A man targeted in a gangland attack in a busy restaurant on Christmas Eve last died due to gunshot wounds to the “neck and upper trunk”, a coroner has heard.
Jason Hennessy snr (48), a father of seven and grandfather of 10, from Corduff, west Dublin, died in the Mater hospital on January 4th, 12 days after being wounded in Browne’s Steakhouse, Blanchardstown.
The gunman, Tristan Sherry (26), was overpowered at the scene and fatally injured. Gardaí believe Mr Hennessy was shot dead as part of a protracted feud between rival factions in west and north Dublin.
At an inquest hearing before Dublin District Coroner Dr Clare Keane on Wednesday, Mr Hennessy’s daughter, Shelby Maher (26), confirmed she had identified her father’s remains to Sgt Stephen Broderick on January 4th last.
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At the conclusion of the brief inquest hearing, the dead man’s widow, Veronica, told some of the gardaí present “you are the reason my husband is in the ground” and appeared to rebuff their efforts to greet her.
Det Insp Liam Donohoe, of Blanchardstown Garda station, applied for a six-month adjournment of the inquest process on the grounds that the criminal investigation into Mr Hennessy’s murder was continuing.
Dr Keane granted his request, saying it “sounds reasonable”, and set a date of April 8th for the next hearing.
She told some of the dead man’s family and gardaí present that although the inquest would not proceed in full until a later date, she was in a position to record the cause of death.
She confirmed this as gunshot wounds to the neck and upper torso and said this would allow for the issuing of a death certificate to the family. The medical cause of death was determined during a postmortem carried out by State Pathologist Dr Sally Anne Collis.
Separate murder investigations are continuing into the murders and a number of people have been charged with offences relating to their alleged roles in the events inside the restaurant on Christmas Eve.
Though Sherry was the suspected gunman in the fatal attack on Mr Hennessy, gardaí believe he was aided by a number of accomplices on the day. Gardaí believe Sherry, a minor criminal figure from Finglas, wanted to attack Mr Hennessy or some of the men he was with in the restaurant. The machine pistol Sherry used remains unaccounted for.
Mr Hennessy’s funeral Mass in January was told he had “sensed” the danger and stepped forward to save others and become “a true hero” during the attack.
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