No clear motive for shooting dead of man in Donaghmede

A 22-year-old father of one who was shot dead in the Donaghmede area of Dublin in the early hours of yesterday morning was due…

A 22-year-old father of one who was shot dead in the Donaghmede area of Dublin in the early hours of yesterday morning was due to be sentenced next month in relation to the non-fatal stabbing of another man at Strand Road, Portmarnock, in December 2003.

However, gardaí have yet to establish a motive for the murder of James Purdue outside the apartment he shared with his girlfriend and three-year-old daughter at Grattan Wood, on the Hole-in-Wall Road in Donaghmede, at about 1.15am.

They do not believe his murder is linked to the stabbing incident, or that there are links between his death and other recent murders in the north Dublin area. One possibility they are examining is that he may have had an outstanding drugs debt.

Mr Purdue is the sixth person to be murdered in north Dublin since February - five of the killings have involved firearms.

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Minister for Justice Michael McDowell yesterday held a two-hour meeting with Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy and Deputy Commissioner for Operations Fachtna Murphy to discuss current developments and the action being taken by the Garda to tackle gang activity.

Mr Conroy briefed the Minister on the investigations into the 29 murders that have taken place in the current year, of which 13 have involved a firearm.

According to a Department of Justice statement, the commissioner advised the Minister that "20 of these have already been solved and files have either been sent to the DPP or are being prepared to be sent to the DPP. In relation to the other nine murders the commissioner updated the Minister on ongoing investigations".

The statement said Mr Conroy "set out how he is deploying the significant resources provided to him this year to tackle gangland crime and he emphasised that An Garda Síochána did not fall under any resource constraint in deploying gardaí and equipment to address the challenges in relation to crime and public order maintenance. The Minister reiterated to the commissioner that any resource required by him would be provided".

Mr McDowell is due to brief Cabinet colleagues today on his meeting with the Garda Commissioner.

Yesterday's victim, Mr Purdue, who was originally from Belcamp Avenue in Priorswood, was killed by an unknown assailant as he walked from his car to the apartment which he shared with his girlfriend in the upmarket Grattan Hall complex.

Postmortem tests revealed he was shot twice, once in the left side of his chest, and once in the leg.

Supt Noel McLoughlin, from Coolock station, yesterday appealed for any witnesses to the attack, or associates of those involved, to contact the Garda.

He said he was also anxious to speak with taxi drivers or anyone else who was in the area between 12.30am and 1.30am.

"There are people out there in the community who know who these people are. I am appealing for them to come forward."

Last April, Mr Purdue pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Martin Grimes on December 21st, 2003, at Strand Road, Portmarnock.

Mr Grimes, who suffered a collapsed lung and had to have emergency medical care, was stabbed six times. Mr Purdue had earlier drunk a litre of vodka.

Judge Frank O'Donnell of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court had adjourned sentencing to July 19th to give Mr Purdue an opportunity to come up with a further €2,500 to the €2,500 he handed over in court to his victim as a token of his remorse.