GARDAI have launched a murder hunt following the killing of a father of nine at a travellers' encampment in Tallaght, Dublin, early yesterday morning. Mr John McCarthy (35) was shot at least twice in the back as he tried to escape his attackers.
The shooting took place in a field off Fortunestown Lane at about 12.15 a.m. yesterday. A gang of four pulled up in a brown/ silver car at the unofficial halting site near Rossfield Church in Tallaght shortly after midnight.
Two men got out of the car and went to Mr McCarthy's caravan. He ran to his sister's home about 30 metres away where one man opened fire with a rifle, killing Mr McCarthy instantly. His sister, Kathleen, and 15 year old niece. Ellen, were in the trailer and witnessed the killing.
It is understood that Kathleen was hit with the butt of the rifle on the back of the head during the attack.
The car believed to be used in the attack was found, burned out, near another halting site behind the Square in Tallaght yesterday morning. Mr McCarthy's killer, who is believed to be a member of the travelling community, is described as 20 to 22 years old with black hair, a moustache and of thin build. He may have been wearing gloves. The other men appeared to be in their early 20s. None of the men was masked.
Mr McCarthy, who had nine children, the eldest aged 11, the youngest just a year old, had moved on to the site only hours before the murder. Relatives said he had moved there to be close to his mother following the death of his father Thomas last week.
Gardai are not sure of the motive for the murder. They are investigating a hit and run incident on Fortunestown Lane near the site where Mr McCarthy was shot an hour before the murder. But it is still unclear if the incident, in which a local youth suffered a broken leg, is related to the killing.
A Garda spokesman said a number of lines of inquiry were being followed but as yet no clear motive had been identified. The scene was sealed off after the murder. Garda forensic experts combed the site yesterday.
The State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, arrived at the scene at about noon. Mr McCarthy's body was removed to the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown where a post mortem examination was conducted yesterday afternoon. The caravan in which Mr McCarthy's body lay was removed for further examination.
An incident room has been set up at the Garda station in Tallaght. The gardai are appealing to anyone who may have information about the killing to come forward. The telephone number is 4511333.
Mr McCarthy's murder is the 32nd violent death this year.