Man seriously injured and sister shot after gun attack in Newcastle West

A brother and sister were shot and wounded yesterday afternoon when a masked gunman opened fire in a busy housing estate in Co Limerick as children played nearby.

The badly wounded man, named locally as Gerry Hennessy, received serious wounds to the upper body and was airlifted by helicopter from the scene at Castleview Estate, Newcastle West, to Cork University Hospital.

His sister, Colette, who happened to meet him moments before the gunman stuck, was rushed to University Hospital Limerick with a hand wound.