Gardaí try to determine facts behind shooting of known criminal at farm

GARDAÍ ARE trying to piece together the circumstances in which a known criminal was shot as he was being chased off a farm in north Co Dublin when the farm manager’s adult son arrived and saw what he believed were signs of a break-in at the property.

The wounded man was shot in the arm when a shotgun was discharged at him and has undergone surgery to save the limb.

The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at Kiln House on the Maryland Farm at Kilsallaghan, in a remote area north of Swords.

Gardaí believe the man who was shot had called to the farmhouse with a female relative early on Thursday and told the farm manager, a widower in his 70s who lives alone at the property, that his car had broken down.

The widower took the man into his home and is believed to have given him and his female relative refreshments and called a taxi for them.

While the callers then left the house after a period, they returned to the property just after 3pm. The house is believed to have been unoccupied at the time. However, the farm manager’s son, who is in his 40s, arrived on the scene at about 3.30pm and saw what he believed were signs of a burglary.

He spotted a silver Lexus car being driven from the house and tried to block its path, at which point the Lexus took to the fields. The manager’s son went to the farmhouse and after he was unable to find his father, saw the Lexus stuck in the field close by and went to confront the driver.

The man driving the Lexus, a 34-year-old criminal with an address in Finglas, north Dublin, became involved in an altercation in the field with the manager’s son.

As this was unfolding, another vehicle, a BMW 4X4, pulled up on the road beside the field, apparently to collect the Finglas man. He ran to the vehicle while a verbal exchange continued.

At some point shots were discharged from a legally held shotgun, and the Finglas man was wounded in the arm.

He got into the waiting BMW and was driven from the area in the direction of Swords.

Almost six hours after being shot, the man presented himself at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, with gunshot wounds. Garda sources said the man’s wounds, while serious, were not life-threatening.

He has since undergone surgery to save his arm and is expected to make a full recovery. He was still being treated last night in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, after being transferred there.

Gardaí have taken the silver Lexus away for forensic examination along with the gun fired during the incident. Gardaí believe there were possibly two men in the BMW used to take the wounded Finglas man from the scene. Detectives are satisfied they know the identity of at least one of these.

The Irish Times understands the wounded man has not yet made any formal statement of complaint to gardaí. It is unclear at this point whether any criminal charges will arise as a result of the shooting.

The farm where the incident occurred is owned by a German businessman but has been managed by the widower for many years. The farm manager’s son grew up in the area and the family are well respected locally.

The farm at Kilsallaghan is located near a crossroads of the R122 and R125 roads between St Margaret’s and Oldtown. Like many farms in the area, Kiln House is visibly well-secured with a CCTV camera, an intercom and an alarm.

Locals said there had been a number of burglaries in the sparsely populated part of north Co Dublin recently.

An investigation into the case is continuing and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.