Armed gardaí at CUH to protect injured gang boss

Armed gardaí have been deployed at Cork University Hospital after the transfer of Limerick gang boss Christy Keane, who escaped death last week when two gunmen opened fire on him.

He had been transferred from University Hospital Limerick to have bullets removed from his upper body.

Mr Keane, aged 54, is under armed Garda protection after being hit four times during an attack last week as he arrived for a gym workout at the University of Limerick Arena.

He was due to be transferred to Cork for further surgery last week but the decision had to be delayed until the weekend as no bed was available.

One source said: “He had to join the queue like everybody else.”

Meanwhile, a man and woman arrested and questioned in connection with the shooting have been released without charge.

Amid mounting concern in Limerick at a reigniting of the bloody feud which claimed 18 lives over the past 15 years, Niall Collins TD has called on the minister for justice to visit the city and see, at first hand, the depth of concern following the attempted murder bid.

Mr Collins, Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman, said gardaí told him they did not have the resources to combat high-level violence in Limerick, due to cutbacks and lack of personnel.

“I have spoken to a lot of members of the force across the ranks in recent days and I am very worried at what I have been hearing,” Mr Collins said.

“Numbers have been left decline in recent years and criminals now see the pressure is off, due to scaled-down garda surveillance in known feud gang hot spots. After last week’s shooting, extra resources were deployed to the big investigation but, as a result a number of serious crimes unrelated to the feud, they could not be responded to with the urgency required,” he said.

Mr Collins said business and tourism interests were also concerned at an old image of a crime-darkened city emerging through the huge media coverage the gun attack received.

“This shooting was a hang over from the feud, with younger members of the old factions trying to settle old scores going back years.

“Limerick has very successfully rebranded itself in recent years and this has taken a huge effort by many stakeholders.

“This could now be totally undermined through feuding gangs getting a new lease to carry out their deadly business, because we just don’t have the garda numbers and resources to tackle them,” he said.