MINISTER FOR Justice Dermot Ahern said yesterday he was concerned about possible dissident republican involvement in a gun attack on a Dublin pub on Sunday night.
Three men were injured after a gunman carrying two handguns shot into a crowd of people outside the Players Lounge in Fairview.
The pub’s doorman, Warren Barrett (31) from Finglas, who was shot in the head, was still in a critical condition in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital last night.
Gardaí are exploring the possibility the attack may be linked to a feud between former republicans and other elements over security at bars and clubs in the city.
Speaking at the Department of Justice yesterday, Mr Ahern condemned the incident as a “particularly horrific event” and urged anyone who had any information to come forward to the Garda.
“We would always be worried about dissident activity and dissident involvement in any of these incidents. Obviously, I can’t second-guess the investigation but this incident isn’t, I understand, the normal gangland crime type issue,” he said.
Mr Ahern said gardaí were particularly concerned at the possibility of revenge attacks.
“I have spoken to the Garda Commissioner a number of times about this incident and it is particularly worrying in the way it happened,” he said. “It just shows there are a number of people out there who are willing to take out people for relatively small issues.
“During the boom years we invested hugely in youth justice and youth diversion programmes in geographically disadvantaged areas but obviously there are still people out there who are willing to come forward and murder people even over a relatively small issue, which I understand has happened in the past,” he said.
A second man, who was shot in the chest in the attack, was last night described as critical but stable by the Mater hospital.
Gardaí believe the doorman was the intended target of the attack and the two other injured men shot were bystanders.