A Limerick grandfather who pulled a gun on two youths in a chipper was sentenced to four years in jail with two years suspended.
Limerick Circuit Court heard that Denis O’Keeffe (53) told gardaí he was refurbishing the weapon for a person involved in the Limerick gangland feud.
O’Keeffe, a former weapons instructor with the Defence Forces, of Ballynanty Road, Limerick, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a Webley six shooter revolver at his house on November 3rd, 2015.
He was captured on CCTV cameras at Freda’s take-away in Ballynanty pulling the gun on two boys, aged 10 and 11, who the court heard ran away in fear for their lives.
O’Keeffe said he brought the gun to his local chipper because he did not want any of his children to come across in his home.
Det Garda Fergal Hanrahan said the gun was in “poor condition” and not loaded at the time.
Slagging
O’Keeffe gave gardaí various explanations for having the gun, saying he pulled the weapon in the take-away because the boys had been slagging him about his deceased son who the court heard died from a heroin overdose.
“I pulled out the gun and told them to f**k off. They are bold little c***s,” he said.
He initially told gardai he had been holding onto the gun “in memory of his son” but later said he had it to protect himself and his family.
In another interview, O’Keeffe said he had been “approached by a known member of the Limerick feud” who asked him if he could fix a gun for them.
Det Garda Hanrahan said gardaí were most concerned because they were not satisfied as to the reason why O’Keeffe had the gun.
Brian McInerney, BL, defending, described it as a first World War type gun and a “rusty old piece of metal” which bore no resemblance to modern guns used today.
Judge Tom O’Donnell said “this is a gun, and a gun is a gun, whether it’s a musket from the 1691 siege of Limerick or one that garda ballistics experts have said is a firearm.”
Having any type of illegal firearm was “unacceptable”, he said.