Gardaí brace themselves for revenge attacks after drug boss shot in face

A new generation of violent young criminals are among the suspects for a reckless gun attack outside a Dublin pub which left a drug boss with serious head wounds and three innocent bystanders with minor injuries.

Gardaí said it was pure luck that there wasn’t multiple fatalities.

The gang leader, considered to be “one of the biggest criminals around town”, was shot in the face outside Hanlon’s pub on Old Cabra Rd, in the north inner city yesterday.

The attacker then fired off more shots into a crowd outside chatting and smoking, injuring three women, leaving them with flesh wounds. They were all part of a group attending a 21st birthday party in the landmark pub.

The 28-year-old injured man, from the south-inner city, was blasted in the chin and is expected to survive. The attempted murder has raised the stakes in gangland and gardaí are bracing themselves for revenge attacks.

Detectives have been tracking the emergence of a new generation of criminal gangs in the south-inner city, replacing the old gangs in the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud.

“There are a lot of young fellas starting to come up, the next generation, and there is no doubt they are capable of this and will be examined,” said one source.

There are gangs of young men and teenagers, often linked by extended families, located in the Fatima, Rialto, Basin St and James’s St areas.

Garda sources said detectives will investigate whether there are any links with the gangland murder of street dealer Michael Kelly in Rialto last July.

“The two murders might suggest there is a bigger move afoot,” said a source.

Intelligence reports suggest there are between 12 and 24 criminals in that area under active death threats. Garda sources said the latest shooting will not help, as retaliation is more than likely.

Detectives have described the 28-year-old, whose base is around Oliver Bond flats and flat complexes along Marrowbone Lane, as a “cute operator”.

While he has a drug conviction from 2004, he has kept a “low profile” since and is “hands off” on drug dealing. He also has serious connections with top Irish traffickers in Spain.

In yesterday’s shooting, a man wearing a balaclava approached a crowd outside the pub at 2.30am and shot his target at least once. As he retreated to a getaway car he fired again, hitting three women, aged 19, 28 and 33.

“People were out enjoying themselves at the scene when suddenly gunshots rang out,” said Garda spokesman, Superintendent David Taylor.

“The scene was chaotic. It was an indiscriminate shooting of people out enjoying themselves at a 21st birthday party. The consequences are very serious, but the consequences could have been absolutely awful. Luckily nobody has died and I think luck was in play here.”

lAnyone who saw the shooting or a car driving recklessly from the scene can contact gardaí on 01-6668282 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.