A MAN wounded in a recent gun attack has claimed senior gardaí are in collusion with crime journalists to set him up to be murdered.
Brian O’Reilly was granted leave to seek High Court orders directing the Minister for Justice to set up an inquiry into his claims.
Mr O’Reilly (41), Ballymun, Dublin, with an address at Northlands, Bettystown, Co Meath, was described in his High Court application as a businessman. He was a close friend of the criminal Eamon Dunne (34), of Finglas, Dublin, who was shot dead in a pub in Cabra, Dublin, in April.
Dunne was the leader of a major drug gang based in Finglas that was once led by Martin “Marlo” Hyland until he was shot dead in December 2007.
Barrister Alan Toal, for Mr O’Reilly, said his client believed gardaí had unlawfully concealed intelligence relating to threats on his life, deliberately exposing him to the risk of being shot. He said the Minister had powers under the Criminal Justice Act 2007 to direct an inquiry into such a matter of public concern.
He was granted leave to seek an injunction restraining gardaí from engaging in collusion with journalists that might expose him to the risk of being shot.
He was granted leave to seek a court order against the Garda Commissioner compelling him to fully investigate “the sources of repeated unlawful leaks by members of the force” to journalists.
Mr O’Reilly said that since Eamon Dunne had been shot dead he had become the target of media speculation that he had taken control of the crime gang left vacant by Dunne’s death. “This is vehemently denied and has no basis in foundation or fact,” he said.
Mr O’Reilly said that on August 7th last while in McDonoughs pub in Bettystown, he was confronted by two gunmen who shot him twice in a murder attempt.
He told the court that gardaí continued to engage in a campaign of orchestrated adverse publicity about him. Particular articles referred to him as “The Dentist”, based, it was alleged, on a fictional punishment he was supposed to have meted out to a man.
Media assertions that he was now public enemy number one and was next to be shot were examples of reckless journalism assisted by gardaí.
The distorted perception of gardaí seemed to be that they were entitled to adjudicate on the character of an individual and pronounce what at times amounted to a death sentence by inviting newspaper readers to believe society would be better served by the elimination of one more individual.
He believed gardaí would continue to collude with some members of the print media unless restrained by the court.
Mr Justice Michael Peart said a case had been made for leave for judicial review and other reliefs to be sought before the court and adjourned the proceedings until January 26th.