Gardaí question three over gangland murder

Gardaí were today questioning three people about the latest murder in one of the bloodiest feuds in gangland history.

Shay O’Byrne, 27, was shot dead in Tymon North Park in Tallaght in the south of Dublin at about 8.30pm last night, and a 26-year-old woman with him at the time was injured, after a lone gunman opened fire.

The dead man was heavily involved in organised crime and is believed to be the latest victim of the bloody Crumlin/Drimnagh feud between warring criminal gangs which has claimed up to 13 lives.

Gardaí have sealed off the area for officers from the Garda Technical Bureau to carry out an examination.

The State pathologist has also been notified as the authorities probe the latest in the series of murders by the two drug factions.

The arrests were made late last night in the Crumlin area of Dublin.

The three males are being detained at Rathfarnham and Tallaght garda stations under section 30 of The Offences Against The State Act.

One man is in his late teens and the other two are in their mid 20s.

The shooting is the eighth gun murder in the capital so far this year, which has seen a bitter escalation in gangland killings.

Michael Murray, 41, was shot dead in a suspected tit-for-tat killing outside his daughter’s house in Finglas last week.

It was the second hit in the area in less than a week.

And more than three weeks ago suspected drug dealer and father-of-three John Carroll was shot dead in a south inner city Dublin pub.

Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to this latest shooting to contact them at Tallaght garda station.

Sinn Féin has demanded a specific garda unit to deal with the warring gangs involved in the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud.

In the aftermath of last night’s shooting the party’s justice spokesman Aengus O Snodaigh hit out at the gangs.

“For a number of years now I have been calling for a specific Garda Unit to be deployed to target the rival Crumlin and Drimnagh drugs gangs and bring them to justice,” he said.

“More than 10 lives have now been taken in this feud and it is believed that this shooting in Tallaght is yet another.

“In a sinister turn of events innocent family members of these gangsters have become targets of their rivals.

“What is also extremely worrying is the increased and indiscriminate use of pipe bombs by these gangs.”