A MAN whose body was found buried in a shallow grave on waste ground in Limerick city had been shot once in the head, a postmortem has concluded.
The dead man has been named by gardaí as James Cronin (20) with an address in Limerick city's Ballinacurra Weston.
Gardaí are satisfied with progress in their investigation into the murder and are hopeful of an early breakthrough.
Detectives believe the Mr Cronin had supplied the vehicle used in a shooting in the city and was killed by those involved in that attack because they believed he was about to turn Garda informer.
The shallow grave containing Mr Cronin's body was found at about midday on Monday by a team of gardaí searching for guns on waste ground close to Hyde Road and Caledonian Park.
A machine pistol, semi-automatic handgun and ammunition were found in the same location. However, gardaí do not believe either of the weapons was used to kill Mr Cronin.
The dead man's mother is Marie Cronin. Her partner is Anthony Kelly (50), a criminal based in Kilrush, Co Clare.
Last year he was acquitted of the murder of Limerick bouncer Brian Fitzgerald. He was shot after he refused to allow drugs to be sold in the nightclub where he worked.
Mr Kelly settled with the Criminal Assets Bureau in 1997 for a substantial six-figure sum relating to drug trafficking.
In February 1984 he was convicted of living off the earnings of prostitution. He survived a murder attempt in August 2003. He is a director of a Clare-based import-export firm and has business interests in China and continental Europe.
Gardaí investigating the murder of his partner's son have gathered a large amount of intelligence and are pursuing a definite line of inquiry.
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said the Garda had "responded rapidly" to the murder of Mr Cronin and the shooting dead of Mark Moloney in the Garryowen area of Limerick on Saturday.
A man was last night charged with Mr Moloney's murder.
Commenting on the murder of Cronin, Mr Lenihan said: "Of course the culture demonstrated here is deplorable."
He defended the Government's response to continued gun violence in Limerick, saying 70 additional gardaí had been assigned to the city since the start of the year.
On foot of a report by the former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald, a major regeneration programme was now under way on some Limerick estates.
Mr Lenihan said the Garda was a well-resourced force.
There was no question of Operation Anvil, which targets gun crime, being scaled back for lack of funding.
However Opposition parties have criticised the Government's record in responding to feuding in Limerick, which has claimed 10 lives directly and three indirectly.
Fine Gael's spokesman on justice Charlie Flanagan said legislation was needed to make gang membership an offence.
He also called for longer prison sentences.
"The gangland situation in parts of Limerick is now so bad the city needs its own Assistant Garda Commissioner and a dedicated division of the Criminal Assets Bureau," he said.
Labour's Jan O'Sullivan, TD for Limerick East, said Garda resourcing was still an issue in the city and that more personnel were need for additional high visibility patrols.
"If we are to avoid further bloodshed, and if we are to give people back a sense of safety and security in their own areas, there must be a visible Garda presence on the ground around the clock."
