home in Blackrock.

Chemotherapy has allowed the Aslan singer to get back gigging, and he intends to make the most of every moment, writes Ed Power

Two men are being pursued for €44m summary judgment orders over alleged default on loans issued to buy lands in Dublin.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is a crucial response to one of our most significant public health problems. Alcohol misuse claims three lives every day in Ireland and we all know someone who has been affected in a harmful way by alcohol use — it is all too common.

Ger Cunningham confirmed he will continue as Dublin hurling manager into 2016.

Gardaí are appealing for assistance in tracing a missing Dublin teenager.

Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan wants to follow the path of Steve Collins and Andy Lee by booking a world-title shot Stateside with his next fight set for Madison Square Garden.

Two gunmen marched into a Cabra pub and fired eight bullets into crime boss Eamon ‘The Don’ Dunne, an inquest heard.

Two gunmen marched into a Cabra pub and fired eight bullets into crime boss Eamon ‘The Don’ Dunne who was tryng to protect himself by hiding behind a lounge boy, an inquest has heard.

The owner of two shetland ponies that were removed from a Finglas housing estate yesterday is attempting to get the horses back.

A court has heard that a number of children were inside a McDonalds in Dublin when a man allegedly burst in waving a knife at workers.

Four men are due to appear in court tomorrow in connection with a major drugs seizure in Dublin.

Gardaí are seeking the public’s help in finding 20-year-old Glen Murphy (also known as Glen Mc Nally) from Finglas, Dublin 11.

A Finglas drug addict who used a Stanley knife blade to rob three school children of their smartphones has received a five-year prison sentence.

A woman arrested in connection with the death of Vincent Maher in Finglas has been released without charge.

Gardaí investigating the discovery of the body of Vincent Maher in an apartment on Wellmount Road, Finglas on January 11, have arrested a woman.

Two men and a woman “caught red-handed” with more than €1.3m worth of heroin and cannabis in a targeted garda operation have been jailed for between three and seven years.

A Finglas man has pleaded guilty to robbing over €30,000 from a petrol station in Blanchardstown earlier this year.

A man was fighting for his life last night after being shot four times in an attack at a gym on an industrial estate.

Pre-tax profits at family-owned electric and electronic retailer, Power City last year fell by 16.7% to €4.9m in spite of a surge in revenues.

Dogs Trust has said it has seen a 50% spike in calls from people who want to give up the dogs they got for Christmas.

A man who took part in a violent attack on a car which had three children including a baby inside has being jailed for 15 months.

A cluster of girls jumped around a uniformed garda. “We were on the telly,” they all shouted together and bounced away, running up to the tape cordoning off the latest gangland murder.

Gardaí are still waiting to question a man in his 20s over an assault in Finglas on Tuesday.

The terms and conditions of more than 250 workers at Balfour Beatty in Dublin have been protected after unions agreed a cost-saving agrement with management.

Pre-tax profits at Irish-owned electrical retailer Power City increased by 4% to €5.8m last year.

WITH an asset base worth €2.6 billion, 17 religious orders have been asked by the state to find up to €350 million in cash or property as an additional contribution to the redress deal.

COMMUNITY drug groups have welcomed the appointment of Roisín Shortall as a minister responsible for drugs.

Gardaí at Finglas investigating the murder of two men are appealling for the public's assistance.

THE father-of-two gunned down in front of his children in daylight in north Dublin was a suspect in a local killing and involved in the gang of murdered drugs criminal Eamon Dunne.

A Finglas man who walked into a house and stabbed a female acquaintance in the eye with keys after binge drinking on St Patrick’s Day has been jailed for three years.

A YOUNG father-of-one, who was an associate of a north Dublin drugs gang, was gunned down at his workplace yesterday afternoon in what is being investigated as a personal dispute.

A father-of-one has received a two-year suspended sentence and a €4,000 fine for possessing 450 kegs of beer stolen from Diageo Ireland.