Gardaí are hoping a man injured in a shooting incident that claimed the life of a fellow party-goer may be able to provide vital information about the killing.
The dead man has been named as gangland criminal Edward “Ned” Hamilton, a 33-year-old from Co Kildare.
He was among a number of people at a Christmas party at a house in Kilmeague, Co Kildare, early on Saturday when a gun was discharged, fatally injuring him.
Another reveller was injured when the shotgun was fired, and lost his thumb.
The deceased was taken to nearby Naas General Hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after 6am. He had been wounded at close range in the upper body.
The injured man, in his 50s, was recovering in hospital last night. Gardaí were hoping to speak to him as early as today. They believe he was beside Hamilton when the fatal shot was fired and are hopeful he can help the investigation.
Initially, gardaí believed the firearm might have gone off accidentally. However, following an examination of the crime scene they are exploring whether the gun was produced during a row and was being used to threaten Hamilton when it discharged.
Hamilton is believed to have clashed recently with a criminal associate over a personal matter. He was also well known to gardaí for his long involvement in drug-dealing. When Andy Barry (31), Tallaght, Dublin, and Latvian man Zilvinas Varnauskas (25) where shot dead in a drug related attack in Kilcock, Co Kildare, in March, Hamilton emerged as a suspect.
