Armed gardaí patrol city

ARMED detectives are patrolling the northside of Limerick on a 24-hour basis following the gangland killing of John Ryan.

The 47-year-old father of six was shot on Monday evening as he was laying a patio outside a house at Canon Breen Park on the High Road in Thomondgate.

Two men on a red motorcycle pulled in and the pillion passenger opened fire with a handgun.

Mr Ryan, from Cliona Park, Moyross, had been forced to flee his home in Lee Estate, St Mary’s Park, to protect his wife and family because of 30 gun attacks on the house in the past two years.

Supt Willie Keane, who is leading the murder investigation, said yesterday: “This was a brutal killing carried out in broad daylight. We are dealing with ruthless individuals who are quite prepared to kill and maim.”

He appealed to those involved in the ongoing dispute in Limerick to “step back from the brink” and let the gardaí find John Ryan’s killers.

“We have 30 gardaí working on the case. We have several other people before the courts in relation to previous incidents in the city and we have extra garda patrols put on the streets of Limerick,” he said.

Two men in their 20s were arrested shortly after 9pm in the Thomondgate area, but were later released.

Supt Keane has appealed for witnesses to contact the incident room at Mayorstone garda station with any information.

Gardaí are carrying out a forensic examination of a motorbike believed to have been used in the shooting, which was found at the rear of a coal shed in the St Mary’s Park area.

The Mayor of Limerick, Dick Sadlier, yesterday condemned the latest shooting.

“This bloody feud which is seriously tarnishing the good reputation of the city involves only a handful of families and the vast majority of people are law-abiding citizens,” he said. He urged those involved in the feud to end “this cycle of violence”.

“They must realise that there is no future in this ongoing violence.There has to be a point where those families must realise that it is illogical and impossible to continue,” he said.

Labour Deputy Jan O’Sullivan last night called for extra garda resources to prevent further bloodshed in the city.

“Gardaí cannot be everywhere, but we need intensive policing in a focused way over a long period of time and this involves numbers and resources,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

“While the Emergency Response Unit is a help, it is not a replacement for adequate local garda numbers for adequate local garda numbers.”