Family of man slain in mass brawl fearful of revenge attack

THE close family of a man slain in a mass brawl on St Stephen’s night fear that as soon as he is buried a revenge attack will be launched on those suspected of killing him.

There is local speculation that the fight between members of the Delaney and Crinnion families and their associates at the Manhattan Bar was orchestrated to get a senior member of one of the feuding families to the scene.

In spite of rapid escalation of the tensions there, that individual stayed away. However, 51-year-old Gerard Delaney left his home in Mahon where he had been babysitting with his wife after receiving a call to say that relatives needed help following rows — first at Quirkies Bar in Pearse Square, Ballyphehane, and then at the Manhattan in Lower Friars Walk — between members of the Delaneys and the Crinnions.