Criminal underworld surfaces in Dublin

The underworld always hides in plain sight. We know it’s there but it’s never visible to the naked eye — that is until assault-rifle carrying gardaí, dressed in helmets, balaclavas, and overalls, begin lining our capital’s streets.

Before the assassination of David Byrne in the Regency Hotel more than a week ago, and the killing of Eddie Hutch in his north inner city home last Monday night, most Dubliners got on with their lives with little thought spared for the criminals that roamed around them.

The two shootings brought this usually subterranean world to the surface.