Members of the Provisional IRA are allegedly behind a series of attacks on young men in Dundalk which have left the community living in fear.
"It is a genuine fear. The question is, who is next?" said one woman working with young families in the Muirhevnamore estate.
The most recent "punishment" beating last week left a 24-year-old with broken ribs, extensive bruising and a damaged nerve around his heart. His mother said she did not know who was in the 10-man gang that attacked him with a sledgehammer and iron bars.
Margaret Dullaghan said Matthew was her second son to be the victim of such a beating; her other son, Shane, died last February from an aneurysm, but she has always wondered if his death was an indirect result of a beating he received two years ago.
She has five sons and three daughters and lives in fear of another child being attacked. "My son has three hatchet wounds to the head, his left arm and back are black and blue and the side of his face was swollen. The doctors thought they would have to amputate his hand because there was no blood getting to it because an infection set in.
"Someone must have been praying for him because when they hit him on the head with the sledgehammer, the head fell off it," she added.
Mrs Dullaghan suspects the attack on her son may have been a case of mistaken identity. "If he did anything, he paid for it. He has been in a steady relationship and has a baby. She was one year old the day after he was beaten and he was upset he couldn't hold her in his arms," she said.
A number of Garda sources have confirmed they suspect the IRA is behind a series of beatings and two shootings in the Muirhevnamore estate since May. However, there is no evidence and there have been no complaints from the victims.
Most of the victims do not speak publicly for fear of reprisals. One family who did talk to the press has reportedly had their front door kicked in. "There is no doubt the Provisionals rule the roost in Dundalk and are behind all the punishment attacks. They are ruling by terror, it is the biggest crime happening in Dundalk," said Deputy Brendan McGahon (FG) who has always spoken out against IRA activities.
"The Government do not seem to care as long as they can write their names into history; there is no other town like Dundalk for this thing - what we need is a Garda presence in Dundalk."
During the summer Dundalk Community Forum was established to represent people from both Muirhevnamore and the other large local-authority estate, Cox's Demesne. It was to support young people and try to prevent situations reaching the point where they became violent.
The October meeting of the forum had to be adjourned after family members of the victims of the attacks were threatened.
Local Sinn Fein councillor Kevin Meenan, who lives in Muirhevnamore, denies republicans are involved in the attacks.
"I am not aware of any republican involved in this but you will get people pushing an anti-republican agenda saying that," he said. He said he did not approve of such attacks. Dundalk Garda Supt Michael Staunton refused to speculate on who was responsible for the incidents.
It is understood gardai have increased the number of patrols in the estate, where more than 300 families live. There is one community garda for the area and Mr Brian Doyle, joint chairman of the Dundalk Community Forum, supported the call for additional manpower.
"One policeman for an area this size is an insult to the community, I would love to see substations in both Muirhevnamore and Cox's Demesne," he said.
"The sad thing is there is support for the attacks. Some people feel they deserve what they get and it is the sort of thing that could split the community," said one community worker in Muirhevnamore.