Drug addict who shot bouncer in face jailed for 13 years

A drug addict who shot a bouncer in the face before assaulting two arresting gardaí has been jailed for 13 years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Wayne McNally (aged 24) shot the bouncer after he was refused entry into Hush Nightclub in the Red Cow Inn. He then escaped in a stolen car and was later seen by two gardaí on patrol in Dolphin’s Barn. They chased him and he pulled a clothes line down on one and punched the other before he was arrested.

CCTV footage from the nightclub showed a young boy standing within 200 yards of McNally when he fired the shot.

The court heard McNally has 55 previous convictions. In 2004 he was jailed for three years for cutting a woman’s throat and stealing her car. During the offence his accomplice fired shots from the rear seat of the car at pursuing gardaí.

McNally, with addresses at Lakeshore Holiday Village, Blessington, Co Wicklow and Ross Road, Christchurch, Dublin pleaded guilty to possession of the handgun with intent to endanger life, attempting to cause serious harm to Mr David Gilsenan and being in possession of a stolen car on February 10, 2008 at the Red Cow Inn, Clondalkin.

He further pleaded guilty to assaulting gardaí Tim O’Keefe and Kieran O’Sullivan at Dolphin House, Dolphin’s Barn and to having two screwdrivers with intent to commit a crime on the same date.

Judge Frank O'Donnell sentenced McNally to terms ranging from two to 13 years to run concurrently. He called him an experienced criminal with considerable disregard for society.

Judge O’Donnell said he did not believe McNally's excuse that his drink was spiked, commenting: "Nobody forced you to bring a gun, nobody forced you to load it and nobody forced you to shoot somebody."

He noted Mr Gilsenan still suffers from nightmares and flashbacks and he and his family faced “devastating” consequences. “How you are not here on a more serious charge is some sort of luck.”

Sergeant Basil Grimes told Ms Anne Rowland BL, prosecuting, that Mr Gilsenan was working as a doorman at the nightclub when he stood between McNally and another man to stop them fighting. Both men walked away but McNally returned later and asked to go into the club to talk to his girlfriend.

Mr Gilsenan refused him entry because the club was closing in half and hour and McNally again walked away. Moments later, someone shouted “watch your back” and Mr Gilsenan saw a flash and heard a gunshot.

The bullet entered between his nose and upper lip and exited behind his ear on the same side. He suffered extensive injuries and a victim impact report was handed into the court but not read out.

McNally then got into an Audi car which had earlier been stolen from outside the Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght. He left the car park at speed and had to brake suddenly to avoid hitting a taxi.

Detective Garda Tim O’Keefe gave evidence that he and Gda O’Sullivan were on patrol in Dolphin’s Barn later that night when they saw McNally walking towards the city centre.

McNally dropped a screwdriver and the gardaí found another screwdriver and flashlight when they searched him. Det Gda O’Keefe said he told him to put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed. McNally refused and the garda grabbed his arm.

McNally got free and ran though several gardens, ducking to avoid clothes lines. He pulled a line down after him which hit Gda O’Sullivan, breaking a bone in his hand. Det Gda O’Keefe caught up with McNally but was punched in the face.

McNally tried to punch him again but was restrained and arrested. Det Gda O’Keefe later learned he was running towards the stolen car with the gun lying in the front seat.

McNally initially denied knowledge of the Glock handgun or the stolen car but later confessed when he was shown the gun. He said he did not remember much of the incident and had meant to fire the gun over Mr Gilsenan’s head.

“I was walking away and something clicked so I turned around and let a shot off,” he told gardaí. He said he was on drugs and had not meant to hurt anyone. Witnesses to the shooting described him as having the “gaunt look of a junkie” and appearing “out of it".

The gun was examined by the Garda Technical Bureau and found to be a semi-automatic pistol containing six rounds. The serial number had been filed off to make it harder to trace.

Mr Sean Gillane SC, defending, said McNally had left school at eight years old and spent a lot of time in institutions before serving sentences in St Patrick's and Mountjoy prisons. He has been a heroin addict since his early teens and has a partner and two young children.

Mr Gillane said his client was apologetic and asked Judge O’Donnell to note his early guilty plea and difficult childhood.