City killing may have been revenge attack

A young man who was shot dead in west Dublin early on Saturday may have been the victim of a revenge attack or of a dispute over drugs, garda∅ believe.

Simon Doyle (22) was hit at least twice in the shotgun attack, which occurred in the driveway of his parents' home at St Mark's Avenue, Clondalkin, just after 1 a.m.

The victim was getting out of his car when the killer, who is thought to have been wearing a balaclava, struck.

The gunman then fled on foot across a green area towards nearby Fonthill Road. Garda∅ believe he had earlier waited near the house, apparently familiar with Mr Doyle's movements.

The fatally-wounded man was rushed to Tallaght Hospital, but was pronounced dead from his injuries soon afterwards. A post-mortem examination carried out by the State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, confirmed that his death had been caused by shotgun wounds.

The killing had many of the signs of a gangland attack. The dead man is understood to have been involved in drug-dealing and had a number of convictions, including one for a serious assault involving a sword in 1998, for which he served a jail sentence.

Revenge for that attack is one possible motive for the murder, garda∅ believe, but in the light of the drugs connection, there may have been a number of others.

Garda∅ in Ronanstown and Lucan are investigating the murder and are appealing to anyone who was in the St Mark's Avenue/Fonthill Road area at about 1.10 a.m. on Saturday, and may have seen something suspicious, to come forward.

An incident room has been set up at Lucan Garda station. The number to contact there is 01-6667300.

Garda∅ were conducting house-to-house inquiries in the estate where the shooting took place over the weekend while forensic detectives combed the area in front of the house.

The number of drugs-related killings has dropped recently, compared with last year, when fatal gangland shootings averaged almost one a month. However, a man who was shot dead in the north-west of Dublin in November was thought to be the victim of a long-running feud between rival gangs seeking control over criminal activity in the Finglas/Cabra area of the city.

The nephew of the November shooting victim had been killed in a gun attack almost exactly 12 months earlier.