A man (35) has been found dead in a house in Tallaght after an apparent gangland shooting.
It is understood he had been shot in the head as he lay in bed.
The man, believed to be in his 30s, was found dead in the house in the Donomore estate at 12.20pm, a Garda spokeswoman said.
The street was sealed off while uniformed Garda officers protected the scene in advance of tests by forensic experts from the Garda Technical Bureau.
Superintendent Declan Coburn, chief investigating officer, confirmed tonight the dead man was a father of two young children and had a partner.
"This man was murdered and he has left two children without a father this Christmas. A full investigation has commenced," said Supt Coburn.
Gardaí upgraded their inquiry to a murder investigation after initial tests by State Pathologist Prof Cassidy. She will carry out a postmortem examination tomorrow morning.
A beige-coloured car, which gardai have linked to the killing, was found on fire in Belfry Green, Tallaght at around 10am. The car had been stolen from Capel Street last month.
Gardaí appealed for anyone who saw two men in the area around the time of murder this morning to come forward.
One was five feet, seven inches tall, of stocky build with rounded shoulders. It is believed he may have been wearing a boiler suit. He was also wearing a black hooded top and a scarf and had blonde or brown hair.
The second man, who was sitting on a wall near the scene, was taller, slimmer and wore similar clothing.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said the death was yet another brutal killing in a wave of attacks that have sparked fears over a surging gun culture.
"This shooting underlines yet again the continuing threat to society posed by armed gangland criminals and the widespread and uncontrolled use of guns," he said.
Labour's justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte also accused the Government of failing to deal with gun crime.
"The abysmal conviction rate for gun murders means that those who order or carry out gangland murders have little fear of being brought to justice," he said. "It is time that the Minister for Justice to acknowledge that we have a serious gangland problem, fuelled largely by the drugs trade, and set out the proposals he has to put the gangs out of business and the criminal bosses behind bars."
Local Fianna Fáil TD Charlie O'Connor, says he was "appalled" at a man's death. "I would appeal to the local community to co-operate fully with the gardaí and their investigation," he added.