Carlow shooting 'shouldn't have happened, but none of us know the true story', says gun shop owner

Despite Ireland’s reputation for strict gun control, over 200,000 licensed firearms exist — and one tragic case highlights the cracks

Members of the garda forensic technical unit examine the area around the Tesco supermarket at the Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow, after 22-year-old Evan Fitzgerald fired a number of shots last Sunday. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie

Many Irish people pride themselves on the fact that Ireland is practically a “gun-free” nation.

When looking at the atrocities committed so regularly in the US by mass shooters, we comfort ourselves that something of that nature could never happen here.