Gangland victim in fight days before murder

The victim of Dublin’s latest gangland killing was involved in a fight days before he was shot dead as he was watched television, neighbours said today.

Locals also claimed 30-year-old Lee Kinsella was the second person to be killed at the same house in Ratoath Avenue, Finglas, after a man was stabbed there several years ago.

It is understood the victim was at home with his partner and two young children when two men broke the window of the downstairs room and opened fire.

A workman said he witnessed a fight involving the victim last Thursday.

“There was a bit of trouble at the door.

"Some fella knocked at the door and he just came out, grabbed him and pulled him into the house and a bit of roaring and shouting and all that and then the man came out and just trudged off up the road and I never thought anything of it until this morning when I heard what happened there.”

A local woman said: “That’s the second person to be killed in that house. There was another. It was rented. Most people own their houses here but the last chap, again, nobody knew who they were.

"They were renting the house. He was stabbed to death a few years ago.”

Another neighbour said: “It’s a quiet place this really, and I should know, I’m 50 years here. There was a stabbing but that’s a good few years ago but those people there now, they’re not that long living in that house. They’re a very pleasant family, anyway.”

The scene of the shooting was sealed off for forensic examination this morning.

Detectives have appealed for any witnesses who may have seen a silver Subaru car or the occupants acting suspiciously in the area last night to contact them.

Labour Party Justice Spokesman Brendan Howlin said the shooting was the sixth gun murder in 2006 and was further evidence of the cheapening of life in modern Ireland.

“Merely two weeks since the last such shooting, the gangs have struck again with the brutal murder of a man while he was watching television in his home,” he said.

“The casual nature of the attack suggests the gang had little fear of being apprehended or caught.

“In the short term I would appeal to anyone who may have been in the area at the time to contact the gardaí. The vehicle used by the killers was seen before the attack.

“Anyone who saw it may unwittingly hold crucial information that could assist the investigation.”

Mr Howlin said that in the longer term a concerted, effective campaign against criminal gangs needs to be launched.

Fine Gael Justice Spokesman Jim O’Keefe said the shooting brought the number of violent deaths this year to 21.

“The grim litany of deaths that we had become used to in Northern Ireland has now been replaced by the horrible roll call of gangland murders, mainly in Dublin,” he said.

“In the same way that innocent people were the main victims of the Troubles, bystanders in Dublin are finding themselves in the front line of gangland activities.

“Donna Cleary was one such victim in recent months. In the latest incident in Finglas, a woman and two children were in the house at the time of the shooting.

“It appears that this assassination was motivated for only minor reasons. It comes only a few weeks after a similar gangland killing for similarly minor motives. Clearly, life is very cheap in gangland,” he added.

Patrick O’Connell, 36, of Ratoath Avenue, Finglas was jailed for six years in 1998 after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Vincent Harford, 35, of Sutton, Co Dublin, in May 1997 at Ratoath Avenue.

The court case heard the deceased man was stabbed after trying to intervene when his killer was assaulting his wife.