Shotgun used against gardai examined

Gardai are investigating whether the shotgun used in the shooting of two gardai early on Thursday morning was the weapon used…

Gardai are investigating whether the shotgun used in the shooting of two gardai early on Thursday morning was the weapon used to kill a man in a north Dublin pub on Sunday night. Seven men remained in custody last night after the shooting of the gardai, which happened during a raid on a north Dublin apartment.

The men, who included a middle-aged man and his five sons, were due for release or charge early this morning.

Mr Eamon O'Reilly died when shot with a sawn-off shotgun in the Tower Inn pub in Finglas on Sunday night after a row between two groups of men. The fight was believed to have been a "turf war" over door security in north Dublin.

Shortly before 6 a.m. on Thursday, 20 gardai, including Emergency Response Unit (ERU) officers and gardai from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, raided an apartment in North Brunswick Street in connection with the O'Reilly murder.

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Det Garda Fergal Patwell of the ERU was shot in the shoulder. After surgery at the Mater Hospital in Dublin yesterday he was said to be "quite comfortable". Det Sgt John Gantly was treated for pellet injuries to his face and released from hospital on Thursday. Both were injured by a single shotgun blast.

It is believed the seven men, who had barricaded themselves behind two doors in the apartment, were planning to leave the State, fearing the consequences of the O'Reilly murder. They left their homes in south Finglas and the inner city after Sunday's killing.

The owner of the property was not in the apartment at the time of the raid.

Catherine Cleary

Catherine Cleary

Catherine Cleary, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a founder of Pocket Forests