Four held over pub shooting

FOUR people were in custody last night after a series of raids across Dublin’s south inner city by gardaí investigating the murder of a man inside a pub over a week ago.

James Curran, a 42-year-old father of one, was shot dead inside the Green Lizard Pub on Francis Street.

The prime suspect, who was drinking in the pub for up to 90 minutes before the shooting, has not been at his address in the Liberties area of the city since the shooting.

While the suspect is known to be linked to the IRA, Justice Minister Michael McDowell played down similarities between the Curran murder and that of Belfast man Robert McCartney.

The minister said that he was aware of the background to the case and said that gardaí, unlike the Police Service of Northern Ireland, had received a good level of co-operation from those who were in the pub at the time of the shooting.

However, he added that it is a serious situation where subversives had access to firearms. As a general principle, Mr McDowell added, someone who is willing to kill for a political purpose will likely do so for personal reasons as well.

Mr Curran, a martial arts expert who is believed to have been shot after becoming embroiled in a ongoing dispute with another individual, was murdered on April 4.

Six people have been arrested and questioned by detectives from Kevin Street. A man and a woman were detained and then released without charge last week.

Gardaí arrested a further four early yesterday morning at their homes in the south inner city. The four, all males in their late 30s to late 40s, were arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be detained for a maximum of 72 hours.

The four are being questioned in Kevin Street and Kilmainham garda stations.