Ireland's capital city is this week on a state of high alert, with gangland violence on a scale not seen since the murder of crime reporter Veronica Guerin almost two decades ago and armed police patrolling the streets.
The current spate of bloodletting can be directly traced back to the murder of 34-year-old Gary Hutch, who was shot dead beside a swimming pool in Marbella, Spain in September 2014.
The killing of the nephew of retired crime boss Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch - who earned his name because of his apparent clean living - was said to be as a result of a drug deal gone wrong.
The Monk was once named as Ireland's most prolific bank robber. He was arrested in connection with two of biggest heists in the country's history but never charged. He eventually settled for €1.2 million in unpaid tax with the Criminal Assets Bureau, the civil recovery agency which was set up following the murder of Guerin to target those living lavish lifestyles amassed from the proceeds of crime.
But what started as a turf war between two of Dublin's most powerful gangs has since got personal with the murder of 58-year-old Eddie Hutch snr last Monday.
A brother of 'The Monk', he had no known involvement in crime and was shot for no other reason than he was a soft target.
His murder, when four men burst into his north Dublin home and shot him up to nine times, was in direct retaliation for the murder of David Byrne, 35, who was shot dead at a boxing weigh in over a week ago in Dublin's Regency Hotel in dramatic and shocking scenes.
Daniel Kinahan, the son of crime boss Christy 'Dapper Don' Kinahan - a convicted criminal who lives in considerable luxury on the Spanish Costa del Sol and is said to oversee a multi-million pound criminal empire - was thought to be the intended target of the hotel shooting. Kinahan, who is involved in professional boxing and has a financial stake in a number of fighters, escaped death by jumping out a window during the attack.
The events of Friday, February 5 - carried out in broad daylight by gunmen, two armed with AK47s and dressed in police style outfits - shocked even the capital's most seasoned criminals.
The gang, including one person dressed as a woman, appeared calm and in control as they shot the leading member of the Kinahan gang dead while over 100 people, including a number of young children, watched on.
Dubliners are currently preparing for an influx of tourists for one of the biggest events ever seen in the capital, with the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising approaching, and there is not a free hotel room to be had in the city.
However, the sight of armed members of An Garda Síochána – the Irish police force - patrolling the streets amid fears of further retaliatory attacks does nothing for the city's image.
Irish justice minister Frances Fitzgerald has committed a further £3.8 million (€5 million) to police the security crisis, but even extra officers on the streets is unlikely to prevent further bloodshed.
With the funerals of both victims taking place this week tensions are at an all-time high in the capital.
Wives, girlfriends and other family members linked to the two crime gangs have been warned to step up their personal security. A number of leading players in the drugs trade have since fled Dublin for Spain as fears of further retaliation grow.
Reporters working for one of Ireland's leading newspapers have also been told their lives are under threat, a move condemned this week by the National Union of Journalists, and the atmosphere in the city is becoming increasingly toxic.
With no end to the violence in sight and an election due to be held within weeks, the current crisis has not just security but political implications.
Austerity measures by the current government that resulted in cuts to policing numbers could influence the opinion of Irish voters appalled by the recent violence.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel