Man's wife sat beside him as he was shot dead outside Dublin pub

Gardaí have launched a murder investigation after a man in his 30s was shot dead in the car park of a pub in Dublin.

Darren Kearns, 33, was shot a number of times by a lone gunman through the window of his car while his wife was sitting beside him, at about 5.30pm. The couple had just finished having a meal in a restaurant upstairs from the pub.

The incident, described by gardaí as a "horrendous crime", occurred in the car park of Comiskey’s pub on Blackhorse Avenue, next to the Phoenix Park.

A light colour 5 series BMW was found burnt out a short distance away on a Laneway off Regal Park - registration number 04 – D – 35151.

Inspector Tony Twomey from Cabra Garda Station appealed for anyone who was in the area at the time to contact them.

"We're particularly appealing for people who may have been in the area of Regal Park and Blackhourse Avenue between the hours of 4pm and 6pm yesterday afternoon (to contact us)," he said.

"The area...would have a lot of pedestrians, runners, cyclists and motorists passing."

Darren Kearns had recently served a jail term for drugs offences.