The family of a man gunned down in front of his young stepson a year ago in Dublin today vowed never to give up hope that his killers will be caught.
One year after Lee Kinsella died in the arms of the eight-year-old boy, his devastated sister Donna pledged that the cowards who pulled the trigger will be jailed.
Lee (30) who had no criminal connections, was shot dead through the living room window of his family home on Rathoath Avenue, Finglas, on May 8th, around 18 months after a confrontation with car thieves.
The loving dad pushed his stepson Ryan Joyce out of the way of the hail of bullets which killed him. Ms Kinsella said despite a warning to back down, and an arson attack on a second brother's car to scare them, she will continue to fight for justice.
Today she bravely warned the suspects her family will never give up their campaign. She said the men she believes killed her brother are currently in jail for other matters, but remains adamant they will eventually be charged with murder.
"I will not have Lee's murder tagged on to other charges so they are jailed for just another few years on top of what they have got," she said.
"I want them charged with his murder, put on trial and jailed for it." The fatal shooting relates to an altercation between Lee and a local group of youths about 18 months before his killing.
The gang are said to have crashed a stolen car into a parked car Lee and Ryan were in, and when Lee shouted at them they attacked him with batons.
The following morning the same group shot Lee, but he escaped with minor injuries. Ms Kinsella said Lee later dropped all charges against the accused when they agreed to call a truce, but he remained in fear of his life until the fatal shooting.
She appealed to the people of Finglas who know what happened to Lee to come forward with any information. "It is frustrating," she continued.
"People are really afraid. I have been told to back off, that we do not know what we are dealing with, but I won't. "I don't care how big their gang is, they will have to shoot us all before we give up the fight to have this solved.
"Everybody knows who murdered Lee and we are hoping they will be caught." Six arrests have been made in relation to the case, but to date no-one has yet been charged.
And despite Crimestoppers offering a financial incentive for information - which in the past has been up to €10,000 - officers seem no closer to solving the murder.
Detectives have said that people in the Finglas area are too scared to speak out against Lee's killers, making their job of catching the criminals almost impossible. "Lee's death has affected our family very badly, but I'm not going to back down,"
Ms Kinsella added. "There is no way they are getting away with what they did to him. "Lee was shot over something stupid in front of a child. They are cowards." ends