Pub has been scene of previous shootings

THE CAPPAGH Nua pub where Alan McNally was shot dead in the early hours of yesterday has been in the news a number of times in recent years when criminals have been shot while drinking there, or when they have stepped outside.

In December 2010 a 40-year-old Finglas criminal was standing outside the pub smoking when a gunman being driven past in a car opened fire.

While the victim was wounded four times he survived that drug-related attack.

At one point the gunman got out of the car and walked over to his victim so he could shoot him again at close range.

In January 2009 a man in his mid-20s was drinking in the pub just after midnight when two masked men entered the premises and fired at him with a shotgun. He survived.

That attack was part of a localised feud and was followed up within days by two shootings at nearby houses.

In November 2008 a man in his 20s was shot in the legs just outside the pub but he too survived. He also managed to run from the scene to safety.

Garda sources say tensions can often run high when criminals from close-knit communities fall out, but continue to live in close proximity and socialise in the same area.

The same Garda sources said people are often targeted in pub shootings because many of those who frequent pubs do so at the same time every week.

This means an attack on a target can be easily planned for the time and location.

“Guys are also vulnerable if they have a few pints on them, they can’t react quickly enough and they often aren’t as aware of their surroundings,” said one source.