A man who was fatally shot at a Dublin street corner in 2001 had been involved in an ongoing feud with members of his extended family, an inquest has heard.
Gerald "Concrete" Fitzgerald, (48), a father of 10, Rathvilly Park, Finglas, Dublin, was shot dead as he stood at the junction of Oldtown Road and Shanliss Road in Finglas on November 21st, 2001.
David Fitzgerald told Dublin City Coroner's Court yesterday that there was "hassle in our family for a long time".
He said that his father had been involved in a number of altercations with his extended family in the year before his death. He did not know what the row was about but there were a number of altercations in pubs.
Mr Fitzgerald told the court that a year before his father was murdered he had been shot down outside his home but survived. He said the gunman also fired shots at him as he went to help his father on November 6th, 2000.
"There was a fella wearing a black balaclava in the front seat. The car drove at me and tried to flatten me. He fired a shot at me but missed me," he said.
The day that Mr Fitzgerald was released from hospital following the shooting, his nephew, David's cousin, Francis Fitzgerald (27), was shot dead at his flat at Annamoe Terrace, Cabra, Dublin, on November 14th, 2000.
"I don't know what that was over. We all know associates of Francis weren't nice people . . . My family were told by gardaí that Francis had shot my father and they felt that my father had Francis shot in revenge. I don't believe this."
Mr Fitzgerald said he had seen the gunman who shot and injured his father and attempted to shoot him and "it wasn't Francis".
Following his cousin's death, Mr Fitzgerald said his father felt threatened and the windows in the family home were smashed on a weekly basis. The family also received threatening phone calls.
"There were calls to the home saying 'we're going to whack your father'." He added that his father had told him that he heard "through the grapevine" that members of the extended family wanted him dead.
"I heard a fella from Ballyfermot was approached to do it," he said. Det Garda Matt Murphy told the court that there had been no criminal prosecutions in relation to Mr Fitzgerald's death. Mr Fitzgerald was known to gardaí.
Mr Fitzgerald, who works as a taxi driver, said he had regularly seen his cousins while out driving before his father's death and they would "make gun gestures at me".
"They threatened 20 or 30 times to shoot us, saying more or less, 'watch your back, we're going to shoot your father and then you'."
He said his father had tried to end the family row. "His attitude was that cousins shouldn't be fighting."
Twelve months after the first attempt on his life, Mr Fitzgerald was shot again and this time did not survive.
Neighbours living in the area who heard gunshots on the night contacted the emergency services. Sgt Noel Nolan was one of the first gardaí at the scene and found Mr Fitzgerald "in a pool of blood". He noted injuries to his head, leg and elbow and recovered three spent shotgun cartridges.
Michael Breen, a neighbour who heard four gunshots and then a shout from his bedroom window, said he then "heard a car door slam and wheels spin . . . A small silver Peugeot took off at speed". He ran to Mr Fitzgerald's assistance but "there was very little that could be done".
The inquest resumes today.