Garda operation at hospital where man recovering from shooting

Gardaí have put a security operation in place at a north Dublin hospital where a man is recovering after being shot in an attempted murder bid last Friday.

Sources said while the likelihood of anyone trying to enter Beaumont Hospital to shoot the 45-year-old again was remote, they could not rule out the possibility.

The Garda presence in and around the hospital comes after similar precautions were taken when gang leader John Gilligan was wounded in a gun attack at his brother's home in west Dublin in February.

The victim of the latest shooting is known to gardaí for alleged involvement in the drugs trade.

He had been told several times by gardaí that his life was in danger and survived another shooting four years ago at a pub in Bettystown in Co Meath.

He was wounded twice, but his injuries were not life threatening and he has since made a full recovery.

On that occasion, gardaí believed he was probably targeted by the so-called Real IRA in Dublin.

That murder attempt was regarded as part of a wider dispute that resulted from the paramilitaries trying to extort businessmen, including pub owners, and those they believed were involved in the drugs trade.

Wounded three times

Last Friday, the same Dublin man was wounded three times as he sat in his car outside a gym in Balbriggan, north Co Dublin, just after 11am.

A gunman shot through the passenger side window at the front of the vehicle and wounded the victim twice in the upper body as he sat in the driver’s seat. He then tried to flee on foot, but was shot again.

The masked gunman was described by gardaí as having dark hair, though no further description was available. He is believed to have left the scene in a white coloured Nissan 200 SX or Toyota Supra.

Gardaí said the victim had been involved in disputes, some over drugs debts, with criminal gangs from both Dublin’s northern suburbs and the north inner city.