Mother of critically injured doorman condemns attack

THE MOTHER of a pub doorman who was shot in the head on Sunday night condemned the “very indiscriminate” attack which has left her son critically injured.

Wayne Barrett (31), who is in the intensive care unit of Beaumont Hospital, was one of three men injured after a gunman carrying two handguns shot into a crowd of people outside the Players Lounge in Fairview, Dublin.

His mother Mary McNeill said she is not allowed to touch him or hold his hand during visits because of a bullet lodged in his brain.

"The bullet has actually broken up and they want as little brain activity as possible. If I touch him, his brain will register that," she said "It's just a waiting game at the moment for me. I'm just hanging in there. There is always hope," she told Livelineon RTÉ Radio.

Gardaí are exploring the possibility the attack may be linked to a feud between former republicans and other elements over security at bars and clubs in the city. They believe the doorman was the intended target of the attack.

Ms McNeill condemned “innuendo” by the media. She had not read newspapers or listened to the radio because she needed “strength and focus on her son not innuendo I know is not true”.

“When there is a shooting, the media always infer that the person who was shot was involved and this was especially so because her son was from Finglas,” she said.

“Finglas is filled with wonderful people and there was a small minority that had no respect for human life. People have a perception that because you come from Finglas you are all drug dealers and murderers,” she added.

Her son was not aggressive and had a great rapport with customers, she said. The attack “was very indiscriminate” and it was a miracle only three were injured.

One of the men who was injured, Brian Masterson (30), visited her son after being released from hospital, she said. The third man Austin Purcell (24) from Marino, was shot in the chest and is in a critical but stable condition in the Mater.