ABOUT 100 gardaí are investigating the murder of a young man at his brother’s wedding on Sunday.
Robert Sheehan (21), from Moyross, Limerick, was shot in the head and body outside the entrance to Bunratty Castle Hotel while his family celebrated inside. He died at about 4pm yesterday at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.
At a press briefing at Shannon Garda station yesterday, Supt Derek Smart appealed for help from anyone who was in the vicinity of the hotel, or in the Bunratty area – particularly taxi drivers and delivery drivers – to contact gardaí.
“We are looking for witnesses that may have been in the area, or even patrons of the hotel that would have been there on Saturday evening through to Sunday morning – if they saw or heard anything suspicious whatsoever. The information via the telephone can be in confidence,” Supt Smart said.
It is believed two gunmen approached Mr Sheehan – who had a criminal record – as he smoked a cigarette, and shot him. The men left in a dark-coloured saloon car, which gardaí are anxious to trace.
Supt Smart said gardaí were alerted on Sunday at 3.40am. “Upon arrival in the car park, a young man was found in a very serious condition.”
Several hours later in Cork city, an off-duty Limerick garda arrested two men who were brought to Garda stations in Clare. They have been detained under the provisions of section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows gardaí to hold them for up to seven days without charge. The arrested men are in their twenties and from Moyross in Limerick.
Supt Smart said gardaí had received “very valuable information” from various sources.
An unloaded handgun was found across the road from the Bunratty Castle Hotel soon after the shooting. It has been sent to the Garda forensic laboratory in Dublin for technical analysis.
Clare gardaí are being supported by the Limerick Garda division and colleagues from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Dublin.
Garda house-to-house inquiries in the Bunratty area are continuing and gardaí are seeking CCTV recordings from various locations.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Shannon Garda station on 061-365900.
Mr Sheehan made headlines in 2007 when he was convicted of recklessly endangering the lives of two children who had horrific burns when their mother’s car was petrol bombed in an unprovoked attack in Limerick in 2006.