Convicted gunman opens fire while on bail

A CONVICTED gunman, currently on bail for a firearms charge, was arrested by gardaí after he opened fire during a post-funeral drink-fuelled row.

A 30-year-old man received minor injuries when the blast from a shotgun ricocheted across his face outside a pub in Bluebell, in south city Dublin.

Garda sources said the gunman had been granted High Court bail last April after previously being charged with possessing a firearm.

“This lunatic was going around with a loaded shotgun in his car. He’s well known to us. He did something similar about eight years ago,” said a Garda source.

The man, aged 30 and from nearby Drimnagh, received a three-year sentence in 2004 after he shot a man at a city centre pub.

He shot his victim twice in the leg because he resented the attention he was giving his girlfriend. The court heard he was also on bail at the time of that shooting.

The latest incident happened at around midnight on Wednesday at The Cottage Inn on Bluebell Avenue, just off Kylemore Road.

A large group of family and friends were gathering in the pub after a funeral Mass earlier. A row erupted later during the evening between a group of them.

The gunman tried to break it up and was struck a few times. He went to his nearby car, took out a loaded shotgun, walked back to the crowd and let off one shot. The blast ricocheted and hit his victim in the face, inflicting superficial injuries.

Gardaí arrived within minutes and stopped a car, which was being driven by the gunman. He was arrested and a firearm was seized.

Garda sources said they intended to ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge the man immediately. They would be objecting to bail and would inform the court the suspect was already on bail.