Martin Cahill, the criminal figure known as The General, was shot dead by a "cool, experienced and dedicated killer", the inquest into his death was told yesterday.
It also heard that investigating gardai still do not know who killed Cahill and that "no useful intelligence" on the matter is forthcoming.
Cahill's wife, Frances, was present to hear the jury at the Dublin City Coroner's Court return a verdict that he was unlawfully killed on August 18th, 1994, at the junction of Oxford Road and Charleston Road in Ranelagh, Dublin. She was accompanied by a sister of the dead man.
The acting State Pathologist at the time, Dr Declan Gilsenan, said Cahill was struck by four bullets, some of which exited and re-entered his body. He died instantly in the attack.
An eyewitness to the incident, Mr Hugh Roberts, said he was driving down Oxford Road towards Charleston Road at about 3.20 p.m. when he saw a man, who was wearing both a black jacket and a reflective sleeveless jacket, approach a black car which was two vehicles in front of his.
He heard a "loud crack" and as the black car rolled across Charleston Road "I heard a further three or four cracks as the man walked quickly beside the car with his hand in the window". The man, who was carrying a silver Magnum, then got on the back of a waiting motorcycle, driven by another man, and the two left in the direction of Belgrave Square.
Mr John Fagan told the inquest he was walking down Charleston Road when he noticed a man with a clipboard wearing a bright yellow sleeveless reflective jacket, at the junction with Oxford Road. "I reckoned he was doing some kind of survey," he said.
When he reached the railings of 41 Charleston Road he heard a loud bang which he thought was a car back-firing. He turned and saw a black vehicle roll across the road and into the railings at the far side. The man in the yellow jacket was keeping up with it. He had his right hand in the window and fired three or four more shots into the car.
He then found himself facing the gunman. "I was practically in front of him. This man had a gun in his hand. I knew somebody had been shot but I couldn't believe it had happened in front of me," said Mr Fagan.
The man casually walked around him and got on a motorcycle which was driven towards Rathmines. He looked in the car and saw a man slumped on the seat, leaning towards the passenger side. There was blood splashed in the car. "The whole thing was over in about a minute," he added.
Mrs Cahill said she identified her husband's body at the City Morgue on the night of the incident.
Det Insp Anthony Brislane, one of the senior investigating officers in the case, said the perpetrators of the attack had still not been identified and no useful intelligence was forthcoming "as to who was responsible or why the victim was murdered".
"This gunman was an experienced, cool and dedicated killer who was prepared to wait on a roadside in broad daylight, exposing his face to the general public for a couple of hours leading up the killing," he said.
Dr Gilsenan, who carried out a post-mortem on the body, said in his view death was due to "laceration of the brain stem by a bullet which traversed the cervical canal".
Offering his sympathy to Mrs Cahill and other members of the family, the City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, said he was sure he was speaking for all right-thinking members of the public in expressing his "deep concern that such a brutal killing could occur in the streets of our city".
