The Emergency Response Unit was making its presence felt in Limerickyesterday, writes Conor Lally.
Limerick was a city under siege last night. The long-running feud between rival gangs claimed one life this week, and local people feared that more blood would be spilled.
Members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit were yesterday drafted into the city from Dublin and last evening they were making their presence felt.
Special armed checkpoints had been set up and they were patrolling the suburbs to prevent another outbreak of violence.
Local people are already worried that the funeral in the coming days of Wednesday night's murder victim, Kieran Keane, may lead to more trouble.
Mr Keane was shot dead and his nephew, Mr Owen Treacy, received stab wounds and was seriously ill in hospital last night.
Mr Keane's body lay yesterday in the gateway of a substantial rural home in Drumbana, three miles from Limerick city, waiting on the attentions of deputy State pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy.
It is believed the men may have been abducted by attackers who wanted information which might secure the release of the Ryans.
The savage violence on Wednesday night and the sensational release of the Ryan brothers less than six hours later were shocking in themselves. But the fear of reprisals, of what may lay ahead was the real talk of the town.
Such was the media feeding frenzy yesterday that gardaí convened a press conference at Roxborough Garda station in an effort to satisfy in some small way the media's insatiable hunger for the latest news.
The drama was merely added to by the fact that in police cells just yards away from where reporters bombarded senior gardaí with questions two people, a man and woman, both in their 40s, were being held in connection with the murder of Mr Keane and the stabbing of his nephew.
This is a feud which has been driven by a deadly cocktail of ingredients.
Chief Supt Gerry Kelly said the rival factions had been motivated by "deep hatred" and "madness".
He said many of the weapons, including machine guns, which seem so freely available in this small city, had been supplied by subversive republican groups.
Guns had also been imported by many gang members when they bought their drugs from international wholesalers.
The sub-text of it all is the vast amounts of money being generated through drug dealing, money which Chief Supt Kelly said the Criminal Assets Bureau is close to getting its hands on. Time will tell.
As the Ryans were welcomed home by cheering well-wishers yesterday morning, across the city men involved in a gang fight last Monday were being sentenced to various terms of imprisonment at Limerick District Court.
The law enforcers could be seen all over Limerick yesterday and the days ahead will be anxious ones for many families.