Getting The Shot

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From top: Saturday’s Irish Independent; Sunday World

You’ll recall the shooting at the Regency Hotel in Drumcondra, Dublin on Friday afternoon during the weigh-in for the WBO European Lightweight title fight between Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio Jao Bento.

David Byrne, 33, from Crumlin, south Dublin was killed in the shooting while another two men were seriously injured.

Following the shooting, photographs of the gunmen appeared in Independent News and Media titles over the weekend.

Special Correspondent at Irish Independent, Paul Williams, and Michael O’Toole, crime correspondent with the Irish Daily Star, spoke on Today with Seán O’Rourke this morning.

Mr Williams told the show that it was fortuitous that no undercover gardaí were present at the hotel because, if they had been present, a bloody shoot-out was likely to have occurred.

He also explained that gardaí had called to the offices of INM with a warrant to try and stop their photographs from being published.

From the interview…

Paul Williams: “To be very quick, to come along and look at your phone records Michael [O’Toole] and my phone records, GSOC and Garda headquarters, a certain small clique in Garda headquarters to find out if we’re talking to some Garda and I’m nearly sure that some smart alec in Garda headquarters will try and find out did some Garda tip any of our media colleagues off in relation to that weigh-in on Friday. That’s the bizarre situation, the bizarre world we’re living in at the moment.”

Sean O’Rourke: “Michael O’Toole, do you accept as well, or do you get the same sense that there is embarrassment at senior Garda levels at the fact that they didn’t, and maybe that people are alive today, who would not be had they been there, but that they feel in hindsight they should have been there?”

Michael O’Toole: “…There is definite embarrassment within the guards but I think it’s more amongst gardaí on the ground. They really are embarrassed. You know, we knew about it. Journalists knew about it. Gardaí should have been there. That’s what gardaí on the ground are saying.”

Regency shooting: Photograph the one loose thread they couldn’t have hoped for (Cormac O’Keeffe, Irish Examiner)

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36 thoughts on “Getting The Shot

    1. Panty Christ

      Perhaps they allowed it to happen as a pre election bargaining tool..
      Ok maybe I’ve watched the wire too many times.
      I don’t believe the gardai are that naive to think there would be no persons of interest at that weigh in.

      1. Rob_G

        I imagine that the Gardaí figured that there would be lots of criminals there, but that there would also be loads of cameras, which would put off potential assassins (though evidently it didn’t put them off too much).

  1. Murtles

    So who took that first photo of the two entering the hotel? It’s very near and very clear so how come the photographer was confronted by the two or even shot?

  2. Tish Mahorey

    Sunday Word and Indo were in stake out vehicles hoping to get photos of well known crims.

    The cops more than likely DID know and the fact that they weren’t there is highly suspicious. Or were they there but just didn’t show themselves.

    Lots of questions to asked about this.

  3. Condescending Nana

    hands off, as long they kill each other we won’t intervene, of course now that they are made to look like they are simply sitting on their hands they are all out on patrol with Uzi’s stopping cars on the weekend, looking like business, next week they’ll be back on the Pulse checking out potential tenants profiles like per usual, eating burritos

      1. rotide

        Cyclists should clearly get a free pass from breaking lights constantly while drug wars last, clearly.

        1. Condescending Nana

          I stop at lights so your madey uppy anecdotal comment is just poo, following your “logic”. go back to bed?

          1. rotide

            Then you won’t get fined 40 euros.

            Come on Nana, use your brain to follow the comment tree and figure out whos replying to what

          2. Disasta

            40 euro fine for cycling down an empty lane on the side in the incorrect direction. He was just sitting there on his bike. So he was sitting there doing that while I’m sure much more important things could be dealt with.

            It wasn’t me by the way, it was someone I know. I hate cycling.

      1. jonjo

        But they were definitely running from a hotel with guns in their hands :)

        Id imagine it was some trade off with, or instruction from, the guards – didnt willums say the guards had some warrant to stop them publishing it.

        1. edalicious

          Everyone is entitled to a fair trial and one could, in theory, claim that a photo of you appearing to commit the crime would affected your ability to be tried without prejudice. It makes more sense in cases other than this but you have to apply the same law to everyone.

        2. Rob_G

          It could prejudice the any jurors to the potential trial, and could in theory allow them to get off scott-free.

    1. martco

      yep that bit isn’t clear to me atall excuse the pun…why indeed? what possible advantage is there in hiding the identity of the scumbags?

      and I’m no fan of Sinn Fein but Edna on the radio just there making very very wide association attempt like he has the remotest idea who they are or where their hardware came from, sorry it’s literally making it up as he goes and it sickens me, bottom line is this happened on his and Frances Fitzgeralds watch!!! Oh yea if ISIS shows up we can deal with it…utter horsepoo

      Grrrrrr!

    2. ahjayzis

      Guy on radio earlier said it was to prevent them being identified to t’other gang and for them getting to them before the guards do.

  4. Stumpy

    High moral ground from rag that *barely* stopped short of giving away replica gimp masks during coverage of Dwyer trial.

  5. Tish Mahorey

    BBC has reportedly received a claim from Dissident CIRA that they carried out the hit but they can’t verify the password used. So it’s probably not true.

    But Fine Gael will use that to undermine Sinn Fein even though they would be targets of CIRA who oppose Sinn Fein for joining the Peace Process.

    But the idiots can’t tell the difference and Fine Gael will use that.

  6. Kolmo

    Just like Chicago in the 1920’s, Northern Mexico today, mindless gangsters killing each other over trading territory. We don’t see bar owners or beer suppliers taking pot-shots at each other today.
    All the current demand for narcotics is met by the criminal class, they operate in a behavioral sink, this type of event will become more common due to the defective personalities that are involved if their power is not curtailed.
    Every Effd up heroin addict doesn’t care about the law, casual hash tokers don’t care about the law, hot-shot cocaine snorting solicitors and estate agents don’t care about the law, the fact that supply and possession of narcotics is illegal gives these violent vermin their power.

  7. Funster Fionnanánn

    Simple, nobody wants to get shot.

    Let them kill each other.

    It’s better when they stick to doing it at night or outside of the country. Doesn’t get on English news that way.

    And as we know paddy politician doesn’t like the neighbours talking.

  8. Confused.

    @TK ickle, looks like a PM md. 65 rifle to me.

    If the gardai really didn’t know anything about this, (which seems doubtful) surely the gardai are either incapable, incompetent and/or negligent? Or all of the above?

    Doesn’t increase the confidence I’d have in garda assurances that they are monitoring other threats or their ability to identity who is coming into this country.

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