Activists to meet over feud murders

Community activists in Dublin’s north inner city are to hold a meeting and press conference tomorrow to demand action to prevent further feud murders in the locality.

It comes as residents and gardaí brace themselves for fresh attacks by the Kinahan crime cartel on associates and members of the rival Hutch gang.

Garda sources believe the Kinahan cartel — which is so far blamed for five of the six murders in the feud — will continue until everyone involved in the Regency Hotel attack is dead.

Kihanan lieutenant David Byrne, from Crumlin, south Dublin, was shot dead in that assault on February 5.

Three of the four revenge murders — of Eddie Hutch on February 8, of innocent homeless man Martin O’Rourke on April 14, and of dissident republican Michael Barr on April 25 — have occurred within a one-mile radius of Dublin’s east north inner city.

This is the heartland of the Hutch gang, which comprises members of the extended family and criminal associates.

Community leaders said the area was now “smothering” and “living in fear of the next attack”.

Marie Metcalfe, co-ordinator of the Community Policing Forum, said: “We are having a community meeting on Friday morning and will issue a public statement on behalf of the community.”

She said a range of projects and individuals were invited to attend, including the Inner City Organisations Network, the Local Drugs Task Force, the Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign, all the local drug projects, as well as local youth and employment services and groups.

“We as a community feel we need to step up and do something for the safety of our community,” she said.

“The Kinahan gang won’t stop, why would they? They feel badly hurt and they want to hurt this community really hard. It’s completely out of hand.”

She said the feud was of a different ferocity to the inner-city feud between two extended families that hit the area in the mid-to-late 2000s, resulting in five murders.

“That feud was not like this. There was more control over that, but there is no control over this. There’s young fellas popping up with guns everywhere.”

Ms Metcalfe co-ordinates the forum, which has been running since 1999, and includes representatives of the local community, gardaí, the city council, as well as local councillors and TDs.

She said she and local independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan met Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan two weeks ago to discuss policing after the murder of Eddie Hutch.

“I told her we need more gardaí on the ground and that resources were low. She didn’t agree with me on the resources issue.”

However, she said that the commissioner did secure extra bicycle patrols after she told her gardaí needed to be mobile and not on foot.

“The main thing people want here is visibility,” she said.

“We are screaming for it. I work with community gardaí and they are really great gardaí, but there’s just not enough of them. I feel sorry for them, they are tired and look worn out. They are trying their best.”