A murder investigation is unlikely to follow the death of former Limerick councillor Michael Kelly, according to senior Garda sources.
Mr Kelly (48) died late on Sunday night surrounded by members of his family at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.
He never regained consciousness after suffering a gunshot wound to the head at his mother's house in Lilac Court, Southill, on May 14th .
Gardaí, led by detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, confirmed yesterday that they were still treating the matter as a "shooting incident".
Mr Kelly's brother, Anthony, has maintained that his brother was shot by an unknown party who entered his mother's house.
However, no arrests have been made, no weapon has been found and gardaí are still examining the possibility that Mr Kelly's wound may have been self-inflicted.
A post-mortem was due to be carried out yesterday on Mr Kelly's body, which was then expected to be removed last night to his mother's house in Southill where a wake will be held ahead of burial tomorrow.
Mr Anthony Kelly said yesterday that his brother had never regained consciousness since the shooting nearly five weeks ago.
"In the end we were happy the way he went because his life wouldn't have been much worth living if he had woken up.
"He had deteriorated in the last few days, and we were waiting for him to go. All the family were there when he passed away, and everyone said their goodbyes to him. I'm gutted because it's like half of me died with him, and I'll miss him an awful lot."
The controversial former councillor - who topped the poll in Limerick's Ward 3 in 1999 - was released from prison earlier this year after serving a sentence for VAT and social welfare fraud.
The conviction followed a lengthy probe by the Criminal Assets Bureau into the financial affairs of the security company Mr Kelly ran with his brother, Anthony.
During his time in local politics, the father of seven was vocal about issues in his native Southill - particularly housing conditions and anti-social behaviour.
However, he still courted controversy during his time in office, and relations with gardaí soured after he attempted to broker a peace deal between feuding families on the southside of the city.
Gardaí criticised his involvement in the deals, claiming the arrangements were only designed to hinder prosecutions.
Mr Kelly had 38 previous convictions and served a total of 12 years in prison for a variety of offences, including serious assault.