Gardaí believe Dublin gun murder linked to gangland crime

Gardaí believe a man shot dead in a middle-class suburb of Dublin was ambushed in a well-planned attack by killers who had him under surveillance at the rented house he shared with his partner and two young children.

The killers crashed their stolen getaway vehicle less than 100m from the crime scene as they tried to escape. They set it alight, destroying two other cars parked on the street, before making their escape on foot still wearing balaclavas.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern was visiting a house on the street, Church Avenue in Drumcondra, north Dublin, where the incident unfolded.

Mr Ahern's childhood family home is on the road, and his brother, former junior minister Noel Ahern, still lives there.

The dead man had not been named by the Garda last night but was named by unofficial sources as Paul Kavanagh, who was in his late 20s and was originally from Drimnagh, south Dublin.

Organised crime

He had only minor convictions for road traffic and public order offences, but was suspected of involvement in drug-related organised crime.

Gardaí believe he was linked to an Irish-led Spanish-based gang which has been supplying the Irish market with illicit drugs for more than a decade. Those links are being examined as a possible motive for yesterday’s murder.

However, the dead man was also suspected by underworld figures of having been involved in the fatal shooting of Mickey Devoy in Tallaght, west Dublin, in January of last year.

He was gunned down the day after his release from a prison sentence.

Supt Finbar Murphy said gardaí were alerted to yesterday's shooting at 11.30am by members of the public who rang 999 to report hearing gunfire.

He appealed to people to come forward, saying gardaí at Ballymun station were especially keen to speak to anyone who may have seen the killers running from the scene wearing balaclavas.

“There may have been more than two people involved; the investigation is still at an early stage,” he said. “But two people were seen running from the scene; one in a grey jacket and one in a dark jacket, wearing balaclavas. They ran on to Grace Park Road and down towards Tolka Park and back in towards town.”

Victim’s home

He said anybody who may have seen men in the area, perhaps keeping the victim’s home under surveillance for up to an hour or two before the killing, should come forward and aid the inquiry.

The dead man was related to Gerard Kavanagh (44), a gang enforcer shot dead in a bar near Marbella, Spain, in September.

Yesterday, Paul Kavanagh had left his home on Church Avenue and was driving away in his black Mondeo towards nearby Ormond Road.

He was rammed from behind by an Audi A3 carrying at least two men. The force of the impact broke the windows in his car, set off the airbags and punctured tyres.

Gardaí believe two gunmen got out of the Audi A3 and opened fire on Kavanagh, fatally wounding him while he was still in his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The attackers then tried to speed away from the area but crashed their car into a wall on a curve in the road behind the All Hallows campus.

They then got out of the vehicle and set it on fire before running on to nearby Grace Park Road and then towards Tolka Park.

The fire that destroyed the A3 also extensively damaged two cars parked nearby.

Gardaí believe the gunmen fired five shots and they had the victim under surveillance for some time and waited outside in their car for over an hour.