Man shot in same place where brother stabbed to death

The brother of a murdered Limerick teenager is recovering in hospital last night, after he was shot in the same housing estate where his brother was stabbed to death four years ago.

John Paul Leamy (aged 26), suffered a gun shot wound to his arm after he was targetted by a lone gunman near his home in the Lee Estate area of the city at 1.10am this morning.

Four years ago, his 19-year-old brother, Eric Leamy, died after a stabbing incident in the same estate.

Liam Keane, from Singland Road in Limerick, was later charged with the murder but the trial, which took place in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin in November 2003, sensationally collapsed after a number of key witnesses in the case failed to corroborate statements they had earlier made to gardaí in connection with Mr Leamy's death.

Liam Keane, (aged 20), who denied the murder of Eric Leamy, walked free from the Central Criminal Court after the DPP ordered that a ‘Nolle Prosequi’ should be entered with his presumption of innocence still intact.

At the time, Mr Justice Paul Carney remarked that it appeared that a number of people were suffering from “collective amnesia” in the case.

Three of these witnesses were subsequently charged in connection with the collapse of the trial.

Today's early morning gun attack was the fourth shooting in Limerick in as many days.

However none of the incidents are linked according to gardaí.

At 5am on Monday morning, a family had a lucky escape when shots were fired at their home in Thomondgate.

Three children and an adult were asleep in a bungalow when the front window was shot at.

Nobody was injured in the shooting and gardaí are still investigating a motive for the attack.

On Sunday night, a youth was shot in the leg in an unrelated incident which took place at 9.55pm in Kennedy Park on the opposite side of the city.

The victim who is in his late teens was not seriously injured.

Last Friday night, Anthony Kelly a brother of the late Limerick alderman and criminal Michael Kelly - was targetted by a gunman near his home in Southill.

The 44-year-old suffered pellet wounds to his leg after he was shot at several times in O'Malley Park at 9.15pm.

This latest gun attack on Anthony Kelly follows a spate of similar incidents in recent months.

Gardaí believe that the attacks are connected to a dispute between two families in the Southill area but Mr Kelly has always denied that he or his family are involved in any feud.

Speaking from his hospital bed at the Mid Western Regional Hospital last night, the father-of-six said he is living in fear for his family but he is determined to stay living at his home in Southill.

"We're entitled to live where we have always lived. They talk about rights for Travellers but members of the settled community also have rights and we have the right to stay living in our home," said Mr Kelly.

"The people who are doing this to me are cowards. Of course, I am living in fear for my family because we are constantly being attacked, but these people will not drive us out of our home," he added.