Extra gardaí were drafted into Sligo town yesterday for the first stage of the funeral of Hughie McGinley, the murder victim of a suspected feud between rival criminal gangs.
Detectives armed with Uzi submachine guns and hand weapons accompanied uniformed gardaí at checkpoints on roads into the town prior to the removal of the remains of Mr McGinley (26) to St Joseph's Church, Ballytivnan.
Gardaí also maintained a vigil near the homes of members of a family suspected of ordering last Thursday's killing in Sligo town centre.
The heavy security presence included members of the Emergency Response Unit and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation drafted in from Dublin.
Almost 200 mourners walked behind the coffin to the church. They included Mr McGinley's widowed mother, Tilda, six of his seven brothers, three sisters and girlfriend.
The coffin was placed in front of an altar with a glass wall facing out on to Ben Bulben about three miles away.
Fr Leonard Taylor said that, in bringing the body to church, the family had responded in the right way to the violence done to them. Mr McGinley's life had been taken "brutally and terribly".
He was gunned down in a busy street just inches away from his 19-year-old girlfriend, Jacqueline McGuinness, and their three-month-old son.
Dozens of shoppers and schoolchildren witnessed the shooting by a helmeted motorcycle passenger.
The burnt-out motorcycle was found three miles outside the town a short while later.
It was the latest, and most serious attack, in a series of shootings and stabbings involving members of the feuding families.
Although both gangs are involved in crime, mainly drug-related, the feud is not believed to be a turf war.
Gardaí held a security conference prior to the removal and for the burial today. A guard was kept on the coffin in the church overnight.
Insp Gerry Roche said the arrangements were aimed at ensuring a peaceful funeral.
But he said there was no evidence that there would be reprisal attempts for the murder.
He repeated an appeal for witnesses to contact the murder investigation incident room in Sligo - 071-9157070 or 071-9157071 - or any Garda station.