A man has been wounded in a shooting in Dublin in what gardaí believe was a planned attack. The victim, who is in his early 40s, was expected to recover as his injuries were not regarded as life-threatening.
Gardaí are working on the theory the victim and a close associate were chased by the gunman for a time in the Corduff area of Dublin 15, with shots discharged and the victim wounded close to a fast foot outlet on Blackcourt Avenue.
The attack, at about 4.40pm, triggered a rapid and largescale response by the emergency services. Gardaí flooded into the area, which has been the scene of intense local feuding in recent years.
Gardaí suspect the attackers are close associates of Jason Hennessy snr (48), a father of seven and grandfather of 10, from Corduff. He died in the Mater Hospital, Dublin, on January 4th, 2024, after being wounded in Browne’s Steakhouse, Blanchardstown, on Christmas Eve 2023.
The victim of Tuesday’s shooting is well known to gardaí and has dozens of previous criminal convictions, many for chaotic offences linked to substance abuse. He has spent a number of periods in prison.
Gardaí said an investigation was under way into the shooting, near the Corduff Shopping Centre.
“The scene is currently held and a technical examination is underway. No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing. Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to this incident to come forward,” the Garda said in a brief statement.
Anyone who was in the area between 4.20pm and 5.20pm, including drivers recording dashcam footage, was asked to contact the investigation team at Blanchardstown Garda station.
The attack comes after a period of several years in which gun crimes, including gangland murders, have been around record lows in the modern era. The gun murder rate in Dublin, where most of the fatal shootings have been committed in recent decades, has plummeted since the period of the Kinahan-Hutch feud to the end of 2018.