Man gunned down in front of daughter

A murder investigation has been launched after a man was gunned down in front of his 11-year-old stepdaughter in an apparent gangland killing yesterday.

Dublin native Gerard Eglington, 27, was at home with his stepdaughter and three-year-old son when he was attacked at about 8.30am at The Glen housing estate, adjacent to Kilnacourt Woods, in Portarlington, Co Laois.

It is understood a gunman entered the house through an unlocked front door and shot him at least four times.

Eglington was rushed to the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore, Co Offaly, where he later died.

It is not know if Eglington’s son witnessed the shooting.

Gardaí suspect a getaway driver took the gunman from the scene in a blue Mazda 6. The car was later found burnt out on the outskirts of the town.

Insp Martin Harrington appealed for anyone who may have been in the Kilnacourt Woods area yesterday or in the past few days and may have noticed something suspicious to come forward.

“In particular we are looking for information on a dark blue Mazda 6 which was seen leaving the area and was subsequently found burnt out on the Lee Rd in the town here approximately half an hour later,” he said.

“We are confident that somebody in the estate saw something and, in the days beforehand, we are anxious to talk to anyone who noticed anything suspicious.”

Eglington was known to gardaí and had a number of previous convictions.

He was thought to have been aligned to one of the factions in the Crumlin/ Drimagh feud and had been previously questioned over an assault on a suspected gang leader’s brother.

In 2003, he was sentenced to four years in detention for travelling in a stolen car which collided with a Garda patrol car and killed two gardaí on the Stillorgan dual carriageway in Apr 2002.

Garda Anthony Tighe and Garda Michael Padden lost their lives in the crash.

Local residents were reluctant to speak about Eglington’s death. Some stopped at the scene, where toys were visible beside the Garda crime scene tape, but many stayed in doors.

One neighbour, who declined to be named, said the estate is normally quiet. “A lot of people came here to escape from Dublin but there was absolute no trouble here before.”

* Contact the Garda confidential line, 1800 666 111, or Portarlington Garda Station, 057 8636774.