Gardaí have today renewed their appeal for information into the murder of a man in Carrigaline, Co Cork.
Darren Falsey was killed yesterday in the rented house which he shared with his partner and one of his children.
A postmortem was conducted on his remains this morning by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.
Mr Falsey (36), a father of two, was found dead at the house at Ashbourne Court, Ferney Road, Carrigaline, by his partner, Lorraine Conroy, when she returned home with the couple’s child Dylan shortly before 3pm yesterday.
Mr Falsey, who was unemployed, had been out shopping earlier in the day with Ms Conroy and their child. He was last seen alive when she dropped him home at about 2pm before she left to collect someone.
Appealing for information, Supt John Gilligan said: “We believe that whoever carried out this shooting may have been in the area a number of days previously, or even for a short period of time.
“Although it is quite a busy road, people may have remarked at the time on a car, an unusual looking person, a motorbike — we don’t know exactly what mode of transport was used — but there may be someone who has a snippet of information that may be of use to us.”
Detectives carried out door-to-door inquiries along Ferney Road and in Ashbourne Court in the hope of talking to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the area between 1pm and 3pm.
They are today examining CCTV footage from businesses in the Carrigaline to see if any suspicious activity can be detected. They have asked anyone who might have any information to contact Togher Garda station on 021-494 7120.
After they were alerted yesterday, gardaí immediately cordoned off the area, and a Garda technical team was dispatched from Dublin to the scene.
Gardaí could find no sign of forced entry and believe that Mr Falsey was shot after he answered the front door to his killer. His body was found lying in the hallway just inside the front door. They are keeping an open mind on whether he may have known his killer.
It is understood Mr Falsey had been shot possibly up to three times in the face and is believed to have died instantly. Gardaí recovered three bullet casings which they believe came from a semi-automatic weapon.
Gardaí last night began collecting CCTV footage from garages and other commercial premises around Carrigaline in the hope of identifying the car or vehicle used by the killer or killers to flee. Around 60 gardaí are working on the murder inquiry.
Mr Falsey had been living at the two-storey detached house for the past four years with his partner.
He had previously lived in the Grange area of Douglas, where it is understood that his two other children from a previous relationship live with their mother.
Mr Falsey had also lived in the Wilton area of Cork city and in Ballygarvan, just outside the city. He was well known in hunting and harrier circles, and it is understood that he kept a number of hunting dogs.
Mr Falsey was also known to gardaí who suspected him of involvement in drug dealing.
One Garda source said he was a significant player in the Cork drugs scene over the past 10 years or so, with an involvement in the supply of large quantities of cannabis and cocaine.
It is understood that he had previously been threatened by a gang from Limerick when living in a house in the Grange area of Douglas in 2005-2006.
One Garda source said the shooting may be related to a drugs debt, but it is understood that gardaí were not ruling out the possibility that Mr Falsey was shot by dissident republicans who have already admitted responsibility for the murder of two drug dealers in Cork.
In January 2010, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the murder of convicted drug dealer Gerard Staunton, who was shot in Wilton, while the Real IRA last year admitted responsibility for the murder of Kieran O’Flynn in Dublin Hill in June 2001.
