THE BISHOP of Limerick will this weekend call for an end to gangland violence at Masses across his diocese. Dr Donal Murray has been putting the finishing touches to a special message which will be read out at Masses across Limerick tomorrow evening and on Sunday.
Referring to the two recent murders in the city, Dr Murray will ask local people to help their neighbours, particularly those in the parts of the city most affected by the recent violence.
"One thing we need to do is to recognise fully that the ordinary, decent people of Moyross and Southill are part of our community. I get disappointed when people talk about violence spilling into these communities because we are all part of this," Dr Murray said yesterday.
This will be the third appeal to feuding factions in recent days.
Last Tuesday, Chief Supt Willie Keane appealed to those in the feud to "stand back from the brink".
The following day, at the funeral Mass of murder victim Mark Moloney (40), Fr Austin McNamara appealed to those involved in violence to "look into their hearts" and realise the pain they were causing to families.
The funeral of last weekend's second murder victim, James Cronin (20), whose body was found in a shallow grave last Monday, will take place this morning. The investigation into his death is still under way and gardaí have been carrying out searches across the city.
It is understood that the chief suspect for his death has fled the jurisdiction, along with another member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang who, it is believed, ordered the killing. Both men are believed to have gone to the UK.
It has also emerged that Criminal Assets Bureau has begun legal proceedings to take possession of up to 10 homes belonging to senior members of this gang.