Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Gardaí are investigating two murders in Dublin in the latest spate of violence in the city.

The first victim, who has been named as Michael Barr, was gunned down in the Sunset House bar in the Summerhill area of Dublin’s north inner city at around 9.30pm last night.

He was in his mid-30s and lived nearby in Ballybough. He was from Tyrone but had moved to Dublin in recent years, and is believed to have had links to the Real IRA and New IRA.

Little over two hours later, another man in his 30s was shot dead in the Kilcronan area of Clondalkin in the west of Dublin.

It is feared the first shooting was part of a bloody feud involving associates of the Kinahan and Hutch families and their allies.

The victim had connections with the Hutch outfit. He died at the scene.


Gardaí talk to members of the public beside the scene of a shooting at the Sunset House Pub in Ballybough, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

It is yet unclear whether the second gangland murder had a direct link to the Kinahan-Hutch feud.

Gardaí investigating the first shooting said two men entered the Sunset House, with one firing a gun.

Detectives said a silver-coloured Audi A6 car, partial registration 04C, was later recovered in Walsh Road, Drumcondra, and has been seized for technical examination.

Prior to the car being recovered, it is believed three men left Walsh Road in the direction of Home Farm Road in another silver-coloured saloon car.

Read: Gangland crime set to dominate agenda at Garda conference after Dublin shootings

The two sides in the murderous Kinahan-Hutch feud have carried out a series of attacks in Spain and Dublin which have claimed the lives of at least five people since late last year.

The Sunset Bar is about a mile from where Martin O’Rourke, an innocent father and former drug user, was shot dead just over a week ago.

He was caught in the crossfire in Sheriff Street as another murder bid linked to the feud was launched.

That in turn was a mile or so from where taxi driver Eddie Hutch, brother of Gerry “The Monk” Hutch, was shot dead at his home off North Strand in February.

The Kinahan-Hutch feud spiralled into a killing spree when Gary Hutch was shot dead in an apartment complex near Marbella on Spain’s Costa del Sol last September.

His killing is believed to have been avenged in the Regency Hotel attack, an audacious shooting spree with assault rifles in early February which claimed the life of David Byrne, an associate of the Kinahan family.

Within days, Eddie Hutch was dead, and, at the end of last month, Noel Duggan, an old friend of suspected armed robber Gerry “The Monk” Hutch, was shot dead at his home in Ratoath.

Comments are closed.

Contact Newsdesk: 053 9259900

More National News

Man dies after car crashes into Kildare canal

More by this Journalist

Man dies after car crashes into Kildare canal