The murder in Limerick last night of Mr John Ryan represents a very significant and provocative escalation in the gang warfare which has gripped the city for the last four years.
The murder comes as a major blow to senior gardaí both in Limerick and at national level, many of whom believed the force had begun to close in on armed and dangerous elements on both sides of the gang warfare.
John Ryan was the uncle of two Limerick brothers, Kieran and Eddie Ryan jnr, who were allegedly abducted and released unharmed last January.
His brother, and father of the two younger Ryans, was Eddie Ryan snr. He was shot dead while he sat drinking in the Moose Bar in Limerick City in November 2000.
The younger Ryan's arch-rival, well-known drug dealer Kieran Keane, was abducted from his Limerick home and murdered at a remote laneway in Drombanna, Co Limerick, just hours before the two allegedly abducted men were released on January 30th.
Although Mr Ryan was very outspoken during his nephews' abduction, and was charged with being involved in an on-street gang fight outside Limerick courthouse at that time, he was not a major figure in the feud.
Just after the Keane killing, Mr Ryan boarded up his family home in the Lee estate in Limerick and temporarily fled the area, fearing for his safety.
It was a tactic which would be unthinkable to those elements involved at the core of the feud, who would risk injury or even death rather than leave their homes and lose face, as they would see it.
So brazen are the gang members that at height of the fighting in January and early February, when gardaí and media attention was focused on them, they continued carrying out petrol bomb attacks on homes in the area.
A total of five men are currently facing charges in connection with the Kieran Keane killing.
Two other men were convicted of a gun attack on a home in the city when an AK 47 was used.
Just last month, gardaí in the city scored a spectacular success when they uncovered a massive cache of weapons which they believe were destined for use by one of the factions involved in the feud.
The find included a booby-trap car bomb which gardaí believed was about to be used. A sub-machine gun and assorted ammunition were also uncovered.
However, last night's killing was a clear demonstration, if one were needed, that tensions are still running high and that those embroiled in the feud are as willing to shed blood as ever.
The Emergency Response Unit are expected to be on Limerick city streets in force today.
There remain so many uncontrollable variables that gardaí cannot hope to stem the killing without massive additional resources over a very prolonged period. And even then they are facing a mammoth task.
