Two held after Clare shooting

Two men have been arrested after a man was shot in the head at a wedding reception in Co Clare early this morning.

Two men have been arrested after a man was shot in the head at a wedding reception in Co Clare early this morning.

The men, who are aged in their 20s, were arrested this morning in Cork city. They are currently detained at Mayfield and Gurranabraher Garda Stations under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007.

The 21-year-old victim, named locally as Robert Sheehan,

is in a critical condition in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.

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He had been attending a wedding reception at the Bunratty Castle Hotel in Bunratty when he went out to the car park for a cigarette at about 4.00am.

Mr Sheehan, who is from the Moyross area of Limerick city, was approached by two men and shot up to five times in the head and body. The attackers fled the scene in a waiting black car.

A Garda spokesman said a gun was recovered near the scene, which has been preserved pending a full technical and forensic examination.

An incident room has been set up at Shannon Garda station.

Mr Sheehan was previously jailed for two years over an arson attack in Limerick that left two children scarred for life.

Milly and Gavin Murray were six and four years old when a petrol bomb was thrown into a car they were sitting in outside a house at Pineview Gardens on September 10th, 2006.

Their mother Sheila Murray had earlier refused to give Mr Sheehan and one of two other men jailed for the attack a lift to a special court sitting. Gardaí believe her car was attacked as a reprisal.

Judge Carroll Moran said Mr Sheehan's involvement in the petrol bomb attack was considerably less than the others and he tried to rescue the children from the burning car. The prosecution accepted the three accused did not intend to burn the children.

Both children have undergone extensive surgery and skin grafts.