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.

The assistant garda commissioner has pleaded with youths not to get involved in the drugs trade at any level. We must provide initiatives to help, writes Cormac O’Keeffe.

A Garda boss leading investigations into the murder of two young men has warned youths across the country that even low-level drug dealing “is enough” to get them killed.

The Taoiseach has defended the resourcing of gardaí after two pals were gunned down just hours apart in brutal gangland-style executions in Dublin.

Gardaí investigating the murder of two men in Dublin - within 24 hours of each other - are trying to establish a motive for the attacks.

Gardaí are investigating two gangland murders, both involving young men, in north Dublin in less than a day.

A GARDA who had been following a car which crashed, killing two young people in Dundalk, Co Louth, has told an inquest that he had stopped the pursuit just before the collision and denied he had been waiting “ready to pounce” on the vehicle.