On the streets with the Garda: Conor Lally spent time with the gardaí who have to tackle Dublin's violent gang scene and found there are frequently verbally abused by the public
There is a collection of photographs in Blanchardstown Garda station which tells the story of dangerous times in west Dublin. Most are Garda mug shots but there are snap shots from personal collections too, of groups of young men enjoying drinks in Dublin pubs, on foreign holidays and snorting lines of cocaine and smoking joints of cannabis at parties.
All of the men are in their 20s and 30s.
These are the gangland figures responsible for the drug-dealing and murder in Blanchardstown and Finglas which have destroyed so many lives in the past year and instilled terror in the community.
Theirs is a world of big money and flash cars, one in which working a nine-to-five is sniggered at. Unlike older criminals, most of the new generation are cocaine and steroid users, a factor which has led to heightened levels of paranoia among rival factions.
Adding to the mix is a steady flow of high-velocity automatic weapons along with intense competition as the main players try to maximise their share of the lucrative drugs trade.
The fall-out has been devastating. In the last year, feuding among factions from Blanchardstown and Finglas has resulted in five gun deaths, two more than in Limerick's feud this year. There have also been seven attempted murders in the Blanchardstown and Finglas areas.
Charles Merriman (27) was shot dead in March, his body dumped in Ballymun. Peter Sheridan (27) was shot in Finglas in October, his body dumped ay Scribblestown Lane.
Jason Tolan (24) died earlier this month after being shot in the leg in Mulhuddart. Victor Murphy (30) died in July when he was accidentally shot in a car he was travelling in. His body was dumped at Dunsink Lane, Finglas.
The group that has achieved most notoriety is the Westies gang. One of its leaders, Bernard Sugg (23), was murdered in a gun attack on the Corduff Inn in August. Sugg was sipping mineral water in the pub when three gunmen seized their chance. One walked in and discharged nine shots from a 9mm automatic weapon, the others waited guard at the pub's door.
Sugg threw a bar stool at his attacker when he realised what was unfolding. He was hit twice, in the ankle and under the armpit. The second bullet ripped through his torso. The men suspected of that killing were once in the Westies but fell out with Sugg and two of the gang's other leaders.
Detectives on the ground are sometimes frustrated by an unwillingness on the part of the public to help them in their investigations. Many of the players in the drugs industry are so violent that people are simply afraid to even be seen talking to gardaí.
Stories abound of suspected informers being shot or stabbed with Stanley knives. One woman's breasts were carved in one such attack.
When Det Insp Brian Sherry of Blanchardstown Garda station brought The Irish Times on a tour of the homes of known murderers and drug-dealers and places where people have been shot in the past year, it was a journey with many stops.
He says the end to the war in the Balkans and the Troubles in the North has led to a situation where guns are very easily available. He is particularly worried about the amount of automatic weapons in west Dublin and fears it may be a matter of time before a crowded public place is sprayed with automatic gunfire and many people are killed.
"The killing of Bernard Sugg was captured on CCTV in the Brookwood Inn," he says.
"You'd want to see it, there was pandemonium, absolute panic. Shots hit the table, the banisters, they could have went anywhere, hit anyone. The place was packed at the time."
Det Sgt Sherry and his colleagues at Blanchardstown have set up Operation West in recent weeks, with a view to solving eight shooting incidents and murders.
But the two people who were shot and survived have refused to make a complaint to gardaí. Without their co-operation, securing a prosecution will be impossible.
Every night uniformed gardaí, armed detectives and members of the Emergency Response Unit patrol in Finglas and Blanchardstown as part of Operation Crossover.
Last Friday when The Irish Times joined them in Finglas, it was easy to see the task they are facing in trying to police the area and build a relationship with the public.
In the Berryfield estate anti-Garda graffiti is daubed on the walls including: "Let the joyriders rally", "Fuck the ERU" and "Free the weed".
The gardaí were in the estate to recover a stolen car which had been taken 15 minutes earlier. When the officers approached a group of young children to see if they had any information most of the young boys laughed at the prospect of telling the gardaí anything.
Gardaí say some of the children in Finglas are the most hostile they have ever encountered.
"Some of them are fine," says one garda, "but if you wound the window of the car down to ask others something they'd just tell you to 'fuck off', or ask you what you were looking at."
However, they insisted the concentration of Garda manpower in west Dublin under Operation Crossover has helped to bring calm to the area. One man has been charged with murder and a second has been charged with another shooting incident.
Last week gardaí in Blanch- ardstown arrested a man associated with the Westies. He had the keys to a number of high-powered cars in his pockets which had been stolen to order in Meath in the last week. All of the cars, with a combined value of around €350,000, were recovered.
The Blanchardstown drugs unit also intercepted €70,000 worth of cocaine on Thursday night, which they believe was destined for sale in the area.
The officers are heartened by these small victories but are certain that killing hasn't ended.
As Det Insp Sherry puts it, "the days of the criminals sorting things out with a straightener [fist fight\] are over, they have to get the guns involved now".
