Gardaí were called to deal with a disturbance that broke out in Dublin on Wednesday night after the funeral of Brandon Ledwidge, who was shot dead in a suspected drug-related attack almost two weeks ago.
The funeral of Mr Ledwidge (23) had taken place in his native Finglas, north Dublin, early on Wednesday and some mourners later gathered at a pub in nearby Cabra. At around 8pm, some of the party left the pub to make their way to another venue when violence broke out.
At least two people, and possibly a third, suffered serious injuries when they were assaulted in the Quarry Road area. The victims were hospitalised and gardaí are trying to establish what led to the violence and if the attackers used weapons.
The victims were attended to by paramedics at the location of the assaults, which was sealed off as a crime scene by gardaí, before being taken to the Mater Hospital. Public Order Unit gardaí were among those called to the scene, with a strong Garda presence also maintained at the hospital as tensions remained high.
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“Gardaí are investigating an alleged incident of assault that occurred in the Dublin 7 area this evening ... at approximately 8pm,” the Garda said in reply to queries.
“Two males are currently receiving medical attention at the Mater Hospital with serious injuries. Investigations ongoing.”
Mr Ledwidge died last Saturday week after a gunman opened fire outside his family home, hitting him multiple times. He was on bail at the time, having allegedly been caught with heroin and cocaine several times in recent years.
Gardaí believe he had been working with a local drugs gang but had fallen foul of them in the weeks before his death. That dispute, with a known criminal group with access to firearms, is the main line of investigation for the gun murder.
