Joseph Foran, the west Dublin criminal shot dead outside his house on Saturday, was the 10th person to be killed in drugs or gang-related violence in the city since the start of last year.
The rate of murders is similar to that in the two years prior to the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin in June 1996 which led to a major Garda clampdown on criminals in the city.
Gardai are investigating possible motives for Mr Foran's murder. He was killed by a single shot to the head as he sat in his car with his girlfriend, Ms Clare Stowe, outside his home in Glasanaon Road, Finglas. Ms Stowe was unhurt.
His assassin and an accomplice ran off through the grounds of St Canice's School.
Mr Foran (38) who had two children from a previous relationship had a criminal record. A west Dublin garda who knew him for several years said his criminal associates were "at the heavier end of the scale".
He was an associate of the notorious criminal P.J. Judge, who was shot dead in a similar fashion as he sat in his car outside a pub in December 1996.
His recent associates included two Finglas-based criminal families. One of these is believed to have been responsible for the murder in Finglas of John Dillon (53), a taxi-driver and minor criminal, in January last year.
Since Mr Dillon's murder there have been at least a further 14 drug- or gang-related murders, 11 of them in Dublin.
The victims include Pascal Boland (43) shot dead in January 1999 at Mulhuddart; Patrick Lawlor (17) murdered and secretly buried in the west of the city; Thomas Reilly, shot dead at Rathfarnham in March 1999; Martin Comerford (36) shot dead in south Dublin in April; Martin Sweeney (36) beaten to death in Ballyfermot; Kevin Fennel (23) shot dead in south Dublin in June; Noel Heffernon (35) tortured and shot dead near Dublin Airport in August; Patrick Campbell (22) from Belfast killed in a gang fight; Daren Carey (20) and Patrick Murray (19), both heroin couriers, killed by a Ballyfermot gang leader at the start of the new year.
Other gang- or drug-related killings during the year included that of Martin Nolan (34) from Tramore, Co Waterford, who is believed to have been secretly buried; Richard McFerran, who was shot dead in Dundalk; and Joseph Vickers (43), who was beaten to death by a drugs gang from Bray.
Det Insp John Mulligan, of Cabra Garda station, yesterday appealed to anyone in the Glasanaon Road area between 7.30 p.m. and 8.20 p.m. on Saturday or anyone who noticed anything suspicious in the area to contact the Garda.
The investigation is being led by Chief Supt John McLoughlin and the divisional detective superintendent, Tony Sourke, with officers from the National Bureau of Crime Investigation.
A post-mortem by the State Pathologist, Prof John Harbison, last night confirmed that Mr Foran died from a single shot to the head fired from a handgun.